Provider/Stakeholder Kickoff Meeting

• A mobile team based approach to delivering comprehensive and flexible treatment, rehabilitation, case management and support services.

• Individuals with severe mental illness whose needs have not been well met by more traditional service delivery approaches.

• Recovery
• Cultural Competencies

• ACT teams will utilize assertive engagement skills.
• These skills include:
  • building trust and motivation
  • maintaining respectfulness in all interactions
  • repeated outreach visits

• 1 FT Team Leader
• 1 FTE program assistant
  
  For every 50 recipients
  
  
• .5 FTE Psychiatrists
  
• 1 FTE Nurse, including at least 1 FTE RN
  
• 1 FTE substance abuse specialist *
  
• 1 FTE employment specialist *
  
• 1 FTE family psycho-education specialist*
  
  * Start up teams have 18 months to achieve this requirement

• Consistent with national fidelity standards.
• In NYS ACT will serve as a platform to integrate other evidence-based practices:
  • Medication
  • Wellness management
  • Integrated treatment for co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders
  • Family education
  • Supported employment

• ACT will both support and educate consumers in dealing with medication issues
• It is expected that medication algorithms and guidelines will be integrated into the ACT team practice as they are recognized as evidence-based practices

• ACT provides specific and proven wellness management and relapse prevention techniques, such as:
  • Stress vulnerability model
  • Helping the consumer to develop coping skills
  • Cognitive behavioral treatment
  • Crisis/relapse prevention plans

• ACT provides integrated dual disorders treatment in both individual and group modalities
• ACT will incorporate motivational interviewing, harm reduction and stagewise treatment in their Co-Occurring Disorder practice

• ACT provides educational activities with families
• These activities can be provided in single family and/or multiple family groups
• These activities are oriented towards the future, not the past

• ACT focuses on assisting recipients to enter the competitive job market by providing supported employment services
• Employment assists recipients by increasing self-esteem
• Financial resources
• Part time work, continuing education and volunteering may also achieve individual's goals in this area

• ACT encourages participation in self-help and other community groups is encouraged
  
• It is expected that each team member will be familiar with local self-help and peer support services

Watch for Basic Elements

• Daily meetings, documentation, supervision and training time into structure of program
• Establish liaisons with other service providers, including inpatient hospitals

• In-vivo services
• Time unlimited services
• Small caseloads (no greater than 10:1)
• 24-hour availability
• Crisis intervention services
• Coordination with inpatient services
• Assistance with finding and maintaining safe and affordable housing
• Education and assistance to prevent and deal effectively with health problems

• Hire staff who are invested in the recovery model and will commit to a long term tenure with the Agency
• Hire a strong team leader with good management as well as clinical and supervisory skills
• Maximize the retention of program staff
• Establish procedures designed to fill vacancies expeditiously

• Fiscal regulations provide funding for start up period
• Maintain initial low intake rate at slow pace to accommodate engagement and individualized treatment planning

• Provide efficient access to service dollars as important to success of team's work
• Establish internal policies and procedures governing the use and management of these funds, that are consistent with OMH Guidelines

• Provide resources:
  • Space
  • Travel expenses/vehicles
  • Communications equipment

• Establish mechanisms to:
  • Maintain clinical records
  • Bill Medicaid and monitor revenue
  • Insure on-going quality improvement

• Certification process encourages successful outcomes by incorporating fidelity measures into the certification standards
• Certification process is seen as an opportunity to provide technical assistance

• Provide ACT Core Training
• Provide consultants to each new ACT team
• Provide an assessment of the status of each existing ACT team and a plan to assist these teams as they convert to licensed ACT teams
• Provide opportunities for staff to view ACT team process at selected shadow sites
• Provide forms for collecting outcome data (required at admission and updated every 6 months)
• Provide training opportunities as other evidence-based practices are implemented