Florida Partners in Crisis

Retention of key DCF mental health post and SAMH Corporation win support

January 14, 2010

Florida Department of Children & Families Secretary George Sheldon has urged members of the House General Accountability Act Council to retain the position of assistant secretary for substance abuse and mental health within his agency's administrative ranks.

Sheldon

"For far too long, substance abuse and mental health has been a stepchild of this agency," Sheldon said during a January 13 committee meeting held to review the possible "sunset" of various agency functions, including the assistant secretary's post at DCF and the Florida Substance Abuse and Mental Health Corporation. Also under consideration is the transfer of the Office of Drug Control from the Governor's Office to DCF.

Florida law requires independent sunset reviews of state agencies, their advisory committees and/or programs. The process is primarily a means of allowing legislators to verify whether the agencies and committees are fulfilling their responsibilities and meeting a public need.

In addition to DCF, three other agencies are currently under review:  the Department of Community Affairs, the Department of Management Services and the Department of State. The Corporation is scheduled to be abolished October 1, 2011 unless that date is extended by the Legislature.

Sheldon told the committee he would not want to see oversight of the state's five mental health hospitals "four tiers down from the Secretary's office."  The hospitals now come under the oversight of Assistant Secretary for Substance Abuse and Mental Health David Sofferin, who reports directly to Sheldon.

Sheldon reminded committee members of the legal crisis that arose in 2006, when the department's then- Secretary Lucy Hadi was held in contempt of court because people in jail awaiting admission to a state hospital were being held longer than the statutory limit.

The assistant secretary's post was created partly in response to calls from advocates for greater visibility for substance abuse and mental health programs within the DCF bureaucracy. At the time, there was considerable discussion of moving substance abuse and mental health programs to the Department of Health or to an independent agency.

Creation of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Corporation by the 2003 Legislature was triggered by advocates' concerns over the inadequacy of funding for the state's mental health and substance abuse system and the need for improvements in service delivery.

The Corporation's 12 board members are appointed by the Governor, President of the Senate and Speaker of the House. They are charged with making recommendations annually to the Governor and the Legislature on policies designed to improve coordination and effectiveness of the mental health and substance abuse system.

In 2007, the Legislature also directed the Corporation to administer the Criminal Justice Substance Abuse and Mental Health Reinvestment Grant program which currently funds matching grants to 11 Florida counties involved in diversion programs.

Continuation of the Corporation was endorsed by Sheldon and by Judge Steven Leifman, special mental health advisor to the Florida Supreme Court and chair of Florida Partners in Crisis.

Sheldon noted the Corporation's contributions to shaping mental health and substance abuse policy. "The extent to which we can involve the community in developing policy, the better that policy is," he said.

Leifman

In a letter read by Council member Rep. Julio Robaina, R-Miami, Leifman said that elimination of the assistant secretary's post and sunsetting the Corporation would be "disastrous," given that Florida is "in the midst of a mental health and substance abuse crisis which is costing Floridians billions of dollars each year."

"The Florida Substance Abuse and Mental Health Corporation is leading the charge to help bring about cost effective and evidenced based practices to each community in Florida—the types of significant changes needed to reform our system," Leifman said. "It takes the leadership provided by the Corporation working with all of the many stakeholders to bring about the fundamental change."

Leifman supported the Corporation's request that its sunset date be extended from October 2011 to June 30, 2013.  

The sunset of the Corporation and elimination of the assistant secretary's post, along with the proposed move of the Office of Drug Control, will be discussed more fully by the Council when it meets again on Jan. 20, beginning at 1 p.m., in the House Office Building in Tallahassee.

To voice your support for these important mental health and substance abuse program initiatives, please contact Rep. Faye Culp, Chair of the Council, at 813-272-2920 or email to faye.culp@myfloridahouse.gov.