The State Plan 2001: Blueprint for Change

INTRODUCTION

After months of work, the Division of MH/DD/SA submitted "The State Plan 2001: Blueprint for Change" to DHHS Secretary Carmen Hooker Buell on November 1, 2001.

The state plan document was developed in response to reform legislation recently passed by the North Carolina General Assembly. The reform legislation intended the state plan to be a document that would implement the legislation and enact reform across the state. As such, the legislation was rather detailed about what should be included in the state plan. It also required that the Department present the state plan to the Legislative Oversight Committee on MH/DD/SA Reform on December 1, 2001.

NAMI North Carolina has attempted to summarize the draft state plan and its attachments. The summary does not review the sections of the state plan specific to Developmental Disabilities or Substance Abuse. It does summarize those sections on Adult and Child Mental Health and those sections common to all disabilities. The summary attempts to be as factual and unbiased as possible. Obviously, in condensing a document that is several hundred pages long to less than 30, a lot of detail has been left out. For those who want to review the plan itself, it can be found at

http://www.dhhs.state.nc.us/mhplan/draftplan.htm