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San Bernardino ACT Hosts July 20th Celebration of Recovey
July 18, 2006
On July 20th, 2006, San Bernardino ACT will host a "Celebration of Recovery" in honor of the recent NACo Achievement Award bestowed on San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health for this successful program. County leaders, program staff, and Telecare executives will be on hand to celebrate at the event.
The award recognizes counties for creative, innovative program development and implementation. This year's winners represent 27 states and 95 counties.
Since January 2003, the program has made a tremendous impact on clients' lives. More clients are now living successfully in the community and pursuing lives of their own choosing. Simultaneously, the program is saving the County $1.2 million annually, through reduced hospitalizations and use of locked facilities.
Telecare is proud to be a part of this tremendous program and its ongoing work to support individuals in recovery from serious mental illness. Congratulations to everyone who helps make this work possible every single day.
National Association of Counties (NACo) 2006 Achievement Award Winner
San Bernardino County: Assertive Community Treatment Program
The San Bernardino's ACT Program is based on the thoroughly researched and successful Assertive Community Treatment model first developed in Wisconsin in the 1970s.
The San Bernardino ACT program builds on the traditional ACT model in that it is focused not on traditional mental health treatment but on recovery from mental illness. Members drive decisions regarding the nature of interventions and determine their directions in life and in treatment. The treatment team's job is to assist in identifying members' strengths, dreams and wishes and to provide support, training, education, housing, medication, and "whatever it takes" in order to see those goals realized.
In a recovery-centered program such as this one, ACT staff work in partnership with each client, stating, in effect: "Tell us what you would like to do with your life and we will do whatever we can to help you make that happen." In contrast to the classic medical model of treatment in which the doctor and staff know best and tell the patient what he/she must do, recovery is based on the client rebuilding (or in some cases building for the very first time) a meaningful life of his/her choosing.
Program Objective
Move as many as possible of the 100 referred clients out of locked and structured settings and into the community, living in licensed board and care homes, room and board facilities, or in apartments or homes with family and friends. Further, provide clients with such a network of support and intervention that their need for crisis psychiatric hospitalization would decrease, thus reducing the stigma of being a mentally ill person who "can't make it" on the outside.
Program Facts & Results
- Began providing services to clients on January 23, 2003
- 100 clients were initially referred to the program; 70 were in locked facilities, 30 were in unlocked board and care facilities with extra staff (paid by the county)
- Today, 93 have left those facilities and are living in the community.
- Clients measures of success, including employment, satisfaction rating, community functioning and successful community living abilities are becoming steadily stronger.
- The program is saving the county $1.2 million annually, having reduced hospitalizations and use of locked facilities.
About NACo
The National Association of Counties (NACo) was created in 1935 when county officials wanted to have a strong voice in the nation's capital. More than six decades later, NACo continues to ensure that the nation's 3066 counties are heard and understood in the White House and the halls of Congress. NACo's membership totals more than 2,000 counties, representing over 80 percent of the nation's population. NACo understands the importance of strong public-private partnerships and is committed to assisting counties and businesses explore new, innovative ways of working together.
About the "Achievement Award"
NACo's popular Achievement Award is a non-competitive program that recognizes counties for creative and innovative program development and implementation, efficient administrative management of county agencies and responsible government to local citizens. Awards are given in more than 20 categories, ranging from arts and historic preservation to volunteerism. This year's winners represent 27 states and 95 counties. Since the program's inception, NACo has honored hundreds of county government initiatives that have generated professional, well-trained workforces, maintained cost-effective measures and enhanced services to diverse populations to improve the overall quality of life. The Achievement Awards Program gives national recognition to county accomplishments, and has enabled NACo to build a storehouse of county success stories that can be passed on to other counties.
About Telecare
San Bernardino ACT is operated by Telecare Corporation, one of the largest providers of adult mental health services in the country. Based in Alameda, California, Telecare specializes in providing services and supports for individuals with serious mental illness and has over 2,000 employees and more than 50 programs in California, Texas, Nebraska, Oregon and North Carolina. Telecare provides a full spectrum of services, including inpatient and community-based care, case management, assertive community treatment, and residential, crisis and administrative services.
Telecare is an employee-and family-owned organization, with a culture that is open and inclusive. As an organization, Telecare is built on the values of security, growth and partnership:
- Security: having a sense of groundedness and solidity, of having a secure foundation to grow from.
- Growth: the ability to learn, achieve and challenge ourselves, and reach beyond our old limits.
- Partnership: to be of service, to be a part of something, and to contribute our own knowledge and experience to a greater purpose.
