December 15, 2003
December 15, 2003
LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today announced that she has appointed the state’s first commission designed to recommend sweeping changes in both the delivery of service and effectiveness of Michigan’s mental health network.
The Michigan Mental Health Commission, a temporary body appointed by executive order, will meet in 2004 to re-evaluate the state’s publicly-funded mental health system with the ultimate goal of using its recommendations to transform Michigan’s mental health system into a national model. The commission will be comprised of mental health consumers, advocates, providers, representatives from law enforcement and the courts, policymakers, and the public.
"Michigan’s publicly supported mental health system must be committed to providing adequate and appropriate care to citizens who need our assistance," Granholm said. "Over the last 50 years, mental health has radically changed from a system organized around large, state-operated institutions to one that is now community-based. I expect that the commission’s recommendations will be fiscally balanced, pragmatic, and build consensus among mental health professionals, policymakers, families, and consumers."
Granholm said Michigan’s public health system must:
provide adequate and appropriate mental health care for adults and children with serious mental illness or serious emotional disturbances;
involve consumers and families in the decision-making process;
ensure timely access to care;
foster quality and excellence in service delivery;
provide service in an effective and fiscally accountable manner.
"Our system of mental health services is at a critical crossroads," said Janet D. Olszewski, Director of the Michigan Department of Community Health, who will serve as a non-voting member of the commission. "The diverse makeup of the Michigan Mental Health Commission ensures that input from all interested parties will be heard as we address the challenges facing mental health services."
The commission will be staffed by personnel from the Michigan Department of Community Health with assistance from Public Sector Consultants of Lansing. The Flinn Foundation of Detroit has contributed $220,000 to facilitate the commission’s work.
Currently, 13 states have convened either temporary mental health commissions (10) or permanent standing bodies (3) that analyze the way states deliver mental health services to their citizens. Additionally, the federal government has just completed a national examination of mental health policies and practices (the "New Freedom Mental Health Commission").
According to Olszewski, developments in medication and treatment methods over the last 50 years have also marked a positive shift in the way society views people with serious mental illnesses. In the 1990s, the State of Michigan closed six state psychiatric hospitals for adults and five psychiatric hospitals for children.
"No matter how we choose to deliver services to the mentally ill, we must work to protect our most vulnerable citizens, especially children," Granholm said. "As we move toward improving Michigan’s mental health safety net, it must be noted that it would be impossible to take on this important project without the support of the Flinn Foundation which has so generously contributed to this effort."
Mental Health Commission Members
U.S. Congressman Sander Levin – non-voting member
State Senator Bev Hammerstrom (R-Temperance)
State Senator Gilda Jacobs (D-Huntington Woods)
State Representative Andy Meisner (D-Ferndale)
State Representative Fran Amos (R-Waterford)
Patrick Babcock of Lansing, Director of Public Policy – Kellogg Foundation
Mark Reinstein of Ann Arbor, President and CEO – Mental Health Association
David Sprey of Grand Ledge, parent
Kathryn Lynnes of Grand Rapids, President – Brainstorm
Elizabeth Bauer of Birmingham, member – State Board of Education
Nick Ciaramitaro of Roseville, Director of Legislation and Public Policy – AFSCME
Waltraud (Wally) Prechter of Grosse Ile, President – Prechter Fund for Manic Depression
Guadalupe Lara of Detroit, Mgr., Conflict Management and Diversity Initiatives – Children’s Hospital of Michigan
Sara M. Stech of Ingham County, Social Worker
Joan Jackson of East Lansing, Director – East Lansing Center for the Family
Rick Haverkate of Sault Ste. Marie, Director – Inter Tribal Council, Health Services
William Allen of DeWitt, Executive Director, Oakland County CMHA
Jeff Patton of Kalamazoo, Executive Director, Kalamazoo CMHS
Samir Mashni of Detroit, Attorney and Chair, Wayne County CMH Board
Alexis Kaczynski of Charlevoix, Director – North County CMH
Bill Gill of Muskegon, Muskegon County Commissioner
Wayne County Judge Milton Mack
Chippewa County Prosecutor Brian Peppler
Donna Orin of Washtenaw, Director – Creative Connections
Roberta Sanders of Detroit, CEO – New Center CMHS
Tom Carli of Ann Arbor, Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry, U of M
Michele Reid of Detroit, Medical Director – Detroit-Wayne County CMHA
Rajiv Tandon of Ann Arbor, Professor of Psychiatry, U of M
Maxine Thome of East Lansing, Executive Director, Michigan Association of Social Workers
Michigan Department of Community Health Director, non-voting member
Michigan Family Independence Agency Director, non-voting member
Michigan Department of Corrections Director, non-voting member
Michigan Superintendent of Public Instruction, non-voting member
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