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Georgia and the Dept of Justice Reach a Settlement!
NAMI-Georgia and NAMI-National have worked diligently with the Department of Justice during its investigation, informing Georgians regarding the ongoing investigation, and facilitating access to Department of Justice contact information for all citizens. Throughout this process, we have been impressed by the dedication and diligence of the Justice Department’s investigators, acting within the scope of their statutory authority. We joined with other advocacy and stakeholder groups to form the ‘Amici’ represented by the Bazelon Center and the Georgia Advocacy Office, which had a significant impact on the form and content of the final settlement agreement. During the enforcement phase of this case, we (the Amici) plan to continue to assist the Department of Justice and the DBHDD in its efforts to help Georgia improve its system of care.
The settlement that has been reached between the State of Georgia and the US Dept. of Justice is a good start. For adult mental health, the agreement targets 9000 of the most severely impacted individuals, focusing on people leaving the hospitals. This approach is consistent with NAMI Georgia's Opening Doors to Recovery Project just beginning in Region 5 (Coastal Georgia).
The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities has developed proposed budgets for 2011 and 2012 which include increases to comply with the settlement agreement. With every other department in the state being asked to cut 6 - 12%, we will need to fight hard and long during the legislative session to support what is essentially a 12% INCREASE to the Dept.’s budget. The Amici worked together during the settlement phase, and will continue to have a significant impact on the implementation phase. The work is not over.
Below are some highlights of the settlement agreement as given by the Georgia Advocacy Office, which was one of the Amici in the case along with NAMI Georgia and others:
- The settlement agreement holds the promise that Georgia will finally have a functional system for serving people with mental illness and people with developmental disabilities in the community. Across the nation, people with disabilities, their advocates, and all the other experts agree that people with disabilities can and should live in their homes and communities just like everyone else. It’s more cost-effective to provide services to people with disabilities in the community than in the hospitals. Treatment for mental illness and substance abuse is more effective when it’s delivered in the community – with no decrease in public safety. And people with disabilities can and do work, go to school, and live independently, just like everyone else, with the appropriate supports.
- Under this agreement, the hospitals will no longer be the sole point of entry for people with mental illness into Georgia’s public mental health system. People with mental illness will be able to access community-based crisis services when they need inpatient or acute care. They’ll also have a chance to access the types of long-term supports – like supported housing, supported employment, and intensive case management – they need to maintain healthy, independent lives in the community.
- The agreement also includes a commitment to expand peer support services, a nationally-recognized model started right here in Georgia in which people with mental illness help each other to manage symptoms and access services. What is notably absent was family supports, which were in earlier versions. As Dr. Peter Buckley, with the Medical College of Georgia, demonstrated in his research, people who have the positive support of their families have a FIVE FOLD DECREASE in re-hospitalization rates. The settlement agreement is all about keeping folks out of the hospital.
- Elizabeth Jones, a nationally recognized expert in public mental health systems for people with developmental disabilities and people with mental illness, will be an independent monitor in the case, to work with the State as it implements the agreement.
- As people with mental illness, family members, advocates, and stakeholders, we believe this agreement is a good start, and it the result of years of intensive negotiations. A lot of people from across Georgia and across the nation helped make this happen. But this is just the beginning – we’ll continue to work together with the State and the Department of Justice to ensure that Georgia makes the promise of this agreement a reality. The stakes are just too high – it’s crucial that people with mental illness in Georgia get the services they need in order to stay in their homes and communities and live productive, independent lives.
Supporting Documents
Download the New Settlement Agreement
Download the Original Settlement Agreement
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