ANNUAL REPORT

July 1, 2006 – June 30, 2007

The fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2007, saw a number of developments in the growth of RMHA in programs and services:

RMHA has been designated by the New York State Office of Mental Health to provide services as part of Child and Family Clinic-Plus.  This program, jointly sponsored by the New York State Office of Mental Health and the New York City Department of Education will enable us to provide mental health services to approximately 2,500 children and adolescents in seven Bronx middle and high schools.  Students who are then determined to be in need of comprehensive evaluation and treatment will be able to receive these services on-site at each of the schools. This program will greatly improve access to mental health services for young adults and their families.  

Through the efforts of Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, our Substance Abuse Program received a $50,000 grant to improve and expand the provision of services for individuals with Co-Occurring Disorders.  Individuals with co-occurring disorders have concomitant psychiatric and substance abuse issues.  As part of this grant, Petros Levonis, M.D., of the Addiction Institute at St. Luke’s Hospital spoke to staff about current issues in the treatment of people with co-occurring disorders. 

RMHA was named as one of two agencies in New York City to have been selected to participate in the Recovery Pilot Project, a collaboration between The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and The Coalition of Behavioral Health Care Agencies.  The project provided us with an opportunity to increase consumer participation in our Continuing Day Treatment Program and expand our capacity to provide recovery-oriented services.  

RMHA received funding from the New York State Office of Mental Health that enabled us to double to thirty the number of Supported Housing beds . 

In October of 2006, we opened the agency on Saturdays primarily to serve children and their families who are not able to come to the clinic during the week. 

With support from New York City Councilperson Oliver Koppell, our Innovative Services for Seniors Program received funding through the New York City Council to expand its capacity to provide outreach, case management and clinical services to the elderly in the Northwest Bronx. 

In early 2007, RMHA was awarded a Service Grant by the Taproot Foundation to help us  develop and strengthen our key messages and brand strategy.  This may include recommendations regarding a possible name and visual identity change.  Taproot will share its findings with RMHA by the end of 2007. 

New York Community Trust awarded RMHA a $50,000 grant to provide clinical and consulting services to at risk children, ages 3-5, and their families.  These services will be provided at five area nursery schools and Head Start Programs, as well as  at RMHA. 

RMHA was the recipient of fifteen desktop computers and three laptops through the generosity of IBM. 

With support from Assemblyman Dinowitz, RMHA expects to receive a Capital Grant of $250,000 which will allow us to computerize our clinical and billing systems. 

The operating certificates for our Clinic Treatment Program, Continuing Day Treatment Program, Community Residence and Chemical Dependence Treatment Program were all renewed by the appropriate New York State agencies.  

In the past year, we were able to obtain and renovate additional space in our building to house our Substance Abuse Program.  This  in turn enabled us to provided needed additional office space for other programs which have expanded their service.  

SUMMARY OF SERVICES PROVIDED

Last year, we served a total of 1,047 people in our outpatient treatment programs.  An additional 52 people received services in our residential programs and 306 individuals received services in our vocational programs.  Compared to the previous year, these figures represent a small decrease in those served by our outpatient programs, a moderate increase in those receiving services in our residential programs and a substantial increase in those receiving vocational services. 

Our intake services received 4,263 calls during 2006-2007 which represents a small increase over the previous year.  Of these calls, 371 were COPS ( Comprehensive Outpatient Provider Services) ,referrals.  These referrals come primarily from inpatient psychiatric settings and psychiatric emergency rooms.  Our agreements with New York City and New York State mandate that we see COPS patients for screenings within five business days for a referral.

This year, slightly over half of our patients were self-referred, approximately 11% were referred from a combination of inpatient psychiatric settings, psychiatric emergency rooms and mobile crisis units, 8% were referred from other treatment or social services programs 7% from family, friends or other patients and 6% from schools. 

SOURCES OF INCOME

About two thirds of those receiving clinical services at RMHA rely on Medicaid as a source of payment.  The remainder utilize Medicare, managed care, commercial insurance or rely on our sliding scale.   Patients  are not refused treatment because of an inability to pay; we provide application assistance for those who may be eligible for Medicaid or Medicare. 

We received funding from The New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) for our Chemical Dependence Program and funding from the New York State Office of Mental Health for our Community Residence and our Supported Apartments.  Our Vocational Programs receive funding from both the NYSOMH and The New York State Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID).  

CLINIC TREATMENT

In the last fiscal year, our efforts to increase funding from additional government sources and private foundations met with success.  For the first time, with assistance from Councilperson Oliver Koppell, we received funding from the New York City Council targeted to our Innovative Services for Seniors Program (ISS).  The Dammann Fund also provided a grant for ISS.  We also received funding from New York Community Trust for our Early Childhood Program, which provides clinical services to young children and their families.   Additionally, several foundations continued to provided funding as part of multi-year grants. 

We continue to seek out  opportunities to increase both the amount and sources of government and foundation funding.  This will increase the resources we are able to devote to our various clinical programs and diversify our funding streams.

In the last fiscal year, 21,150 patient visits took place in our clinical programs, a figure that is virtually unchanged from the previous year.  A closer look at these figures reveals that there was a decrease in the number of visits to our Substance Abuse and Continuing Day Treatment Programs, offset by an increase in visits to our Child and Adult Clinic Programs and in our MICA program.  

Services provided in our Clinic, MICA and Substance Abuse Programs include comprehensive evaluation, individual, group and family treatment and psychopharmacology.  The Continuing Day Treatment offers primarily group and milieu treatment and operates several hours a day, five days a week.  

A major emphasis in all our programs is on continuing to incorporate evidence-based treatments and to expand our group treatment offerings.  Opening on Saturdays has enabled us to partially address the strong demand for children’s services.  We anticipate that, as Child and Family Clinic-Plus is rolled out over the next year, more children, adolescents and their families will receive clinical services from RMHA.  The majority of these contacts will take place at the seven schools where RMHA will operate NYSOMH licensed satellite clinics.  

CHEMICAL DEPENDENCE SERVICES

Our Medically Supervised Program, licensed by OASAS, saw a small decrease in patient visits compared to the previous year.  Primary substances of abuse included cocaine, crack, alcohol and marijuana.  With the assistance of Assemblyman Dinowitz, we expanded our services and expertise in providing Co-Occurring Services to people who present with simultaneous psychiatric and substance abuse issues.  Shortly after the end of the fiscal year, our OASAS staff moved into our newly renovated quarters, just down the hall from our main site.  Our new space consists of five offices and a group/conference room, as well as a small waiting area.  We are grateful to Assemblyman Dinowitz for his help with the renovations. 

CONTINUING DAY TREATMENT

In June of this year, we welcomed Mark Draxdorf, LMSW, as our new Director of Continuing Day Treatment.  This program provides  a range of services to individuals with long-term mental health issues.  The approach is primarily one of group and milieu treatment.  In the last year, RMHA was selected to participate in the Recovery Pilot Project which enabled two Peer Recovery Specialists to work part-time in our CDT program, co-leading groups and serving as role models for members of the program.  Changes have been made in staffing in the CDT program which has streamlined services for patients. 

VOCATIONAL SERVICES

Our Vocational Services continued to grow and expand over the past year.  Hours of services and number of patient visits increased by a approximately 30% over the previous year.  We continued to serve clients in our Supported Employment Program, which includes VESID Intensive and Ongoing Integrated.   We also provide Direct Job Placement, Vocational Evaluations and other programs aimed specifically at young adults such as Handle It! and Bronx Wave. 

All of our vocational programs reflect the reality that successful employment is a critical component of good mental health.  Our Supported Employment Programs are funded by NYSOMH and VESID and focus on job placement and job retention for adults with serious and persistent mental illness.  Many of the clients in these programs receive mental health services in our outpatient programs as well.  

Our Handle It!  and Bronx Wave Programs are particularly aimed at young people aged 11-25 who have emotional and social challenges and could benefit from a work readiness and career planning program.  Both programs integrate classroom instruction, small group meetings, and individual counseling and offer assistance with job placement and/or continuing education. 

RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS

The Joyce Pilsner Community Residence continues to operate at full capacity with fifteen beds.  This 24-hour supervised residence provides housing and case management services to individuals who are being discharged from state hospital facilities into the community.  When clinically appropriate, these clients will leave the Residence and transition to more independent living situations.   

In the last year, RMHA was approved by the New York State Office of Mental Health for an additional fifteen supported apartment beds.  We began to fill the beds in January of this year and now have a total of thirty beds in our Supported Apartments Program. Clients in this program come to us primarily from state facilities or our own Community Residence and are able to live more independently with assistance from our Case Managers.  Many of the clients in the Apartments and the Residence receive their mental health services from RMHA. 

MENTAL HEALTH CONSULTATION SERVICES

In 2006-2007, RMHA provided on-site assessments, counseling and referral services to students at John F. Kennedy High School, The Marble Hill High School for International Studies, The High School of Law and Finance, The Bronx Theater High School, The In Tech Academy (MS/HS 368) and the Riverdale-Kingsbridge Academy (MS/HS 141).  In addition, consulting services were available to guidance staff at these schools.   Services provided to Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy took place in collaboration with The Riverdale Community Center.  At these schools, RMHA clinicians provide consultation with school staff, observe and assess students, provide individual and group counseling and make referrals for long-term care when indicated.   The specific services offered are individualized to the needs of each school.

We believe that through our consultation services, we are able to reach a group of children and adolescents who have strong needs for services but are often not likely to have access to services through traditional ways.  Again this year, almost 300 students, staff and family members were served through our mental health consultation services.  

Because of a grant from New York Community Trust, we were able to expand our clinical and consultation services to five nursery schools in the community in this last year: Riverdale Temple Nursery School, Riverdale Nursery School and Family Center, Kingsbridge Heights Community Center Head Start, Marble Hill Head Start and Spuyten Duyvil Nursery School.   Clinicians at each site observe the children, consult with school staff and parents and are able to provide ongoing clinical services at RMHA when needed. 

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

RMHA has been a training site in the last year for a first year social work student from Lehman College’s Master of Social Work Program, as well as for two second year MSW students, one each from New York University and Hunter College.  We have also hosted psychology externs from Farleigh-Dickenson University as well as medical students from Albert Einstein College of Medicine.  

During the past year, we have been engaged in several quality improvement initiatives with the NYSOMH, the New York City Department of  Health and Mental Hygiene and OASAS.  They have included a Consumer Satisfaction Survey and a project entitled Quality Impact, whose goal is to reduce our wait list and to increase participation in our Continuing Day Treatment Program.  In our OASAS Program, we have been participating in a program called STAR-SI whose goal is to increase admissions and retention of patients. 

RMHA continues to offer on-site clinical training for staff on a range of topics which impact our ability to provide effective treatment.  Trainings in the past year have included Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis, Evidence-Based Group Therapy for Children with Attention Deficit Disorders and their Families, The State of Chemical Dependence Treatment in 2007 and Couple Treatment.  Training opportunities off-site are also available to staff. 

Senior administrative staff as well as Directors of programs also participate in various Bronx and New York City-wide advocacy groups.  These forums allow RMHA to be a part of a larger professional voice and to have access to technical and programmatic assistance from advocacy and professional groups  as well as from New York City and New York State. 

            We deeply appreciate the generosity and loyalty of our supporters.  We are also grateful to those city and state agencies which provide funding for our programs.  We also want to acknowledge those elected officials who provide legislative grants or other funding that enables us to continue or expand our programs and to have suitable office space in which to operate.   This year, we increased the number of foundation grants that we received that assist us in a variety of ways.   Going forward, we hope to be even more successful in our ability to obtain public and private grants.  This is critical for us to be able to provide the kinds of services that are needed in our communities. 

            RMHA continues in its mission to provide a growing range of services and programs effectively and compassionately.  I am very grateful for the efforts of the Board and all of our staff. Together, we will continue to help those we serve live more independent and satisfying lives.

Robert M. Brewster, LCSW

Executive Director