Welcome

1. Welcome To the Mental Health Services Act Marriage and Family Therapy Stipend Program Orange County 2012-2013

2. Susan Read-Weil, M.A., L.M.F.T. • Orange County Coordinator of the MHSA MFT Stipend Program • Co-chair, Orange County MFT Consortium • Pepperdine University Adjunct Faculty Member

3. Today’s Presentation Topic: • Information about the Mental Health Services Act Marriage and Family Therapy Stipend Program – Orange County.

4. Format of Today’s Presentation: • 1. Foundational information about California’s Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) • 2. Information about Public and Private MFT Employment Opportunities. • 3. Information about the MHSA MFT State Stipend Program. • 4. Questions and Answers

5. California’s Mental Health Services Act • Late 1990s – there was a recognition by the California State Department of Mental Health and some members of the state legislature that additional resources were needed in order to improve mental health delivery and to address the complexity of mental health diversity issues among the citizens of California. There was unfinished legislation in the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act of 1967 re: mental health delivery of care.

6. California’s Mental Health Services Act • 2004 – Proposition 63 was placed on the November ballot and was passed by the electorate. • Proposition 63 directed the California Legislature to draft laws affecting the delivery of mental health services in the public sector. • Proposition 63 placed an additional income tax on California residents who earn $1 million or more annually, with the tax monies going directly to fund public mental health programs.

7. California’s Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) • The tax monies go to programs that treat: • Substance abuse • Children and Adolescents • Senior Citizens • The Homeless

8. California’s Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) • The projected amount of taxes collected in any given year for MHSA programs is about • $750,000,000.00 • The monies are earmarked exclusively for MHSA programs and cannot be shifted to other types of state expenditures.

9. Career Choices of California-based Marriage and Family Therapists • 2007 BBS Survey: • 64,000 MFTs and MFT interns were surveyed. • 25,909 responses = 40.48% of those surveyed. • Of the 25,909 responses 39.49% of MFTs and MFT Interns reported working primarily in private practice. • 52.47% MFTs and MFT Interns reported working primarily in publicly funded sites.

10. Career Choices of California-based Marriage and Family Therapists • For that 52.47% working in non-private practice mental health settings: • 19.24% worked in non-profit sites • 13.02% worked in county or municipal agencies • 9.36% worked in licensed health care facilities • 5.19% worked in school settings • 3.66% worked for state or federal agencies • 2.00 % worked for colleges or universities Source: http://www.bbs.ca.gov/pdf/publications/demo_survey_2005.pdf

11. Career Options for MFTs and MFT Interns in Public Mental Health • 1. County Mental Health – both county-operated programs and county-contracted programs. • 2. Child Protective Services • 3. Adult Protective Services • 4. Foster Family Services • 5. Drug and Alcohol Programs • 6. Judicial System • 7. Community Counseling Centers • 8. Educational System • 9. State-funded Mental Health programs

12. Aspects of Public Mental Health • Community Treatment Settings • Medical Necessity: • 1. Disability with a covered diagnosis • 2. Role impairments in major life areas • 3. Services will benefit the client • Psycho-social-cultural assessment • Treatment team approach • Collaboration with community service agencies • Multiple treatment approaches • Working with diverse clientele

13. MFT DACUM – 2005 (Developing A CurriculUM) • “Marriage and Family Therapists are clinicians who utilize systemic and/or relational interventions to provide mental health sericesincluding assessment, treatment and referral for individuals, families and children in multiple systems.”

14. What do MFTs and MFT Interns Do in Public Mental Health? • 1. Complete service intakes • 2. Conduct bio-psychosocial assessments • 3. Provide mental health treatment • 4. Provide case management • 5. Provide crisis intervention services • 6. Coordinate client care • 7. Provide education • 8. Perform administrative functions • 9. Promote professional development

15. The Role of MFTs and MFT Interns in Public Mental Health Delivery • Providing a multi-generational lens in assessment and diagnosis • Engaging with the various sub-units in the family • Improving relationships and raising levels of interpersonal functioning and differentiation • Providing a sense of hope and empowerment • Promoting integration of self, relationships and community • Navigating in social and educational systems

16. MFTs Contributions to the Delivery of Public Mental Health Care • National Mental Health Policy has promoted the use of family assessment and therapy in child and adolescent mental health services and has recommended that systemic principles be incorporated in mental health delivery. • Adapting and applying systemic principles and theories are a major emphasis in the training of marriage and family therapists. MFTs integrate these concepts and develop skill in systemic case conceptualizations and context-focused interventions.

17. Benefits for MFT Interns Who Work in Pubic Mental Health Settings • Steady accumulation of hours for licensure. • Acquisition of specialized training, clinical practice and therapeutic orientations leading to an increase in knowledge and skills in the treatment of certain diagnosesand specific populations. • Clinical trainings can be counted towards interns’ 3,000 hours • Administrative and Clinical Supervision • The monetary compensation is competitive with paid medical and dental benefits, paid vacation and holiday leave.

18. Incentives for MFTs and MFT Interns to Enter Public Health • MHSA Educational Stipends for MFT graduate students - $18,500 for 1 year of service • Loan Repayment Program for MFT Interns and Licensed MFTs - $15,000 for 2 years of service. • Fellowships for doctoral students in MFT - $20,000 for 2 years of service.

19. Inception of the MHSA MFT State Stipend Program • The MHSA MFT State Stipend Program was created when a contract was submitted but the regional MFT consortia to the California State Department of Mental Health. Approval came in August, 2009. • We are now in the third year of providing educational stipends to MFT interns across the state of California

20. MFT State Stipend Program in Orange County • There are a total of 10 stipends awarded each academic year. • Each stipend if for $18,500.00 • Applicants must have attended or be attending a MFT school that is an active participant in a regional MFT Consortium in California.

21. MFT State Stipend Program Orange County • Applicants for the 2012/2013 MFT State Stipend Program must graduate from their MFT between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013. • If you have not yet graduated from your program you must be in good academic standing (meaning that you have met all program requirements to date and are projected to graduate on schedule).

22. MFT State Stipend Program Orange County • Stipends are not loans, they are similar to scholarships. • They are intended to assist recipients in repaying their graduate school expenses. • Applicants agree to work in Orange County for a minimum of 12 months in an Orange County Department of Behavioral Health Services position or for an Orange County-contracted agency.

23. MHSA MFT Stipend Program Orange County • Positions may be paid employment positions or unpaid volunteer positions. • If a recipient finds paid employment the stipend money is in addition to their regular salary. • Applicants should be able to clearly express why they are interested in working in public mental health and to articulate how their practicum or other work or personal experience(s) has prepared them to work in public mental health.

24. MHSA MFT State Stipend Program Orange County Demographics • Orange County has very large populations of Farsi, Spanish and Vietnamese-speaking residents. • Orange County also has sizeable populations who speak Arabic, Korean, and Tagalog. • There are many homeless persons as well. • There is a great need for mental health practitioners for these populations, particularly those who communicate in Spanish, Vietnamese and American Sign Language

25. MHSA MFT Stipend Program Paperwork Availability • Information about the MHSA MFT Stipend Program 2012/2013 will be available in mid-August, 2012 on-line at www.pgi.edu. • Applications for the 2012/2013 year will be available on September 5, 2012 also at www.pgi.edu

26. MHSA MFT Stipend Program Application Information • Check the application guide (also on www.pgi.edu) available September 5, 2012 for clear information about how to apply. Incomplete applications will not be accepted. Please do take the time to check your applications for omissions and/or corrections. • Applicants must be able to work legally in the United States in order to qualify to receive a stipend.

27. MHSA MFT State Stipend Program Orange County • Applicants must contact their MFT State Stipend Program school representative to inform their representative that they are applying to the program and to ask the representative to fill out an evaluation form for the applicant to be sent to by the representative to Phillips Graduate Institute. • A list of school representatives is located on the Phillips Graduate Institute website at www.pgi.edu.

28. MHSA MFT Stipend Program Orange County • A bit of good advice: • Do not wait until the deadline to submit your application. Should you wait until the deadline and are missing something from your application your application will be disqualified. • Check your application materials carefully, as your ability to write clearly and completely with good spelling and grammar reflects your professionalism. So autograph your application with excellence!

29. Susan Read-Weil, M.A., L.M.F.T. • Should you have any questions I may be reached at: • 714-557-1000 • or • susanreadweil.mft@gmail.com • But please do check the application and information guide first before contacting me as it is very likely the information will be printed there. • Applications will be available on September 5 at www.pgi.edu

30. MFT State Stipend Program Orange County • And now, finally, your questions!