Measures for the DMH/DD/SUS Strategic Plan
The North Carolina Department of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Use Services (DMH/DD/SUS) Strategic Plan sets seven priorities for improving the public system.
The plan also identifies 31 ways we will measure progress toward meeting our goals. As part of our commitment to open communication, we track and report our progress on these 31 measures regularly.
Find the most recent data available in the dashboard:
Increase access to care across the state
When people go to a second mental health appointment, that suggests they had a positive experience on their first visit and are willing to give treatment a try.
Consistent treatment supports positive outcomes and suggests the consumer is experiencing treatment as helpful. We are measuring the percent of people who went for a third mental health appointment within 30 days of the first one.
Collaborative care refers to mental health or substance use care that is provided in a primary care setting. This creates a more accessible mental health care system and ensures more people get the mental health care they need in a place that is familiar and convenient.
CCBHCs provide comprehensive mental health and substance use care for children and adults, regardless of a person’s ability to pay or where they live. These community-based clinics also provide outpatient primary care screening and monitoring to support the health of the whole person.
Our progress: People getting services at Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers
Improve access to quality I/DD and TBI services
Many people on the Innovations Waiver waitlist are eligible for services that support their independence at home or in the community. These Medicaid- or state-funded services are called “1915i services.” People can get these home- and community-based services while they are on the waitlist. They are free for people with Medicaid.
Related
People with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) can get support through the TBI Waiver or as a state-funded service. These services allow people with TBI to get specialized care that better meets their needs.
Our progress: People that get traumatic brain injury services
Many people with I/DD want to be working but are not. Supported employment is crucial for ensuring access to necessary supports that enhance quality of life and promote independence within the community.
Prevent substance misuse and overdose
Opioid treatment programs (OTPs) provide both medication and therapy for people with substance use disorders. Both are evidence-based models of treatment. OTPs help people move into and maintain recovery.
Recovery community centers equip communities with a safe, peer-led space for people in their recovery journey by providing services, training, and connections.
We define starting treatment as when a person goes to a second substance use appointment within two weeks of the first one. When people go to a second substance use appointment, that suggests they had a positive experience on their first visit and are willing to give treatment a try. This increases the likelihood of positive outcomes.
Our progress: Percent of people beginning treatment for substance use disorder
Decreasing overdose-related visits to emergency departments suggests fewer overdoses overall and more access to care in community settings.
Build the workforce
DSPs are a critical part of the workforce. Developing a standardized curriculum of core competencies at no cost to the DSP or providers will help more DSPs start their careers. Providing scholarships to earn an advanced DSP certificate will help more DSPs advance in their careers.
Developing a standardized curriculum of training and providing scholarships will help more peers become Certified Peer Support Specialists.
Our progress: Scholarships for peer support specialist training programs given by DMH/DD/SUS
Less DSP turnover means more consistent care and better outcomes for people supported by DSPs and greater stability for providers who employ DSPs. We will also compare DSP turnover to past data on turnover of providers getting retention and recruitment incentives.
Certified peer support specialists have valuable expertise. They provide much-needed recovery support to others with mental health or substance use issues. More actively employed CPSSs in the public system means their unique expertise can strengthen the workforce and improve outcomes for consumers.
Our progress: Certified Peer Support Specialists (CPSSs) employed as peer support specialists
Strengthen the Crisis System
988 connects people experiencing a mental health crisis to the care they need. More calls, chats, and texts to 988 means more opportunities to get people to the right level of care.
Our progress: Calls, chats and texts to 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Related
Detailed information is available in the 988 Performance Dashboard.
Mobile crisis teams are teams of mental health professionals who respond to mental health crises in the community. In North Carolina, this service is called Mobile Crisis and Mobile Outreach Responsive Engagement and Stabilization (MORES). The teams help people get the care they need when and where they need it, while reducing unnecessary use of emergency rooms or jails.
Our progress: Crisis response visits funded by Medicaid or DMH/DD/SUS
These facilities provide community-based crisis inpatient care and detoxification for mental health and substance use issues. They provide a safe place for help that is an alternative to emergency departments.
Our progress: People served by a facility-based crisis center or behavioral health urgent care
Emergency departments may not be the best place for people with mental health or substance use needs. Crisis services like mobile crisis teams and community-based centers are often better settings to get the right care at the right time.
Our progress: People with mental health needs held in an emergency department each day
Children should have access to community-based treatment settings where they get care that is safe, time-limited, intentional, and effective. Treatment should also support connection with families, friends, or other trusted supports. A decrease in the number of children held in emergency department or DSS settings means more children are getting community-based treatment.
Expand services for people in the justice system
Deflection programs keep people out of the justice system by connecting them to services. Diversion programs connect people to mental health and substance use treatment after they are already involved with the justice system. Both programs get people with mental health issues, substance use disorders, I/DD or TBI the care they need. They reduce pressure on law enforcement and the courts. They reduce unnecessary involvement in the justice system.
Re-entry programs help people successfully return to the community, increasing the likelihood of positive community involvement while reducing recidivism.
Our progress: People with mental health or substance use needs served by a re-entry program
Connecting youth to services that reduce or prevent involvement in the justice system helps youth get the care and support they need to remain in, or return to, their communities.
Capacity restoration provides the mental health and substance use services that a person needs to proceed with their legal process. This can help resolve charges faster and connect people to the support they need to cover and rejoin their communities.
Our progress: People getting detention and community-based capacity restoration services
Amplify recovery and community-based services
Peer centers offer safe, voluntary spaces for people in recovery to connect with communities of support from people with lived experience. These centers can reduce the need for treatment in more intensive settings and connect people to resources that support ongoing care.
First episode psychosis is when someone first experiences symptoms of psychosis, like hearing voices or having trouble telling what’s real. Early identification and treatment improves long-term recovery, reduces symptoms, and helps prevent more serious issues later on.
Our progress: People admitted to a first episode psychosis program
Clubhouses help people with mental health challenges build skills, connect with others, and work toward recovery in a supportive community setting.
Our progress: People getting a service at a clubhouse
Children should have access to community-based treatment settings where they get care that is safe, time-limited, intentional, and effective. Treatment should also support connection with families, friends, or other trusted supports. A decrease in out-of-state services means more children are getting support closer to their home community.
Our progress: Children served in an out-of-state psychiatric residential treatment facility
Long lengths of stay may disrupt family connections and delay access to community-based supports that are essential to long-term recovery and well-being.
Our progress: Average length of stay for children in psychiatric residential treatment facilities
Contact
Strategic Plan
StrategyPlanningOffice@dhhs.nc.gov