Adult Assertive Community Treatment

The New York State (NYS) Office of Mental Health (OMH) announces the availability of funds for the development of one (1) Adult Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team serving Rockland County in the Hudson River (HR) Region. The ACT team will serve individuals who have Serious Mental Illness (SMI) and have not been successfully engaged by the traditional mental health treatment and rehabilitation system in NYS. ACT is a multidisciplinary, evidence-based, team approach to providing comprehensive and flexible treatment, support, and rehabilitation services. ACT teams are configured to have a low individual-to-staff ratio with professional staff from the fields of psychiatry, nursing, psychology, social work, substance use, employment/education, family support, and peer support workers. A majority of services are provided by ACT staff directly (not brokered) and in the community or where the individual lives. In this way, newly acquired skills are applied in their real-world environment and situations. ACT is designed to be flexible and responsive to the needs of individuals, offering support 24 hours a day, seven (7) days a week. ACT is “assertive” and intentional in its engagement methods, incorporating individual choice and self-directed recovery goals, cultural humility and awareness, concrete services, consistency, and persistence. ACT Teams consider social determinants as they are domains likely to have inherent disparities (healthcare access, housing, employment status, food security). Finally, ACT is structured to provide a review during team meetings of every individual on the ACT team’s caseload. This level of accountability allows for immediate changes in service planning and leads to improved outcomes. ACT teams serve adults who are diagnosed with an SMI. These individuals may also be frequent users of emergency, crisis services and/or emergency rooms, have co-occurring substance use disorders, are isolated from community supports (including family), in danger of losing their housing/becoming homeless, homeless, and/or have histories of involvement with the criminal justice system. The expansion of ACT to underserved communities represents a commitment by the NYS OMH to develop ACT teams that are designed to better meet the needs of specific populations, e.g., increasing access to an evidence-based practice for adults with SMI and high continuous needs that are not met in traditional community-based services. As this expansion moves forward, there are several principles that inform the overall process, including: · Promoting the power of recovery and the right of individual choice. · Supporting the seamless integration and participation of individuals into the communities in which they have chosen to live. ACT teams are expected to become experts in the natural supports available to recipients so that full community integration and participation is possible. · Supporting individuals to develop a vocational or educational plan that will provide a path to financial independence. · Supporting adults who may have limited social or family support to strengthen existing family relationships, including their family of choice. · Reviewing and attempting to mitigate the effects of discrimination based on the client’s demographic identity (gender, sexual identity, race, ethnicity). Team shows sensitivity towards individuals’ personal stories as they may relate to oppression and inequality. · Ensuring service access by managing ACT referrals through the Local Government Unit (LGU) Single Point of Access (SPOA) system. · Ensuring the continuous quality improvement of ACT services through regular monitoring of treatment/rehabilitation outcomes by both the ACT agency and NYS OMH. · Facilitating continuity of care from the ACT team to the community when transitioning off ACT; and · Utilizing data to inform continuous program improvement. Notice: Notification of intent to apply should be made to the Local Governmental Unit (county director of community services) for each county to be served under the program application, as defined in Section 41 of the New York State Mental Hygiene Law. The full RFP can be found at: https://omh.ny.gov/omhweb/rfp/ All applicants must be Prequalified by the due date/time of the RFP. All applications/proposals must be submitted through the Statewide Financial System. Business enterprises awarded an identical or substantially similar procurement contract within the past five years: JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES OF WESTERN NEW York THRIVE Wellness and Recovery Inc MONROE PLAN FOR MEDICAL CARE INC MID-ERIE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES STANDING TOGETHER EFFECTIVELY FOR Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (SDVOB) SDVOB Goal: 0.00% Minority / Women Business Enterprise contracting goals (MWBE) MBE Goal: 0.00% WBE Goal: 0.00% Disadvantaged Business Enterprise contracting goals (DBE) DBE Goal: 0.00%