WICHE Mental Health Report

June 04, 2007
Volume 1, Number 5

RECENT ISSUES: Feb 2007 . March 2007 . April 2007 . May 2007

In this Issue:

• InFocus: Introduction to Workforce
• Selected Highlights of Recent Staff Activities
• FYI
• Job Opportunities

InFocus: Introduction to Workforce

The previous regular issue presented an overview of the three major barriers to effective mental health care in rural America, Availability, Accessibility, and Acceptability. Here, we focus on the components of determining the availability of mental health providers in rural areas.

At any given time, the availability of behavioral health professionals is determined by the prevalence of behavioral health disorders and the number and location of professionals to provide services. Ideally, an adequate workforce has the right number of experienced and skilled people in the right jobs at the right time to meet the present needs of the population.

Prevalence rates are based on epidemiological studies of populations, while the number and location of professionals is based on the interplay of education and occupation trends. Both are estimates and are constantly shifting in response to a large number of variables.

Thus, establishing and sustaining an effective mental health workforce (i.e. Availability) involves several components:

• A profile of present population and demographics;
• An estimation of the prevalence of mental illness;
• An analysis of the professional occupations available to serve the community;
• A picture of the higher education programs designed to supply well-trained professionals.

Each of these four components interrelates, and changes to one component affect the others. For instance, large and rapid increases in population can translate into greater numbers of people with behavioral health problems. However, it can also mean increased numbers of people available to enter the behavioral health field as clinicians. Thus, it is important to study previous trends to project future courses. More importantly, these projections allow decision-makers to identify potential avenues of growth, as well as barriers and means of overcoming them.

Next month's issue will focus on the mental health issues of the deaf and hard of hearing populations in rural areas. The discussion on the three major barriers to effective mental health care will resume in August.

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Selected Highlights of Recent Staff Activities

WICHE Mental Health Program officially welcomes Debra Kupfer to our ranks. Ms. Kupfer brings her extensive knowledge of mental health systems and public policy to complement our staff roster. She is the ongoing president and CEO of Healthcare Systems Consulting, LLC where she consults on behavioral health projects and activities within Colorado and other states. Ms. Kupfer was a former Commissioner of the Colorado Division of Mental Health from 2004 to 2006. Prior to that, she was the Deputy Director and Planner for eight years in the Colorado Division of Mental Health. She received her Masters Degree in Management of Healthcare Systems from the University of Denver in 1980. Ms. Kupfer can be contacted at dkupfer@wiche.edu

Debra Kupfer, MHS

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FYI

New Report on the Future of Disability in America
The Future of Disability in America, a new report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, examines the pros and cons of continuing barriers that limit the independence, productivity, and participation in community life of people with disabilities. This book offers a comprehensive look at a wide range of issues, including the prevalence of disability across the lifespan; disability trends; the role of assistive technology; barriers posed by health care and other facilities with inaccessible buildings, equipment, and information formats; the needs of young people moving from pediatric to adult health care and of adults experiencing premature aging and secondary health problems; selected issues in health care financing (e.g., risk adjusting payments to health plans, coverage of assistive technology); and the organizing and financing of disability-related research. The Future of Disability in America is an assessment of both principles and scientific evidence for disability policies and services. This book's recommendations propose steps to eliminate barriers and strengthen the evidence base for future public and private actions to reduce the impact of disability on individuals, families, and society.

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Grants.gov Newsletter

Access the power of Grants.gov by checking out this newsletter. Please feel free to distribute it or repost it to your own website as an information resource for your grant communities. If you have any questions or would like assistance in getting the Grants.gov word out to benefit your agency and grant community please contact them at support@grants.gov .

Spring Edition 2007 of the Grant.gov Newletter

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Help develop a National Comprehensive Library & Resource Center for client and family driven educational materials that promote wellness and recovery principles

The CalMEND Program is a consumer focused, evidence-driven effort to develop and test a mental health care management program to assist California state agencies providing mental health services and supports. The CalMEND Client/Family Subcommittee is in the process of developing an exciting new resource for all involved in the provision of public mental health services: a Comprehensive Library & Resource Center for client and family driven educational materials that promote wellness and recovery principles. In addition to providing descriptions of all materials represented in this library, we will also provide an evaluation of each document or program in terms of its method of development, evidence-basis, cultural competence, and congruence with system transformation. As it should for others developing wellness/recovery oriented programs, this library will help us identify existing educational materials and programs to reference in the CalMEND Care Management Program.

In order to develop this compendium, we are requesting your assistance: for any client/family educational material you or your organization has developed, please complete the survey at the link below. This is a paperless ‘Zoomerang’ survey that will allow you to respond online. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey for each of your educational materials or programs so that we may include them (or references to them) in our comprehensive library. We realize some materials are proprietary in nature, so we will honor any associated rights to them by contacting you to request your permission/involvement in our use of them.

Click here to go to the Zoomerang Website

Please feel free to forward this message and survey to any colleague or agency that may also have developed recovery-oriented educational materials.

We thank you in advance for your help in our assembly of a comprehensive library that will be useful to anyone interested in finding existing educational materials and programs for clients and their family members served in the public mental health system!

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Alice J. Washington, awashington@cimh.org or Odette Chenoweth, ochenoweth@cimh.org.

California Institute for Mental Health * 2125 19th Street, 2nd Floor * Sacramento, CA  95818 * TEL:  (916) 556-3480 * FAX:  (916) 556-3483

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