Glossary of Terms for the Mental Health Services Act

A "whatever it takes" program to end homelessness, incarceration and psychiatric hospitalization for adults with severe mental illness, and to support consumers in recovery and self-sufficiency. It is supported by non-Medi-Cal, flexible funding. This flexible funding sustains formerly homeless people in housing by providing housing subsidies, rental assistance, a range of comprehensive integrated services and intensive staff support. Peer support services are offered by consumers who are well into their recovery and have been in the public mental health system. AB2034 Programs were funded to support the "cultural shift" that must take place for real cultural change to take place in the individual, program and system levels. These programs were identified as a national model for delivering services to homeless people with severe mental illness. The MHSA's Full Service Partnership model was based on the AB2034 Program.

Accessible Services

Services that are affordable, available and sensitive to individual needs and cultural values.

Assessment

A service that is based on a method of interview, observation, and testing. This service may include a clinical analysis of the history and current status of a client or patient's mental, emotional or behavior disorder, relevant cultural issues and history, diagnosis, and the use of testing procedures.

CCMH

Consumer

Any individual who receives mental health supports or services to improve the quality of his or her life. A person who experiences psychiatric symptoms, or has experienced symptoms in the past.

Consumer Driven

Means that consumers have the primary decision-making role regarding their mental health and related care:

Co-Occurring MH/AOD Disorders

An individual with a mental health disorder and an Alcohol and/or Other Drug abuse disorder.

CSOC

CSS

Community Supports and Services the category of MHSA funding under which Full Service Partnerships and System Development Activities are funded.

Cultural Competence

Cultural competence is a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among consumer providers, family member providers, and professionals that enables that system, agency or those professionals, consumer providers, and family member providers to work effectively in cross-cultural situations. (Source: DMH Cultural Competence Plan Requirement adapted from Cross, Bazron, Dennis, and Isaac, Towards a Culturally Competent System of Care, Volume I, 1998.) Cultural competence includes language competence and views cultural and language competent programs and services as methods for elimination of racial and ethnic mental health disparities. There is a clear focus on improved quality and effectiveness of services. Service providers understand and utilize the strengths of culture in service delivery.

DMH

Early Intervention

Usually joined in phrase with the term Prevention, it means providing services or treatment early on at the onset of an illness with the goal of reducing the severity and/or duration of the disorder. Sometimes also called Secondary Prevention.

EPSDT

The Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment service is Medicaid's comprehensive and preventative child health program for individuals under the age of 21. It covers some screenings and diagnostic tests, and covers treatment for some conditions. It is usually used in tandem with MediCal (Medicaid).

Family Centered Services

Services that are designed to meet the specific needs of each individual child and their family.

Family Driven

A system of care that involves the family of a youth/consumer in the process of assessment, identifying treatment options and developing a treatment plan that is based on and adapted to the youth/consumer's individual needs.

Family Member

An individual who is now or was in the past, either primary caregiver or a concerned and involved person who provides a significant level of support to a person who is living with a mental illness.

Family/Consumer Involvement

One of the five major concepts of MHSA that calls for a client-driven mental health system for older adults, adults, and transition-aged youth, and a family-driven system of care for children and youth.

Family Partners

Parents who have had similar experiences, who support families with children facing mental health disorders, using skills gained through education, experience and personal understanding. Family Partners provide advocacy and information, give moral support, and offer support groups and trainings. In the context of MHSA, Family Partners participate on the Integrated Service Teams.

FSP

Full Service Partnership - The core structure for service delivery under the Mental Health Services Act. The FSP approach is guided by a Recovery or Resiliency vision and a "whatever it takes" approach to supports and services. It is modeled after the AB2034 program. It includes supports and services guided by the Personal Service Coordinator (PSC), who is backed by an Integrated Services Team (IST), following an individualized, person-centered, Recovery or Care Plan.

Individual Service Plan (ISP)

A person- or family-directed plan of care developed with the assistance of the interdisciplinary team to maximize the consumer/child's recovery or resiliency.

Innovation

New and creative approaches and programs that increase access, quality of services and/or collaboration. With innovative services, it is important to identify the desired outcomes and to measure the effectiveness of new efforts in achieving those outcomes.

Integrated Services

Services that are "seamless" to clients, where clients do not have to negotiate multiple agencies and funding sources to get critical needs met and to move towards recovery and develop resiliency. The integrated service experience centers on the individual/family, uses a strength-based approach, and includes multi-agency programs and joint planning to best address the individual/family's needs using the full range of community-based treatment, case management, and interagency system components required.

Lead Agency

When a collaborative - or group of agencies - applies to provide a particular service or set of services, the Lead Agency is the organization that is the actual contractor and fiscal agent for those services. This lead agency is then required to meet specific fiscal, insurance and reporting requirements related to the contract. Lead agencies are usually required to have greater experience in handling contracts than other agencies in the collaborative.

LGBT

MHSA

Outreach and Engagement

The act of building relationships in order to extend services or assistance to those in the community who may benefit from care but who have not, or have not been able to, come forth and seek it. Outreach and engagement can be one component of an overall approach to reducing ethnic disparities.

Peer Providers

Individuals who have experience as consumers in the public mental health system who provide supports to others in the system - contributing significantly to the recovery culture and client orientation of the service system.

Personal Services Coordinator (PSC)

An individual member of the Integrated Services Team who develops a relationship with, and provides primary support to, the Full Service Partner (consumer). This includes facilitating the development of a person- or child-centered recovery or care plan, and coordinating "whatever it takes" to access the supports and services necessary to support the individual consumer or child/family to achieve the goals of their plan. This position replaces the role of case managers in more traditional services.

Prevention

Interventions that reduce the likelihood of an onset of a serious illness or disorder.

Recovery

A process in which mental health clients learn how to self-direct their lives and mental health, regain hope and optimism, and reclaim positive social experiences beyond the mental health system.

Resilience

The enduring ability of someone to recover from assaults to their person, whether physical, mental or emotional and, in the midst of that, maintain a sense of spirit and hope.

Seriously Emotionally Disturbed (SED)

Diagnosable disorders in children and adolescents that severely disrupt their daily functioning at home, school or community.

Serious Mental Illness

Illness in individuals over the age of 18 who currently have, or at any time during the past year had a diagnosable mental behavioral or emotional disorder of sufficient duration to meet diagnostic criteria specified within DSM-IV or their ICD-9 equivalent with the exception of DSM-IV "V" codes, substance use disorders, and developmental disorders, which are excluded unless they co-occur with another diagnosable serious illness. Such illness has resulted in functional impairment, which substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.

Stigma

A mark or token of infamy, disgrace or reproach. Stigmatization of people with mental disorders has persisted throughout history, manifested by bias, distrust, stereotyping, fear, embarrassment, anger and/or avoidance.

Supplant

"To take the place of." MHSA funds cannot take the place of and serve as a substitute for (or replace) exiting state or county funds utilized to provide mental health services.

Supportive Housing

System Development Funds

One of three categories of MHSA funding used to improve services and infrastructure for county mental health programs, which can benefit all clients.

System of Care

A multi-disciplinary, multi-agency delivery system of supports and services that supports a consumer through a continuum of care and that uses a "person first" approach to build on the strengths of the person being served and his or her support system.

TAY

Uniform Method of Determining Ability to Pay (UMPDAP)

Sliding fee scale used by counties to calculate the amount charged to a client for services. Calculated as an annual amount based on a client's income and assets.

Unserved or Underserved/Inappropriately Served

Individuals that have received no services or are receiving inadequate services to meet their needs.

WRAP

Wellness Recovery Action Plan - Plans authored by consumers to draw on their strengths, to increase self-care and support. The WRAP advances wellness, prevents escalation of symptoms, and promotes successful recovery from crises. Consumers work in collaboration with peers to create and use their individualized, unique WRAP plans.

Wraparound

A family centered, community-oriented, strengths-based, highly individualized planning process aimed at helping people achieve important outcomes by meeting their unmet needs both within and outside of formal human services systems while they remain in their neighborhoods and homes, whenever possible.

This glossary was compiled by Contra Costa Mental Health using information from the California Department of Mental Health, the Santa Barbara County Department of Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Services, Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services and other sources.
Last update: 10/14/2006

Content provided by Contra Costa County Mental Health Division of Contra Costa Health Services.

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