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STATE SENATE MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEMS OVERVIEW LEGISLATION
Testimony
of
James W. Jordan, Jr.
Executive Director
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Pennsylvania
SR72
Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee
December 5, 2001
Senator Mowery and members of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee,
thank you for scheduling this hearing on Senate Resolution 72, and thank
you Senator Orie for introducing this important legislation. We strongly
support this initiative and want to encourage a close partnership with
the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) in the
Department of Welfare.
We believe that this process, to be effective will also need the cooperation
and support of the state Departments of Corrections, Aging and Health.
We believe this review should be a collaborative effort between the Pennsylvania
State Legislature, the Departments of Welfare, Aging, Health and Corrections,
providers, family and consumer advocacy organizations, and members at
large within the community who have an interest in the well being of the
state’s system of care, support and treatment for persons with mental
illness.
The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, or NAMI, is an advocacy
organization for people who have mental illnesses and their families and
friends. The tentacles of
mental illness reach deep into our society.
It does not stop at the individual with mental illness, but it
impacts their families, it impacts their friends, it impacts their employers,
it impacts our social service system, and it impacts our criminal justice
system.
Senate Resolution 72 is a critical step toward identifying what
is working within our delivery system and it will help identify what is
broken; what can be improved upon and what needs to change.
With regard to the language in the Resolution, we make the following
recommendations:
1)
The inclusion of a representative from a statewide, family-based
organization and a representative from a statewide consumer-based organization
on the Advisory Committee.
2)
In addition to state correctional facilities, we encourage focus
on local correctional facilities.
3)
As the Task Force is focused on access issues, we recommend that
access be viewed, minimally, from geographic, racial, cultural, economic,
gender, age, and sexual orientation perspectives.
Without making judgment or recommendations, prior to Task Force
review we suggest that the Task Force review, as part of its process,
the following areas:
1)
The
impact of State Psychiatric Hospital downsizing.
2)
Integrated Treatment for Co-occurring Mental and Addictive Disorders.
3)
Direct Care Worker Salaries - Compensation for community based
workers
4)
Post-Hospitalization Follow-Up
5)
Mental Health Parity - insurance coverage for persons with mental
illness.
6)
Establishment of Mental Health Courts
7)
Transition services for adolescents moving into adult services.
8)
Confidentiality standards and practices related to family involvement
in treatment and care services.
9)
Affordable safe housing.
10)
Continuity of Care
11)
Assess availability and quality of community-based services
12)
Review current OMHSAS goals program goals
13)
Review coordination of substance abuse and mental health services
14)
Access to appropriate medications.
15)
Access to appropriate psychiatric support and treatment.
16)
Review of county government role.
This list is not intended to be all-inclusive. Rather,
we have attempted to identify some of the major issues this Task Force
should consider for review.
We are very much interested in participating in this process and
providing what ever support the Task Force feels will be helpful to it
in meeting it’s goals.
At NAMI, we are dedicated to improving the lives of
everyone affected by mental illness, and we are committed to working with
the legislature to develop solutions to the challenges associated with
mental illness.
Thank you for the opportunity to express our views
on this important issue.
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