People whose lives have been affected by mental illness develop a vast reservoir of experience that can be put to constructive use to meet their immediate needs, those of their peers, and, ultimately, those of the mental health system. In still too many places, this reservoir remains untapped, and consumers and families have little meaningful involvement in determining the direction of services and a system that are meant to meet their needs.

In the 1980s, Congress recognized the value of including consumers and families in mental health services planning when it created the precursors to today's statewide mental health planning and advisory councils. A major requirement for the composition of the councils is that no more than 50 percent of their membership be drawn from the ranks of professionals or state administrators. The intention is to make councils hospitable to consumers and family members and, in fact, consumers and family members serve on these federally mandated councils in every state.

Recommendations:

a.

Build consumer and family participation into all levels of the service delivery system.

b.

Include consumers and family members in service delivery.

c.

Ensure that people with mental illness are accessing the full range of entitlements for which they are eligible (e.g., SSI, SSDI).