2005-2009 Statewide Comprehensive Plan for Mental Health Service Services
Commissioner's Message

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Over the past year, the hallmark 2004-2008 Statewide Comprehensive Plan for Mental Health Services has created strong momentum toward advancing OMH's quality agenda. The intent of OMH to provide energetic, innovative and transparent approaches to quality and stakeholder collaboration has taken on new meaning. Participants in the planning process have applauded the data-rich content of the Plan. This new depth of information and the key questions posed in the Plan have created a platform for discussing actions necessary to address some of the more difficult challenges we face. For example, we participated with a NYC-based group of general hospitals to streamline the long-standing referral processes that impeded easy access to our State psychiatric hospital beds, we commissioned a broadly representative coalition of people who use mental health services to craft a first-of-its kind white paper, "Infusing Recovery-Based Principles into Mental Health Service," and we partnered with the Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors in their efforts to reach consensus about priorities for planning, target populations, and service needs.

I have several new insights to share as a result of my personal efforts this year to reach out and engage the large community of those interested in the State's public mental health system. First, people are "hungry" for information and for their voices to be heard. Second, building a new, comprehensive, inclusive planning process in the State is not something that emerges quickly. It is a developmental process that we have made a strong beginning towards since the publication of last year's Plan. Our challenge in this year's Plan is to continue to fuel the positive energy and momentum we have built. The 2005-2009 Statewide Comprehensive Plan is meant to do just this. It is not intended as a stand-alone document, but as a complement to last year's work. While we have intentionally not re-surfaced content that is readily available to you, I know that you will be pleased with this year's Plan.

In this 2005-2009 Plan, OMH has operationalized the agency's strategic planning framework by creating a set of priorities that will guide its operations over this planning horizon and well into the future. This set of measurable goals is the agency's "strategic plan," which is presented for the first time in this year's Plan. OMH will seek public input for this initiative through our planning process and will regularly report on progress related to achieving its goals. Having a strategic plan does not preclude OMH from continuing all ongoing efforts at advancing key initiatives, but it does serve to focus attention on a concise set of pivotal activities to address our priorities.

Our strategic plan serves as a guidepost for agency executives to develop and oversee a targeted set of management activities, several of which become the basis for resource allocation, and initiation of new planning activities. By concluding our 2005-2009 Statewide Comprehensive Plan with our strategic plan and next steps for performance improvement, we intend to conclude with a new beginning - an informed, interactive planning process based on performance measurement.

In each of its nine chapters, this document provides further evidence of OMH's commitment to quality and pursuit of excellence. The 2005-2009 Plan begins with restatements of the agency's commitment to quality. We then provide an overview of the public mental health system and describe 2004 planning outreach efforts and stakeholder input. We continue describing our commitment to quality by highlighting recent work done by OMH in basic, clinical and services research, and provide in-depth explanations of growing policy interest in childhood anxiety and depression, in people who are in prison and require mental health services, and in preventing suicide. The Plan concludes with our approach to performance improvement through use of a strategic plan and an ongoing performance measurement process.

As you read through this Plan, you may consult the 2004-2008 Plan which complements this document and serves as a valuable reference guide. We have released this 2005-2009 Plan in conjunction with our agency's 2005-2006 Executive Budget and legislative agenda. We anticipate your interest and encourage public participation in the important discussions that will surround this statewide planning initiative in the upcoming legislative session.

Sharon E. Carpinello, RN, PhD
Commissioner
NYS Office of Mental Health

Comments or questions about the information on this page can be directed to the Office of Planning.