July 1, 2011
The Massachusetts Department of Mental Health Task Force on Staff and Client Safety issued its final report today, after reviewing the state’s resources and procedures for ensuring the safety of staff and clients at DMH-funded programs that serve individuals with mental illness.
The report is the culmination of a process that began in February, following the tragic death of Stephanie Moulton, a staff person at a DMH-funded program. Over the past four months, the Task Force solicited input from a wide array of stakeholders and the general public in an effort to help inform its deliberations. ABH President and CEO Vic DiGravio was honored to represent the association’s members on the Task Force. Many ABH member organizations and their staff provided valuable insights and testimony to the Task Force throughout this process.
The report highlighted the need for better coordination of care and greater funding for community based mental health services, including the need for increased pay and training for staff members. The Task Force’s report reaffirms the Commonwealth’s commitment to providing services to individuals in the least restrictive settings possible, but points out that chronic underfunding of community based services has created an unstable situation in some cases.
Also, the report makes the important point that most individuals with mental illness pose no greater threat of violence than any other member of society. In fact, DMH clients are more likely to be victims than perpetrators of acts of violence. At ABH, we are well aware of this reality and are opposed to any attempts to further stigma around mental illness.
The report contains seventeen recommendations for state government to undertake in an effort to strengthen the publicly funded mental health system to ensure the safety of individuals being served, program staff and the general public. These recommendations fall under six broad categories:
1. Overarching Issues, including the need for new funding for public mental health services.
2. Staffing and Coordination of Care
3. Access to Information
4. Access to Services
5. Training
6. Current Practices
ABH and our members are pleased that the state legislature is making an important down-payment in rebuilding the Commonwealth’s publicly-funded mental health system in the fiscal year 2012 state budget being adopted today by increasing funding for DMH by $20 million above FY11 spending. This is a clear acknowledgement by the legislature that they value services for individuals with mental illness and the entire legislature deserves credit for acting decisively today.
To read the report, please visit www.abhmass.org.
On the Issues, People & Organizations in Behavioral Health in the Commonwealth
