NEW HAMPSHIRE GETS “D” GRADE
FOR ITS PUBLIC MENTAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
NAMI National's survey of State Mental Health Authority's performance was released on March 1, 2006. NAMI NH is ready and willing to work with all its partners to improve the accessibility to and quality of mental health services for NH citizens. For further information please contact Mike Cohen at mcohen@naminh.org. Thank you.
National Average is “D” in State-by-State Report
In the first state-by-state analysis of the nation’s mental healthcare system in over 15 years, New Hampshire receives a grade of D, the state organization of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) announced today.
The national average is a D, confirming what the New Freedom Commission has called “a system in shambles.” The rating only assessed the adult service system although services to children and older adults would likely not trend substantially different. The adult system assessment tells us something about the trends across all sectors.
“We are very disappointed in the rating. Don’t think for one moment that D is okay because it’s the average across the nation,” said Michael Cohen, NAMI New Hampshire’s Executive Director. “It’s a shame, given the fact that 15 years ago the state was #2 in the nation when the public mental health authority was judged in a similar survey. In most recent years the system has lost a great deal of ground from its past standing, in part, due to the lack of commitment to adequately fund the community mental health centers and the trend toward diminished importance of the mental health authority within the Department of Health and Human Services organizational structure, and the frequent changes in leadership.”
“We can take pride in our state for a number of mental health service system accomplishments, including Peer Support Agencies, an orientation to a recovery based system, and most recently in the establishment of a new Mental Health Commission which is just getting underway. I have a great deal of faith in the skills and commitment of the Commission members and I am hopeful that they will produce a document that will help return us to our standing of 15 years ago. I think the Commission can counter this downward slide and bring fresh ideas to how comprehensive mental health services should be delivered and financed.”
“Today’s D grade is a starting point from which we can measure our future progress. The state needs to stop the slide downward and make a commitment to fully support the principles outlined in the New Freedom Commission Report and in the Federal Action Agenda. We need to start building a mental health care system based on proven, cost-effective practices, one that promotes recovery and builds resilience; one that recognizes that mental health is part of overall health. That’s what people with serious mental illnesses and their families deserve. That’s what taxpayers deserve.” That’s what NAMI NH will work for.”
According to Grading the States: A Report on America’s Health Care System for Serious Mental Illnesses, released by NAMI National in Washington, D.C. today, five states received grades in the B range, 17 states and the District of Columbia received Cs, 19 states received Ds, and eight states received Fs, Two states, Colorado and New York, declined to respond to a October- November 2005 survey on which the report is based.
The report commended New Hampshire for five innovations:
* A culture of recovery and resilience
* Peer Support Agencies
* Medication prior authorization program that works
* Supported employment initiatives
* Care Models for addressing treatment of physical illnesses simultaneously with mental illnesses.
Grades are based on 39 criteria in four categories. New Hampshire received a C- for Information Accessibility, F for Infrastructure (Infrastructure represents the state’s forward-looking orientation based on priorities, innovations, data collection and planning.), D+ for Services and F for Recovery Supports, only one of which is the Peer Support Networks.
Access to services depends on access to information. In a unique feature called the Consumer/Family Test Drive, NAMI members tested access to basic information through the state mental health department’s Web site and telephone system. New Hampshire scored six out of a possible ten points and ranked 22nd in the nation on the test drive.
“There are many areas that clearly need work,” Mr. Cohen said. “The report helps identify them through scores on specific criteria and provides a checklist for change.”
The report identified “Urgent needs” for New Hampshire to address:
* Jail diversion and police training services
* Increased community resources— adequate funding for Community Mental Health Centers and housing services to help promote recovery and avoid long-term stays at NHH.
* Implementation of evidence-based practices beyond the current SAMHSA supported implementation initiatives of IMR
* Reconnection and restoration of funding by the Department of Health and Human Services to family education and support organizations and to the NH-Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center. The Center has been instrumental in developing and facilitating science based practices for persons with serious mental illness throughout the country.
“In the immediate future, NAMI New Hampshire will be focusing on:
* Serving as an active member of the Mental Health Commission to assure that its work is consistent with a recovery orientation and that it demonstrates a consumer and family driven value set.
* Re-establishing its working relationship and seeking funding with the Department of Health and Human Services.
* Supporting efforts to train police to competently respond to mental health crises
* Supporting court diversion initiatives such as those in Cheshire County and Nashua.
* Working with the Community Behavioral Health Association to advocate the legislature to adequately fund services, prevent staff turnover and improve training in the latest evidenced based treatments.
* Working with housing authorities and the Bureau of Behavioral Health to make, as a top priority, the availability of housing in the community for persons with mental illness.
For a full copy of the report, including state narratives, see www.nami.org/grades.
