Page 8 - Gracecare Homes Brochure

Opportunity
Consumers and families need Community-based care
The benefits of privatized
Mental health services
For over 50 years, California and other regions have closed state develop- ment institutions due to changes in philosophy on how to best serve con- sumers with disabilities and a strong advocate movement supporting mov- ing people from out-dated institutions into small, private community based residences. In the 1999 Olmstead v. L.C. decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the unnecessary institutionalization of people with disabilities is discrimination under the American’s with Disabilities Act. The Court found that; “Confinement in an institution severely diminishes the everyday life activities of individual; including family relation, social contacts, work options, economic independence, educational advancement, and cultural enrichment.” The President promptly urged implementing the Olmstead decision in his 2001 Executive Order 1321, mobilizing Federal resources
1968
Lanterman-Pretis Short Act Passed requiring a judge to review and sign off on the commitments of patients in mental hos- pitals, greatly reducing the number of com- mitments.
1980
President Jimmy Cart- er signs the Mental Health Systems Act to provide funding in community block grants to states for community health centers to serve those released from the downsized asylums.
2004
Proposition 63, the Mental Health Services Act is passed. The MHSA provides a funding mechanism for county mental health programs by imposing a 1 percent tax on personal in- come of more than $1 million.
in support of this Act. However, today there are still too many adults and children who remain institutionalized instead of in a more appropriate community based setting.
Today, “managed competition” has become the de-facto model of health care delivery in the United States. The mental health system is evolving in
a parallel fashion. State agencies are increasingly delegating management of the mental health delivery system to private companies. Their specialized approaches to managing residential home care facilities and adult day care centers recognize the unique aspects of the delivery of mental health care. The immediate effect is that private for profit companies such as Gracecare Homes, are taking a central role in the implementation of programs for mental health care for people supported by the government.
The standard of service for consumers with developmental disabilities today strongly emphasizes individualized care in small settings with access to mainstream lifestyle activities in the community. The most desirable alternative to long-term care in institutions is in a community-based model of privatized facilities.
CALIFORNIA IS IN AN OPTIMAL POSITION TO IMPLEMENT COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES AS AN OPTION FOR PEOPLE WHO RESIDE IN LARGE INSTITUTIONS.