When Communities Care

Several decades ago in Ohio, people with vision in communities all across the state
believed there was a better way to care for persons with mental illness and addiction.
Through new state laws, they worked to establish systems of local services.

An important benefit to communities, the public system ensures that supports are in
place to care for a vulnerable segment of society. Individuals in crisis receive
professional care which makes communities healthier, safer places for all residents.

Working Together for You

The Mental Health & Recovery Board of Portage County does its job in cooperation
with community, non-profit agencies whose staff work directly with residents. Agencies
offer an array of supports to individuals and families as they work toward recovery.
These include counseling, medication, housing, job training, consultation with schools,
social supports and development of everyday living skills.

To better assist you and your family, the Mental Health & Recovery Board and the
agencies formed the Mental Health & Recovery Network.  Being a "consumer" or
client of the Network means having more resources available to you for treatment.
Changes within the system in the past several years have made it easier for
consumers to have a greater choice as to where they want to be treated.  

Your Success is Our Goal

As you begin services with an organization in the Mental Health & Recovery Network,
we want you to be assured of our primary goal:

Providing people in our community with affordable, quality mental health
and recovery care that helps them find success in everyday life.

Access to Services

When you first call to find assistance with a mental health or substance abuse
problem, you will go through a process called "intake." You will be asked for
information that will help staff find the appropriate supports for you.  If the
services are provided at another agency, staff will connect you with those resources.

Payment

At each agency, a financial specialist will help you determine your fee and make
arrangements for payment. This is usually done during in-take, before services start.
On a general basis, you will be asked about your income, family size, whether you
have medical insurance or whether you are covered by Medicaid or Medicare.
Agencies also accept insurance cards. Some Network agencies and specific
staff professionals are on managed care panels and will work with you to ensure
that your care is covered.

Portage County residents pay for services based on a sliding fee scale according
to income, insurance, size of family and, sometimes, other obligations such as
medical bills. Funding from the Mental Health & Recovery Board goes to agencies
to cover the cost of serving county residents with limited or no incomes. No person
or family is denied assistance because of lack of income.

If you have questions about a bill or payment procedures, please call the financial
office of the agency where you are being treated.

Assurance of Quality

Agencies' services and facilities are regularly reviewed by the Mental Health &
Recovery Board of Portage County, the Ohio Department of Mental Health and the
Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services. The agencies must meet
certain standards of quality in order to operate. Staff who are involved in treating
consumers must also have specific degrees, certifications and training as determined
by the state.

Consumer and Family Involvement

Consumer involvement in treatment planning is encouraged throughout the Network. 
It is a right guaranteed by the state of Ohio. Families are also encouraged to be
involved in the consumer's support where there is no conflict with confidentiality. 
In most cases, the more a family is part of the individual's care, the more progress
can be made.

Consumers and family members can also receive information about joining the
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, a national advocacy group that provides
support and education and influences legislation and public policy on mental
illness issues. Agencies will also have information available for alcohol and
drug abuse support groups, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Ala-non and Ala-teen.

Consumer Responsibilities

The Mental Health & Recovery Network trains staff to respect the rights of
consumers and encourages consumers to maintain certain responsibilities.
The result is a partnership that benefits the consumer and the care he or she
receives from Network agencies.  Part of a consumer's responsibility is to
understand that services are a valuable resource established for the care
and welfare of an entire community. Wise use of this resource means
more adults, teens and children can be helped for years to come.

In order to receive the most benefit from services, the consumer must be part
of the treatment team. This is an area where family members can be involved
by supporting the consumer to follow through on his or her responsibilities. 
Parents of a minor child who is receiving services are required to be part of
the treatment team and oversee the completion of the child's responsibilities.

The consumer's responsibilities are:

• Provide complete and honest information about health care status

• Follow the treatment plan you have helped create with the
  therapist or treatment team

• Complete treatment assignments that you and your therapist
  agree will aid your progress

• Involve family or guardian in aspects of treatment where there
  will be a benefit

• Understand how to access care in routine and emergency situations

• Know your health care benefits or have a family member or legal
  guardian be aware of those benefits

• Attend appointments unless prevented by an emergency

• Follow appointment cancellation procedures required by the
  agency involved in treatment

• Be considerate of the rights of other consumers and agency staff

• Be aware of the client's rights and grievance procedure*

*These rights are fully explained in the document, "Client's Rights Policy and
Grievance Procedure." For the complete document, contact the Mental Health
& Recovery Board of Portage County, 1640 Franklin Ave., Suite 100, P.O.
Box 743, Kent, Ohio  44240. The phone number is 330-673-1756. For
Voice/TTY assistance, call 330-678-4357 or 330-296-2255. Each agency also
has a client's rights officer you may contact.

Confidentiality

Consumers have a right to confidentiality that is endorsed by each agency.
ases are not discussed with any other person unless written permission is
provided by the consumer. There may be times when the information must be
communicated to other staff who become involved in the case, especially if
 there is a strong possibility that a consumer may hurt himself (herself) or
omeone else. Board staff also review cases to verify whether a service has
been provided for billing purposes. In rare instances, disclosure of information
may be required by law, such as in the case of child or older adult abuse.
When the consumer is a minor child, parents or guardians are part of the
treatment team and should be aware of the details of a case.

What to Do if There are Problems with Services

The agencies of the Mental Health & Recovery Network of Portage County
are committed to quality services. However, there are times when consumers,
their families and staff will not agree on issues of care.

When there is a problem, consumers and families should attempt to work out a
solution with the staff of that particular agency.  Each agency also has a client's
rights officer who will work with you if you request it.  If this is not successful,
there is the option of filing a grievance with the Mental Health & Recovery Board
of Portage County. A grievance is a formal complaint that requires investigation
and may lead to a solution of the problem.

The board is required by the state of Ohio to ensure the rights of consumers
and oversee a procedure for filing grievances. (See information about obtaining
the list of rights under the section on Consumer Responsibilities.)

NAMI Portage County

Portage County's Chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
The County's Voice on Mental Illness

NAMI is a national organization of persons with mental illness, their families, friends
and community activists who work toward improving the lives of the mentally ill.
The Portage County chapter was established in the 1980's and is affiliated with
NAMI Ohio and the national organization of NAMI. On this page, you can link to
the state and national organizations.

NAMI Portage County is dedicated to the eradication of mental illnesses and to the
improvement of the quality of life for those whose lives are affected by these diseases,
and for their family members.

All members of NAMI Portage County shall, without exception, not discriminate
among those eligible for membership based on sex, age, ethnicity/race, creed,
color, sexual preference, disability, or economic status, nor shall membership be
limited based upon an individual's declaration of status as either a consumer or a
family member.

NAMI Portage County is a nonprofit grassroots affiliate of NAMI and NAMI Ohio. For more information, call 330-673-1756, ext. 230.

NAMI Portage County Meetings

To find out when meetings are scheduled call the Mental Health & Recovery Board
at 330-673-1756, ext 230. Meetings are held at the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Portage County, 155 E. Main St., Kent, on the second Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. Call Karen Cox, NAMI Portage County president, at 1-330-947-1756.

Membership

Dues are $25 per year (subject to change). We also offer a $3 open door membership. Membership includes a subscription to the bimonthly newsletter and the "NAMI ADVOCATE," the newsletter of the national organization. No one is turned away because of inability to pay.

The Family-to-Family Education Program
 
NAMI offers a free 12-week course to teach interested family members and friends
about mental illnesses, treatment, research, medication, advocacy and support in
dealing with mental health issues.

The class is usually held at the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Portage County, 155 E. Main St., Kent. For more information, call 330-673-1756, ext 201.

BRIDGES

BRIDGES stands for Building Recovery of Individual Dreams and Goals through
Education and Support. It is a national program offered through Ohio Advocates
for Mental Health, an organization whose mission is to educate public officials and
communities about mental health and recovery from mental illness.

The class gives people the tools they need to understand their illnesses, to explain their illnesses to the outside world and to deal with the mental health treatment system. The15-week classes are held twice a year and are taught by persons with mental illness. Call the Mental Health & Recovery Board for information or email us here.

Portage County Diversion Program

Click here to view Diversion Program information.

Crisis Intervention Team

The first training for the Portage County Crisis Intervention Team will be
April 3-7, 2006 at the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine.
To find out more about this program which is specifically for law enforcement,
court personnel and human service professionals, email the special projects
coordinator here or call Dennis Missimi at 330-673-1756, ext. 206.

This program was made possible with a grant secured by Portage County
Commissioners and support from the Mental Health & Recovery Board of
Portage County.

The CIT program trains officers and others to deal with people with mental illness,
handle crisis situations for the safety of everyone involved and learn alternatives to jail.
 
Communication and de-escalation techniques, uses and effects of psychotropic
medication, serious emotional problems in children, dual-diagnosis of mental illness
and alcohol and drug addiction, alternatives to jail, information about local service
providers, are all part of the 40-hour classroom and hands-on CIT training.
 
Akron's CIT program was instiuted in 2000. Since then, the department has
seen a large reduction in the number of officers hurt on calls as well as the number
of arrests of persons in crisis that could be appropriately diverted to mental health
and recovery services consequently alleviating stress on courts and jails.
 
The Portage County-based CIT will be coordinated by the Mental Health & Recovery
Board. The board's goal has been to institute the program in Portage County, making
the curriculum specific to the local mental health and recovery network. Area law
enforcement professionals will become familiar with using the services to assist in their
work with the public.
 
So far, ten officers from the Portage County Sheriffs Office, the Ravenna, Windham and
Kent State University Police departments, three county corrections staff and a Townhall II
mediation specialist have been trained through the CIT program in Summit County.
 
Statistics from other programs across the country have shown that the training reduces
injury to officers and others involved in incidents.  It also decreases the number of persons
in the court system because they can be diverted into community services. The National
Alliance of the Mentally Ill points out that most people with mental illness are not violent.
 
In its job overseeing a system of services, the board is focusing on coordination that
helps support persons in the community with appropriate mental health and recovery
services while using funds efficiently to provide quality service.  With CIT training, law
enforcement professionals collaborate as gatekeepers referring at-risk individuals into
services. CIT also lessens the criminalization of persons whose behaviors are driven
by mental health disorders.

The end result is to reduce repeat offenses and costs to the courts and law enforcement
while helping consumers have stable lives in the community. This does not apply to persons
in crisis who are charged with felonies or with crimes of violence unless the victim of the
crime agrees to the alternative sentencing.

To learn more about CIT in Ohio and across the United States, click here.
 

The Mental Health & Recovery Board of Portage County
PO Box 743, Kent Ohio 44240
An equal opportunity service provider and employer
© 2003 The Mental Health & Recovery Board of Portage County
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