Behavioral Health Office of Consumer Affairs

Promoting the "Voice" of Recovery for People With Mental Health/Substance Abuse Challenges

Location

The Office of Consumer Affairs, is located at Broward Regional Health Planning Council, Inc., a 501(c3) not for profit organization, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It is the only state funded Office of Consumer Affairs staffed by consumers of the mental health and substance abuse services in the state of Florida. It is contracted/funded/supported by the Florida State Department of Children and Families' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Program Office of District 10.

What We Are About

The office is unique in that all of our staff are persons in mental health/substance abuse recovery, making them qualified advocates with expertise in dealing with mental health and substance abuse system problems. We represent the “voice” of recovery for people currently receiving mental health/substance or in need of in Broward County. We promote access to and quality of services of the Behavioral Health Care System with the input we receive from this population in the community. The office is designed as a resource center for recipients of services in the behavioral health system for promoting self-help, recovery, and empowerment through an extensive information/referral system and program evaluation.

Our Vision

That all people who receive services from the state funded or licensed substance abuse and mental health system of Broward County are gainfully included and represented on all levels of the behavioral healthcare system

Our Mission

The mission of the Office of Consumer Affairs is to create an atmosphere where people that receive substance abuse and/or mental health services have input into the behavioral healthcare delivery system in Broward County. The office is built on the principles of erasing stigma and changing inaccurate perceptions. We believe that we must act justly for people that have or have had mental, emotional, or substance abuse issues by supporting their right to seek recovery from those problems.

Organizational Profile

• To administer and coordinate a customer recovery team that assesses satisfaction and recovery-focus services all district mental health, substance abuse, and foster care agencies serving both children and adults, using small group sessions or individual surveys to obtain feedback.

• To take individual complaints regarding rights issues, program satisfaction and quality of life issues.

• To provide technical assistance to organizations in their efforts to develop recovery-centered programs and services.

• To participate in a range of initiatives and activities to insure that people receiving services are represented in the publicly funded behavioral health care system.

• To design training on recovery related issues for people receiving services in the system.

• To serve as clearinghouse for information, referrals, and recovery resources including a library with books, articles, as well as audio and videotapes.

• To assist with policy development at local, state and national levels.

• To act as a consultant to the Department of Children and Families regarding issues concerning people that receive substance abuse or mental health services from state funded/licensed agencies.

• To assist children and their families in the foster care system.

• To advocate that people in the behavioral health care system are treated with the dignity and humanity due to all human beings, despite mental health or/and substance abuse diagnosis.

• To achieve the best possible recovery-based community behavioral health system for service recipients based upon their experiences and perspectives.

• To promote primary and secondary customer input into the affairs of all behavioral health providers.

• To provide a forum for exchanging information to end stigma in the fields of mental illness and substance abuse.

We are a "Best Practice" Model

We are proud to say that our Office of Consumer Affairs located in Broward County, Florida is adopted from the national best practices model, "Offices of Consumer Affairs: A Pathway to Effective Public Mental Health Services", November 2000, from the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors. We have all six primary areas of responsibility of the best practice model incorporated into our program:

1. Policy and regulation development

2. Program planning

3. Evaluation

4. Educating/training consumers/family members/professionals/public

5. Input into the funding and advocacy involvement in contract management of agencies

6. Addressing complaints and grievances

We also have, based on the same model, all six core elements of a successful Office of Consumer Affairs:

1. Establishment, planning and hiring supported by and involve consumers/survivors

2. Directed by a self-identified consumer/survivor

3. Is a part of senior management team

4. Has an adequate support system in place and ongoing

5. Serves as a systems change agent,

6. Does not relieve other senior management staff from interacting with consumers/survivors

Adopted from the same model, we also promote the expansion of self-help and consumer-operated programs by supporting initiatives such as: certification and training for Peer Specialists, creation of program guidelines for drop-in centers, promoting consumer networking relationships with the Broward Drop-in Center Association and the Southeast Florida Drop-in Center Association, consumer-run businesses and other consumer-run initiatives.

Some Areas of Focus

Some of the areas we focus on to enhance the lives of consumers and not limited to: "Recovery Dialogues", advocacy, mental health advance directives, consumer choice, co-occurring disorder issues, integration of the mental health system with the substance abuse system, de-criminalization of mental illness issues, cultural diversity, advocacy against unnecessary use of ECT, employment, entitlements, homelessness, housing, involuntary treatment issues, restraint/seclusion, stigma/discrimination, consumer rights, quality assurance, partnerships, providers, The Florida "Elimination of Barriers Initiative", elimination of stigma, program satisfaction, resource development, women's issues, and trauma.