Mental Health's Children's Programs a Success

COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES

Department of Mental Health

550 S. Vermont Avenue

Los Angeles, California 90020

Marvin J. Southard, D.S.W., Director

William T Fujioka Chief Executive Officer

 

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

November 1, 2010

 

	CONTACT:  Kathleen Piche, LCSW 213-738-4041 kpiche@dmh.lacounty.gov

 

 

 

 

 

Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health’s

Children’s Programs a Success

Data Analysis Shows the County’s Child FSP Programs Are Effective in Helping Families 

 

Los Angeles, CA – The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) has released findings on the effectiveness of the Full Service Partnership (FSP) programs for children.

 

Data analysis shows:

• Nearly 40% fewer children require acute psychiatric hospitalization while enrolled in a Child FSP program.
• The amount of uninsured and underinsured families (with children ages 0-5), who have benefitted from Child FSP programs and all other LACDMH services has doubled since 2005. 
• More than 80% of families were highly satisfied with the services and treatment they received while participating in the programs.

 

The Child FSP programs, funded by the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), are designed to assist families to live independently through the help of case managers and community-based resources.  FSP teams provide 24/7 crisis services, and develop plans with families to do whatever it takes to help them achieve their goals – from finding jobs and housing to seeking treatment.  Families are referred to Child FSP programs through schools, the courts or the Department of Children and Family Services.

 

"These results show that intensive investments in services for children with mental health issues pay off in the children having better lives. This is what MHSA was meant to achieve," said LACDMH Director, Marvin Southard, D.S.W.

 

 

(More)

Press Release – LACDMH Child FSP Report

October 28, 2010 – Page 2

 

 

 

LACDMH’s Countywide Child MHSA Program Administration prepared the report by collecting data from April 2009 to June 2010.  The results were based on:

• Site visits to all 28 Child FSP legal entity providers
• Input from contract-agency and directly-operated FSP staff and administrators
• Input from Service Area Navigators
• Analysis of data elements
• Surveys from families who have received or are currently receiving Child FSP services

 

To ensure the success of MHSA-funded programs, routine performance evaluations and rigorous outcome measures are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness.

 

“These types of outcomes are proof that LA County’s mental health system truly is undergoing the transformation necessary to promote hope, wellness and recovery to our clients and families,” stated Bryan Mershon, LACDMH District Chief, Children’s Systems of Care.

 

 

The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health is the largest county-operated mental health department in the United States, directly operating 75 program sites and more than 100 co-located sites.  Each year, it contracts with approximately 1,000 agencies and individual practitioners to provide a spectrum of mental health services to more than 250,000 residents of all ages.  The Department’s mission -- enriching lives through partnership to strengthen our community’s capacity to support recovery and resiliency – is accomplished by working with stakeholders and community partners to provide clinically competent, culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate mental health services to clients in the least restrictive manner possible.

 

 

###