Planning Quality Services
Now Available: Interim Report on the Office of Mental Health (OMH)
Statewide Comprehensive Plan 2011-2015
by Michael Seereiter, Director of Planning NYS Office of Mental Health
Mental illness is now the leading illness-related cause of disability, a major cause of death from suicide, a significant driver of school failure, poor overall health, incarceration and homelessness. Yet, never before has the prospect for substantial improvements to the system of mental health services, the promise of recovery, or the possibility for full and meaningful participation in one’s community ever been greater for New Yorkers with mental illness.
In an effort to both develop efficiencies in the delivery of services and bring about life-altering improvements for New Yorkers with mental illness, New York State is currently undergoing a number of transformational changes that will drastically alter the future of mental health services and supports. Such reforms, if managed well and implemented properly, will bring about improvements in the quality of mental health services that will drastically improve the quality of life and increase the overall life expectancy for individuals with mental illness. OMH is most focused on successful implementation of the transformational reforms discussed in this report.
This Interim Report since the publication of the 2011-2015 Statewide Comprehensive Plan for Mental Health Services in October, 2011 focuses on the efforts to ensure that these most impactful, transformational changes are implemented properly, and the anticipated benefits to individuals with mental illnesses and the systems that serve these individuals are realized. OMH will leverage the reforms underway as part of Medicaid redesign, creation of the New York Employment Services System, development of First Episode Psychosis teams, and continued implementation of the NYS Children’s Plan to create an accountable framework for systemic change. These transformational changes will drastically re-shape our mental health care delivery system over the next several years, guiding us further toward goals of realizing the promise of recovery, independence, and full community participation for New Yorkers with mental illness.
http://www.omh.ny.gov/omhweb/resources/newsltr/2012/apr/planning.html