Public Advisory Boards, Commissions & Councils
Mental Health Planning Council
The Mental Health Planning Council consists of constituents of the New Jersey mental health community including advocacy agencies, mental health providers, consumers, family members and DMHS staff. The role of the planning council is to be active in the oversight of DMHS planning and activities specific to the New Jersey Mental Health Block Grant.
Please click here to go to the Mental Health Planning Council's page.
Northern & Southern Region Advisory Committees
Regional advisory committees are a forum for participants to come together and discuss issues, share information and concerns related to mental health services in the respective region. The Northern Regional Advisory Committee meets at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital and the Southern Regional Advisory Committee meets at Ancora Psychiatric Hospital. Participants include representatives from consumer-operated self-help centers, family members, county Professional Advisory Committees (PAC), community provider agencies, regional staff from DMHS, staff from county hospitals, county mental health administrators and administrative staff from state hospitals.
Statewide Consumer Advisory Committee
The Statewide Consumer Advisory Committee (SCAC) is a diverse group of emerging leaders throughout the state who are experiencing recovery in their own lives. They are committed to having open, honest and compelling discussions with the leadership of the Division of Mental Health Services (DMHS) around what a recovery and wellness-oriented system is about and what it is not. SCAC has been greatly instrumental in working with the Division on many aspects of the Transformation including focus groups to identify outcomes and other elements of service delivery. In addition, SCAC members have been used as consultants for subcommittee work, as trainers and for curriculum development for specialized DMHS-sponsored initiatives, and as advisors for proposal reviews. The SCAC has been integrally involved in the completion of Federal Block Grant consumer satisfaction surveys, and also makes recommendations back to the DMHS on all issues affecting the quality of life of consumers living in New Jersey from housing to medication co-pays to access to employment-related services.
The SCAC meets one time per month in each of the three regions of the state, and is facilitated by the DMHS' Special Assistant for Consumer Affairs. SCAC meetings are frequently used to provide important input in to specific DMHS-sponsored projects and initiatives. Members of the DMHS' Management Team are frequent visitors to SCAC meetings where they provide updates and just listen to concerns, issues and ideas of consumers who are vested in transforming our mental health system.
Olmstead Advisory Committees
The Olmstead Advisory Committee will be chaired by a representative of DMHS and co-chaired by a member of the New Jersey Mental Health Planning Council. The function of this Committee is to advise DMHS in the planning and implementation of the Home to Recovery-CEPP Plan and be responsible for submitting a semi-annual advisory report to DMHS management as well as to the Wellness and Recovery Transformation Advisory Committee (WRAC).
The Olmstead Oversight Committee is chaired by the Olmstead Coordinator and intended to be a DMHS internal working group tasked with implementing and monitoring the desired outcomes of the Home to Recovery Plan.
In addition to the two committees described above, there will be other Olmstead related committees. Hospital Olmstead Committees will be convened and be charged with the local planning, implementing and tracking and evaluating existing policies and practices to ensure system wide coordination. Local Residential Planning Committees will be convened and charged with reviewing eligible consumers, facilitating coordinated assessments, treatment and timely discharges of CEPP consumers. There will be ongoing communication between the Olmstead Oversight Committee, the Hospital Olmstead Committees, Local Residential Planning Committees and the Olmstead Advisory Committee.
Multicultural Services Advisory Committee (MSAC)
The Multicultural Services Advisory Committee (MSAC) was formed in 1981 to address issues of quality and quantity in the development and delivery of culturally competent mental health services, and to advocate for policies, programs and legislation that impact the mental health delivery system. It is composed of diverse representation of consumers, providers, families and stakeholders who are committed to cultural and linguistic competency in mental health. MSAC provides a structure through which the mental health needs of New Jersey's multicultural population is communicated within the Division of Mental Health Services, and ensures that cultural competency be a critical aspect in the planning and implementation of an effective system of care.
Click here to go to the MSAC page
Divisional-Departmental Task Forces...
Additional Statewide Advisory Groups...
