Friday, November 22, 2024
11/22/2024
Montgomery Area Mental Health Authority, Inc., D/B/A Carastar Health, will implement the Carastar Health Assisted Outpatient Treatment Program for Individuals with Serious Mental Illness using a highly individualized, multi-disciplinary approach to increase engagement and reduce recidivism to hospitalization and arrest. Priority is given to individuals who are high utilizers of the crisis system of care, and in particular, services support recovery for individuals experiencing homelessness. The program seeks to empower recipients to direct their own treatment, even while court-ordered into care. Carastar recognizes that having the choice to drive one’s own change efforts can result in positive outcomes and increase the likelihood of continuing the recovery journey beyond the expiration of the outpatient commitment order. Services do not rely on targeting only behavioral health concerns but on recognizing and serving the holistic needs of the individual. Choice of services draw from an array of evidence-based, multi-modal services that address a range of psychosocial needs. The program is a collaboration of agencies with a unified goal of access to care for a complex population. So often, deficits in areas such as housing, social connectedness and employment contribute to the lack of insight and lack of resources to connect with behavioral health services. These factors contribute to poor physical health, poor support networks, increased likelihood for substance abuse, homelessness, incarceration and hospitalization. Individuals discharging from an inpatient commitment often return to the same poor support networks, triggering environments, and lack of resources. Individuals experiencing homelessness are a priority population due to their elevated risk for poor health, poor engagement, and repeated involvement with the crisis system and law enforcement with low rates of follow-through. The program links individuals under an outpatient commitment order to the services and supports that can immediately meet needs, increase support and self-reliance, and teach recipients how to manage their own recovery. Services are designed to teach recipients facts about their diagnosis and link them to components of recovery. Recipients are shown that education about their symptoms and recovery can reduce stigma so that they or their supports are more likely to stay engaged. Alabama law allows for individuals discharging from inpatient commitment to be transitioned into the community under an outpatient commitment. This program targets individuals in Montgomery, Alabama, who are at the highest risk for re-hospitalization or arrest, either those who are ordered to inpatient commitment and preparing for discharge, or individuals being evaluated as part of the petition process who might not meet criteria for inpatient treatment but will otherwise deteriorate without treatment. The success in this program will be driven by community partnerships. Just as our recipients can better recover if connected to roots within the community, Carastar’s connections provide a catalyst for change within the River Region. Three years ago, Carastar submitted for and received funding for one of the first crisis diversion centers in Alabama. Since the implementation of the center, Carastar has facilitated monthly community planning meeting that has robust involvement from such partners as local hospitals, homeless shelters, probate courts, law enforcement who are CIT-trained, and other partnering agencies. Our community has worked tirelessly to increase our crisis response for behavioral health emergencies, and this project is a natural next step. The expected outcomes of this program will show that recipients who are invested in their own treatment and are able to successfully attain goals will gain the insight, supports, and self-empowerment necessary to continue the recovery journey once the court order has lifted.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
