Minutes of the San Francisco Bay Area Regional NAMI Meeting

Minutes of the San Francisco Bay Area
Regional NAMI Affiliates Meeting
March 24, 2001

1. Latest developments on Santa Clara’s TV Mental Health Outreach Program

Joe Rose brought us up to date on this project. He is planning to develop a series of programs on community access television, providing “fresh insight and information about mental illness for people who otherwise may not know where to turn.” While his application to the California Endowment was not approved, he does expect a $1,000 volunteer grant from the Bank of America Foundation. He is also arranging to meet with the chair of the Santa Clara Board of Supervisors to seek their support.

Joe is working with Stephanie Welch, a leading expert on mental health stigma, on one of the 10 planned program segments, dealing with stigma among youth aged 16 to 24. Joe plans to launch the series with this program. Stephanie, who works for the California Council of Community Mental Health Agencies, also attended our meeting and told us about some of her work with stigma and young people. She said that young people need to be educated to recognize symptoms of mental illness in themselves or others. They need to know “who can I talk to,” and “who is it safe to talk to.” This pilot program will try and reach that target audience, and try and convey the importance of diagnosis and treatment for both mental and physical illness. Stephanie has already developed a detailed treatment for this pilot program. In her words “this program illustrates that reaching out and asking for help is not only the smart thing to do, but also it is the brave thing to do--not only for the young person, but for his or her friends.”

Joe would like all the Bay area chapters to become involved in the project. You can call him at 925-675-3334.

2. Planning for Bay Area Regional NAMI conference

We agreed that a one-day conference for Bay Area NAMI affiliates and other mental health advocacy organizations would be an excellent way to begin to forge a regional presence. After discussion of various options we decided to plan an event in October, following the NAMI California conference. This first event will focus on issues for Bay Area NAMI boards and interested members. At this first event we will focus on topics of general interest to NAMI members and we may plan for a future educational conference for the public. Lori Campbell agreed to chair a conference planning committee and will report back at our next regional meeting.

3. NAMI California Developments

Anne O’Niell brought us up to date on NAMI-CA issues.

a.) Disability rights lawsuit

NAMI is considering retaining a public interest attorney to consider bringing suit against the State, claiming that under the disability rights laws persons with mental disabilities are discriminated against compared to those with developmental disabilities.

b.) The Journal

The NAMI board has suspended publication of The Journal pending a resolution of a number of financial and other issues. The board sent a letter to all NAMI-CA members explaining the reasons for its actions. The most pressing issue now is how, and in what form, future issues of The Journal should be produced and distributed. Each copy of The Journal costs about $16 to produce but NAMI-CA has been selling it for $10 or less. The Journal could be produced at less cost by using non-glossy paper and cutting back on some of the color artwork. This would not have to jeopardize quality. Other options the board is considering include producing The Journal with one or more additional States or having NAMI-National produce it. Members interested in the future of The Journal should plan to attend the NAMI-CA board meeting scheduled for June 2 at the Oakland Airport. The future of The Journal is one of the agenda topics.

3. Legislative Issues

Helen Thomson and John Burton have introduced two major bills this year.

A. AB 1421, “The Assisted Outpatient Treatment Demonstration Project Act of 2001.”

Helen Thomson's bill, AB 1421, would set up pilot programs to provide assisted outpatient treatment program for adults with mental illness that puts them at high risk for a poor outcome, which is specified. The programs would provide community based care by multidisciplinary teams of mental health professionals, based on the assertive community treatment (ACT) model. The bill provides that if the person fails to comply with outpatient treatment, despite efforts to solicit compliance, a licensed mental health provider may request that the person be placed under a 72 hour hold based on an involuntary commitment. The project would operate only in counties that receive grants for the program. The bill was in part based on findings from the recent RAND study of involuntary commitment in California and other States. In addition to other issues, AB 1421 finds that:

	Some high risk patients do not respond well to traditional community based mental health services. For various reasons, even when treatment is made available, high risk patients do not avail themselves of these services;
	Ambulatory care data from the Department of Mental Health’s client data system do not support the assumption that individuals were entering the involuntary treatment system because they were not able to access outpatient services;
	Evidence from randomized clinical trials supports the use of assertive community treatment programs, and suggests that fidelity to the ACT model ensures better client outcomes.

B. SB 931, “The Local Mental Health Treatment Improvement Program.”

John Burton’s bill, SB 931, would provide grants to counties to improve, expand, and coordinate comprehensive treatment services to persons with mental illness who are, or at risk of being, involuntarily committed under the Lanterman Petris Short (LPS) Act. It would also provide a training and education program to improve delivery of services. Counties accepting grants would have to establish a strategy committee to identify service programs that are needed, train professionals involved with LPS commitments, identify specific outcome and performance measures, and provide annual reporting. The bill requires the State Department of Mental Health to create an evaluation design that will assess the effectiveness of the program, provide the Legislature with a preliminary report on the effectiveness of the program by March 2003. The bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

At the time of our meeting, NAMI had not widely distributed a position on this and other pending legislation.

Our next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, April 28.

Opinions expressed in this web site do not necessarily reflect the views of NAMI Santa Cruz County, NAMI California or any affiliated organizations. We attempt to present a balanced perspective on issues by presenting multiple viewpoints.

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