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NAMI
of Pennsylvania and
Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
Joint Statement on
NAMI 2009 Grading the States Report
The National Alliance on Mental Illness
(NAMI) has issued its 2009 Grading the States Report, a comprehensive
state-by-state analysis of mental health care systems in the U.S.
The Commonwealth was commended on
- Being a national leader in reducing seclusion
and restraints
- Creating Consumer and Family Satisfaction Teams (CFSTs) in all
counties
- Implementing Assertive Community Treatment (ACT), Integrated
Dual Diagnosis Treatment (IDDT) and other evidence based practices
- Showing a strong commitment to training and employing peer specialists
The rating system presents
an overall rating based on 65 specific criteria. Pennsylvania’s
grade of C placed it in the top half of the states, while the
grade for the nation as a whole was a D. The breakdown of the
states’ overall ratings (including the District of Columbia)
shows that there were no A’s, six B’s, eighteen C’s,
21 D’s and six F’s.
Pennsylvania’s areas for improvement included the need for
expansion of mental health courts and jail diversion programs,
statewide police crisis intervention teams and an adequate mix
of hospital and community services.
Pennsylvania has improved its grade since the 2006 report, although
categories have changed so it is difficult to compare specific
scores. The real message here is that the Commonwealth, like the
rest of the states and the nation - face a variety of challenges
for maintaining and improving mental health services. We are all
in this together.
Jointly our goal is to have a top quality mental health system,
and we share concerns about developing and providing these services
in the current economic climate. This challenge makes collaboration
and communication even more important than ever as the building
blocks for success. The efforts to identify both strengths as
well as areas for improvement in all 50 states and the District
of Columbia are commendable.
The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services in the
Department of Public Welfare oversees a broad-based system of
seven state hospitals, a long term care nursing home and community
programs serving over 300,000 adults and children each year, utilizing
$3.5B in state and federal funds. Its priority objectives are
to
- Transform the children’s
behavioral health system to a system that is family driven and
youth guided
- Implement services and policy to support recovery and resiliency
in the Adult Behavioral Health System
- Assure that behavioral health services and supports recognize
and accommodate the unique needs of older adults
NAMI Pennsylvania is a grassroots
organization that through its 55 affiliates throughout the state
provides support and education to people with mental illness and
their families.
NAMI PA’s efforts include:
- Providing family and consumer education programs throughout
the state
- Advocating on behalf of consumers and their families to access
mental health services in their communities
- Providing forensic training programs to raise awareness of the
criminal justice needs within our communities
Pennsylvania is at a critical juncture that coincides with a time
of economic crisis. It requires choices on how mental health services
should be structured. NAMI PA will work with OMHSAS to reach our
goal of delivering quality mental health services to consumers
and their families.
Grading the States 2009: Overview
Our national mental health care system is in crisis. Long fragile,
fragmented, and inadequate, it is now in serious peril. In 2003,
the presidential New Freedom Commission presented a vision for a
life-saving, recovery-oriented, cost-effective, evidence-based system
of care. States have been working to improve the system, but progress
is minimal.
Today, even those states that have worked the hardest stand to
see their gains wiped out. As the country faces the deepest economic
crisis since the Great Depression, state budget shortfalls mean
budget cuts to mental health services.
The budget cuts are coming at a time when mental health services
are even more urgently needed. It is a vicious cycle that destroys
lives and creates more significant financial troubles for states
and the federal government in the long run.
One in four Americans experience mental illness at some point in
their lives. The most serious conditions affect 10.6 million people.
Mental illness is the greatest cause of disability in the nation,
and twice as many Americans live with schizophrenia than with HIV/AIDS.
We know what works to save lives and help people recover. In the
face of crisis, America needs to move forward, not retreat. We cannot
leave our most vulnerable citizens behind.
Letter
from the NAMI Executive Director
Read the letter from NAMI's Executive Director, Michael J. Fitzpatrick,
which opens the NAMI Grading the States 2009 report.
Executive
Summary
Read the executive summary of Grading the States 2009 report.
Acknowledgements
and Authors
NAMI wishes to thank these people for their hard work and dedication
on Grading the States 2009.
United
States Report Card
Read about how the United States rates overall and see the national
scorecard.
Pennsylvania
Grading the States Report
Read Pennsylvania specific information from the report
Grading the States 2009 Key Messages
• Mental health care in America is in crisis.
• Millions of Americans with mental illness don’t have
access to lifesaving health care.
• That includes people in Pennsylvania.
• The nation’s economic crisis and state budget cuts
threaten to wipe out progress in building a life-saving, recovery-oriented,
cost effective, evidence-based system of care.
• State budget cuts are coming at a time when state mental
health services are even more needed because of people in economic
distress. It is a vicious cycle that leads to ruin.
• We know what works to save lives and help people recover.
In the face of crisis, we need to move forward, not retreat. We
must not leave some of our most vulnerable citizens behind.
• Health care must be a priority for Pennsylvania.
• The public mental health care system has long been fragile,
fragmented, and inadequate.
• Six years ago, a presidential commission called it “a
system in shambles.” The commission presented a vision for
building instead a life-saving, recovery-oriented, cost effective,
evidence-based system of care.
• Progress has been made in small steps in recent years, but
state mental healthcare systems now face a new crisis. The country
is in the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. State
budget shortfalls mean budget cuts.
• Many dedicated, caring people work in state mental health
care system. But they aren’t being given the resources and
support they need.
• We need leadership, political will, and investment from
governors, legislatures, and other champions.
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