Village Integrated Service Agency

Overview

Jurisdiction Level

County

Description

The Village Integrated Service Agency in Long Beach, California, was initially developed through state legislation (1989) that attempted to remove administrative and funding barriers from the delivery of comprehensive, individualized mental health services. The basic elements of the Village's program design are collaborative case management teams, case-rated funding, and a psychosocial rehabilitation/recovery philosophy. As in the ACT model, services at the Village are delivered to the client wherever he or she is. Teams of clinicians work with each client and bring complementary skills to the process. Case-rated funding is an important principle because it is focuses on outcomes rather than on delivery of units of service. The overarching recovery philosophy encourages staff and clients to seek the rewards that come with higher risks, knowing that support will be available when needed. The Village offers a clear, single point of responsibility for everyone it serves and provides coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In 1987 a group of concerned parents, consumers, business people, and professionals, prompted the lieutenant governor to help form a task force to make recommendations for creating a better mental health system. Two years later, after 14 statewide community hearings, the task force's recommendations were incorporated into a bipartisan legislative bill, which was passed in 1989. The statute provided funding for three years, directly out of the state general funds, for three Integrated Service Agency (ISA) demonstration projects in three different settings - countywide, urban, and rural. The mission of the Village Integrated Service Agency is to support and teach adults with psychiatric disabilities to recognize their strengths and power to successfully live, socialize, and work in the community. In addition, the organization also seeks to stimulate and promote the system-wide changes necessary so that these individuals may achieve these goals.