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Detailed Program Description |
FloridaSDC Circuit 04
4530 St. Johns Avenue Ste. 15 #327
Jacksonville, FL 32210
(904) 807-1236
Email:
floridasdc4@agingtrue.org
Service area: Clay, Duval and Nassau Counties
Florida Self-Directed Care (SDC) is an innovative service
delivery paradigm with individuals with mental illnesses in
publicly funded mental
health programs squarely at the center of decision-making. SDC
was conceived in Jacksonville, Florida in early 2000, from a
grass-roots
effort.
A group of dedicated
self and systems advocates came together around the belief that
there had to be a better road to recovery
than found in traditional treatment modalities. From this
journey, SDC was born. The original program covered a five-county
area in NE Florida,
and has been self-directed by over 150 people since 2002. The
success of the NE Florida program has led to the creation of a
second
program, serving five counties in Southwest Florida (www.flsdc.org).
The FloridaSDC Program is based upon the understanding that
individuals choosing services and making purchases will help
them
begin, or remain on the road to recovery, and develop or
regain meaningful, productive activity. The goal of FloridaSDC
is to
promote self-determination, recovery and full inclusion of
people who have been diagnosed with a mental illness, and who
depend on government subsidized mental wellness services.
Participants in FloridaSDC select the providers, services, and
activities
that they deem necessary for recovery and achievement of the
highest level of desired personal wellness and quality of life.
Through a
careful self-assessment, experiences, and results, individuals
employ personal flexibility to make adjustments to fit their
needs,
engage in activities meaningful to them, and work to attain a
higher quality of life.
Through the FloridaSDC program each participant controls of the
public financial resources to access mental health services.
FloridaSDC participants use their budgets to purchase mental
wellness services from any member of the FloridaSDC Network.
The primary purpose of these funds is to purchase psychiatric
and mental wellness care, however, a unique option within the
program is the opportunity for participants to access
alternative and non-traditional services that result in the same
successes
as traditional mental health services. For example, instead of
attending psychotherapy group for depression at a local
mental health professional’s office, a FloridaSDC participant
may elect to participate in a community-based support group.
The personal outcomes are similar, but the type of actual
service is very different, both in cost and experience. Through
FloridaSDC
participants also have match-funding opportunities to purchase
tangible items, such as clothes and shoes that will enhance
the person’s opportunities for integration into the community,
and return to work or other meaningful activity.
Though residential and crisis stabilization services are
delivered by existing community mental health providers through
the traditional
delivery system, participants in the FloridaSDC program choose from a
variety of community-based services providers that may
or may not already be a part of the current public community
mental health system. Participants are responsible for
determining
exactly which community-based services they want and by whom
these services will be provided. Participants will
measure recovery
in a number of ways including productive days in the community
(productive as defined by each individual), structured
self-reports of
reactions to the program’s delivery approach, and structured
self-reports about achievement of personal recovery goals and
objectives.
Standard objective measures will include input from significant
others and recovery coaches. The major difference between
FloridaSDC
and the traditional system is the focus on participant
self-reports about personal recovery, achievement and
satisfaction.
Why does FloridaSDC work?
The FloridaSDC model stresses self-determination at each point
in the service delivery process. People participating in mental
health
services have guided the development of this program through the
development of forms for reporting and planning, creation of
operational policies and procedures, and expansion of the
provider network. As a result, the model reflects the values
and
priorities of participants and enhances the ability of each to
live and interact as independently as possible, enjoy an
improved quality
of life, and demonstrate success.
The approach to providing services is participant-driven and
seeks to maximize each participant's ability to control the most
important
decisions about how he or she will manage his/her own personal
recovery. “Participant” is used throughout the rest of this
document to emphasize that individuals who enroll in the program
are contributing participants to the program. The FloridaSDC
program encourages individuals to live life as fully,
independently, and productively as possible and to take
responsibility for their
choices and the consequences of these choices. FloridaSDC seeks
to decrease, and, in some cases, eliminate patterns of
dependency on formal systems of care and to promote participant
self-control and self-efficacy and use of natural and community
supports. The goal of FloridaSDC is to help each participant
achieve personal mental wellness and productivity goals, thereby
enhancing each participant’s quality of life. Participants have
the opportunity to build upon and increase their strengths.
The program’s philosophy, that natural supports should be
identified and utilized by the individual. Natural supports
create an
opportunity for individuals to achieve greater autonomy and to
integrate into the community. Participants identify community
supports
and utilize them in a way that truly involves them in the
community at large and helps them to feel like they belong.
Having meaningful
lives is a large part of recovery in mental health. The
FloridaSDC program staff work with individuals in a cooperative
relationship
and act as coaches rather than experts. The FloridaSDC program
is dedicated to listening to individuals’ specified needs and
preferences.
The FloridaSDC program is a model in which public funding
follows the participant. It is a program in which the individual
makes
decisions and selections to the greatest extent possible.
Accordingly, the following components are included in the
program to
maximize the principles of self-determination.
Recovery: In its simplest form recovery can be defined as
improving, mending, healing and renewal. Recovery is developing
individual’s
strengths and assets and individual’s having the room, support
and confidence to do so in the process. Recovery is about
overcoming the adverse effects of mental illnesses that may have
hampered the ability to fulfill personal life goals.
Choice: Choice is the ability and opportunity to select
between alternatives, to have a say in the choice made, and to
have options.
To have a sense of control, to become invested in attaining
personally defined goals.
Responsibility: Responsibility is taking personal
accountability for one’s choices and behaviors. SDC communicates
confidence
in that ability. Responsibility involves accepting that one
makes good and sometimes not so good selections. Taking
responsibility
for successes and mistakes makes a person a true learner. Taking
responsibility for triumphs and other accomplishments serves
as positive support especially when shared with others. SDC
recognizes that learning requires non-judgmental and honest
feedback
combined with thinking of options for the next time.
Accountability: Accountability is much like
responsibility in that a person understands that he or she is
accountable for the selections
made and not made. Accountable adults accept they are human but
do not make excuses when they know they have done
something wrong. Accountable adults understand having limits.
Recovery is about looking at the holistic picture and especially
on focusing on strengths that individuals have as opposed to
limits they cannot control.
Control: Control is individuals identifying the things
they can control, i.e., personal goals, hopes and dreams.
Control in recovery
is about developing and accomplishing goals, while learning to
recognize what one cannot control.
Self-Determination: Self-determination stems from the
ability to believe in personal control, accountability,
selections and
responsibility. Self-determination and free will come from the
feelings and practices that success is possible, regardless of
the odds.
The more chances human beings have to succeed through a focus on
personal strengths and positive encouragement
about personal accomplishments, the more likely that
self-determination will develop as a foundation.
Self-Directed: Self-directed is a concept in the recovery
process which treats individuals empower themselves as capable
of
making and determining their purposes and goals, with
encouragement and support. Individuals engaged in discussions
regarding their capabilities and strengths, helping themselves
see hope and possibilities. Individuals gain a sense of i
ndependence by determining their life’s direction.
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