Strategic Plan

Vision 

Jefferson Parish Human Services Authority (JPHSA) envisions a Jefferson Parish in which individuals and families affected by mental illness, addictive disorders or developmental disabilities will live full, independent and productive lives to the greatest extent possible with available resources.

Mission

The mission of Jefferson Parish Human Services Authority is to minimize the existence and disabling effects of mental illness, substance abuse, and developmental disabilities and to maximize opportunities for individuals and families affected by those conditions to achieve a better quality of life and to participate more fully within our community.

Philosophy  

Jefferson Parish Human Services Authority maintains a shared philosophy of person-centered and recovery processes by creating a learning organization that highly regards innovation, embraces meaningful change, and values positive outcomes. JPHSA accomplishes this through the provision of services and supports that allows each individual to overcome barriers to achieving his or her full potential. JPHSA expects the commitment of all employees and contracted service providers to “do whatever it takes.” System problems that prevent “doing whatever it takes” are addressed and corrected. Further, there is agency-wide support for all decisions that are made.

“Doing whatever it takes,” also includes a focus on meeting and exceeding expectations in terms of interpersonal interaction. JPHSA’s Service Statement – “We promise courtesy, empathy, and respect in meeting the expectations of those we serve and each other.” – reflects a philosophy of “customer service” and is embraced as part of the agency’s culture.

Direction/Executive Summary

The Louisiana State Legislature established Jefferson Parish Human Services Authority in 1989 as a revolutionary approach to provide administration, management and operation of mental health, addictive disorders, and developmental disabilities services to the residents of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. JPHSA is now a model for other regions in Louisiana who also provide these services. Previously, direct provision of these services was through the Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH).

Governance of JPHSA is by a 12-member Board of Directors with nine members appointed by the Jefferson Parish Council and the remaining three members appointed by the Governor of Louisiana. Each Board member must possess experience in the areas of mental health, addictive disorders, or developmental disabilities and represent parents, consumers, advocacy groups, or serve as a professional in one of the areas. All members serve without compensation.

Administration of JPHSA is by an Executive Director, who is selected by the Board of Directors. A Medical Director, along with Division Directors, supports the Executive Director in administration and day-to-day operations.

As mandated by the Board of Directors, JPHSA allocates its resources according to the following priorities:

• First Priority.  Persons and families in crisis related to mental illness, addictive disorders or developmental disabilities shall have their crisis resolved and a safe environment restored.
• Second Priority.  Persons with serious and disabling mental illness, addictive disorders or developmental disabilities shall make use of natural supports and community resources and shall participate in the community.
• Third Priority.  Persons with mild to moderate needs related to mental illness, addictive disorders or developmental disabilities shall make use of natural supports and community resources and shall participate in the community.
• Fourth Priority.  Persons not yet identified with specific serious or moderate mental illness, addictive disorders, or developmental disabilities, but who are at significant risk of such disorders due to the presence of empirically established risk factors or the absence of the empirically protective factors do not develop the problems for which they are at risk.

Strategic Links

The President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health

(Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America)

“We envision a future when everyone with a mental illness will recover a future when mental illnesses can be prevented or cured, a future when mental illnesses are detected early, and a future when everyone with a mental illness at any stage of life has access to effective treatment and supports – essentials for living, working, learning, and participating fully in the community.”

In a transformed mental health system…

Goal 1:  Americans understand that mental health is essential to overall 

              health;

Goal 2:  Mental health care is consumer and family driven;

Goal 3:  Disparities in mental health services are eliminated;

Goal 4:  Early mental health screening, assessment, and referral to services

              are common practice;

Goal 5:  Excellent mental health care is delivered and research is

              accelerated;

Goal 6:  Technology is used to access mental health care and information.

The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) Report: Improving the Quality of Health Care for Mental and Substance-Use Conditions (2005)

The IOM report on improving health care for mental and substance-use conditions identified six primary areas of concern that must be addressed to achieve the desired systems level improvements.

Goal 1:  Assuring the system is patient-centered;

Goal 2:  Enhancing measurement and quality improvements in

              infrastructures;

Goal 3:  Improving linkages across systems of care;

Goal 4:  Increasing involvement in National Health Information

              Infrastructure (NHII);

Goal 5:  Improving workforce capacity for quality improvement;

Goal 6:  Making marketplace changes.

The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAID)

The primary goal for all persons with mental retardation and related developmental disabilities is to enjoy and maintain a good quality of life and to be able to live the lives they choose.

A good quality of life exists for persons with mental retardation and related developmental disabilities when they:

Goal 1:  Receive the support, encouragement, opportunity and resources to

              explore and define how they want to live their lives.

Goal 2:  Choose and receive the services and supports that will help them

              live meaningful lives.

• Direct the services and supports they receive.
• Lead a life rich with friendships.
• Have their rights, dignity and privacy protected.
• Are allowed to take risks in their choices.
• Are assured of health and safety.

Goal 3:  Public agencies, private organizations, and individuals providing

             services and supports must:

• Be responsible and accountable to individuals and their families.
• Continuously improve their efforts to support individuals in leading meaningful lives.
• Be recognized when they make meaningful contributions to the quality of life for individuals.
• Be replaced when they fail to make meaningful contributions to quality of life for individuals.
• Be part of a program of ongoing monitoring, independent of the service provider, to ensure desired outcomes and the satisfaction of the people served and their families.

The Association of Persons with Handicaps (TASH)

JPHSA along with TASH believes that no one with a disability should be forced to live, work, or learn in a segregated setting; that all individuals deserve the right to direct their own lives. JPHSA is in concert with TASH 's mission of eliminating physical and social obstacles that prevent equity, diversity, and quality of life.

Healthy People 2010

Various objectives of Goals 6, 18, and 26 in Healthy People 2010 are indirectly linked to services provided by JPHSA and/or goals and objectives of this strategic plan.

Goal 6:  Promote the health of people with disabilities, prevent secondary

              conditions, and eliminate disparities between people with and

              without disabilities in the U.S. population.

Goal 18:  Improve mental health and ensure access to appropriate, quality

               mental health services.

Goal 26:  Reduce substance abuse to protect the health, safety and quality of

                life for all, especially children.

Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP)

The role of prevention is to create healthy communities in which people have quality of life.

Goal 1:  Healthy environments at work and in school

Goal 2:  Supportive communities and neighborhoods

Goal 3:  Connections with families and friends

Goal 4:  Drug and crime-free communities

Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT)

CSAT promotes the quality and availability of community-based substance abuse treatment services for individuals and families who need them and to improve the lives of individuals and families affected by alcohol and drug abuse by ensuring access to clinically sound, cost-effective addiction treatment that reduces the health and social costs to our communities and the nation. Programs are based on research findings and the general consensus of experts in the addiction field that, for most individuals, treatment and recovery work best in a community-based, coordinated system of comprehensive services. Because no single treatment approach is effective for all persons, CSAT supports the nation's effort to provide multiple treatment modalities, evaluate treatment effectiveness, and use evaluation results to enhance treatment and recovery approaches. 

Healthcare Redesign in Louisiana

The mission of the Louisiana Health Care Redesign Collaborative is to develop, and oversee the implementation of, a practical blueprint for an evidence-based, quality driven health care system for Louisiana.  This blueprint will serve as a guide to health care policy in Louisiana and for the recovery and rebuilding of health care in the hurricane-affected areas of the state.

Goal 1:  Implementation of Medical Home and Specialized Medical Home

Goal 2:  Implementation of Quality Forum

Goal 3:  Implementation of Information Technology (Electronic Health

              Record)

Act 555 ("Parish Children and Youth Services Planning Boards Act")

For the purposes of encouraging positive youth development, diversion of youth from the criminal justice system, reduction in commitments of youth to state institutions, promoting efficiency and economy in the delivery of youth services, and providing community response to the growing rate of juvenile delinquency, the legislature authorizes a program of state subsidies to assist parishes, on a voluntary basis, in the development, implementation, and operation of comprehensive, community- based youth service programs.

The purpose of the children and youth planning boards is to assist in the assessment, alignment, coordination, prioritization, and measurement of all available services and programs that address the needs of children and youth. This includes children and youth at risk for, or identified with, social, emotional, or developmental problems, including, but not limited to educational failure, abuse, neglect, exposure to violence, juvenile or parental mental illness, juvenile or parental substance abuse,

poverty, developmental disabilities and delinquency. The boards are intended to encourage collaborative efforts among local stakeholders for assessing the physical, social, behavioral, and educational needs of children and youth in their respective communities and for assisting in the development of comprehensive plans to address such needs.

Louisiana Vision 2020

While Vision 2020 contains no direct links to Jefferson Parish Human Services Authority, the services provided by JPHSA do contribute to Goal One, Objective Eleven and to Goal Three, Objectives Three, Four and Five.

Goal One:  To be a Learning Enterprise in which all Louisiana Businesses,

                   institutions, and citizens are actively engaged in the pursuit of

                   knowledge

Objective 11:  To increase workforce participation rates among traditionally

                       under utilized sources of workers (women, minorities,

                       disabled, ex-offenders, immigrants, elderly, etc.)

Goal Three:  To achieve a standard of living among the top ten states in

                      America

Objective 3:  To ensure quality healthcare for every Louisiana citizen.

Objective 4: To improve the quality of life of Louisiana’s children

Objective 5: To ensure safe, vibrant and supportive communities for all

                     citizens

Human Resources Policies Benefiting Women and Families, Act 1078 of 2003 Regular Session. 

JPHSA has an array of agency-wide Human Resources policies that support and assist female employees, and hence, their families. All policies are reviewed on a regular basis and updated or amended as needed. Additionally, the Human Resources director monitors state and federal guidelines/mandates as well as internal feedback from staff and management.

Further, as reflected in this strategic plan, JPHSA utilizes a person- and family-centered approach in the provision of services and supports; and, recognizes families as the foundation of lifelong love and care and the need for families to be supported and strengthened. Evidence, too, the establishment and operation of a division – Child & Family Services – with its focus on children, infancy through adolescence, and the family unit; and including services specifically geared to benefit women in the parent role.

The Jefferson Parish Human Services Authority has one program: Jefferson Parish Human Services Authority.

Goal I

To provide comprehensive services and supports which improve the quality of life and community participation for persons in crisis and/or with serious and persistent mental illness, emotional and behavioral disorders, addictive disorders, and/or developmental disabilities, while providing appropriate and best practices to individuals with less severe needs.

Goal II

To improve personal outcomes through effective implementation of best practices and data-driven decision-making.

Goal III

To retain an adequate workforce to fulfill the Mission and Priorities of Jefferson Parish Human Services Authority.

Goal I. Objective 1:

Provide services and supports which emphasize recovery, resiliency and/or family- and person-centered planning each year through June 30, 2013.

              Strategies:

                         I.2.1. Track use of resources through utilization

                                    management.

                         I.2.2. Monitor service area capacity.

                                            Performance Indicators:

• Total number of children/adolescents (unduplicated) enrolled in primary prevention programs (K)
• Number of people (unduplicated) receiving state-funded developmental disabilities community-based services (K)
• Total adults with mental illness (unduplicated) served across the system of care (G)

Goal II. Objective 1: 

Improve personal outcomes in quality of life areas of family and community participation, resilience/recovery, and satisfaction with services and supports by June 30, 2013.

Strategies:

II.1.1. Establish Health Information Technology through implementation

             of an electronic health record.

II.1.2. Implement best practices across the agency.

II.1.3. Monitor and report personal outcomes data.

II.1.4. Provide ongoing staff training and supervision on best practices and

             cultural competency.

Performance Indicators:

• Percentage of individuals with addictive disorders continuing treatment for ninety days or more in an outpatient adult program (K)
• Percentage of individuals admitted to social detoxification who complete the program (K)
• Percentage of adults receiving Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) services who remained in the community without a hospitalization (K)
• Percentage of adults receiving Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) services who remained housed for seven months or longer (K)
• Percentage of youth to demonstrate improvements/no change in clinical symptom scores on the “Strengths & Difficulties Questionnaire” following six months of treatment (K)
• Percentage of Cash Subsidy recipients who remain in the community vs. institution (K)
• Percentage of Individual and Family Support recipients who remain in the community vs. institution (K)
• Percentage of individuals completing Multi-Systemic Therapy (MST) free from arrests and living at home and attending school/job (S)
• Percentage of individuals with a developmental disability surveyed who reported they had choice in the services they received (G)
• Percentage of individuals with a developmental disability surveyed who reported they had overall satisfaction with the services they received (G)

Goal II. Objective 2: 

Increase employment and education for all people served by JPHSA by June 30, 2013.

Strategies:

II.2.1. Adopt and continually reinforce the philosophy of employment as a “shared responsibility” among all Adult Services Mental Health Providers at JPSHA.  

II.2.2. Provide all direct service staff in Adult Mental Health Services with access to resources, e.g., the “JPHSA Employment Resource Guide” and “LRS (Louisiana Rehabilitative Services) How to Guide” and to ongoing training on employment.

II.2.3. Utilize person/family-centered planning to assist individuals and families in identifying goals for work and/or school and resolving barriers to participation in employment and/or school.

II.2.3. Include employment as a point of discussion at every Adult Services Mental Health treatment planning meeting and include as a treatment objective where appropriate.

Performance Indicators:

• Percentage of adults with mental illness employed in community-based employment (K)
• Percentage of persons with a developmental disability employed in community-based employment (K)
• Number of children with developmental disabilities and their families who were assisted in the development of their Individual Education Plans (IEP) including Individual Transition Plans (ITP) (K)

Children with a Developmental Disability Provided Assistance with IEP Development (PI 22312)

Personal Support Coordinators document participation in the IEP meetings they attend for the families they support.

The chart compares targeted to actual performance for the first three quarters of FY 08-09.

Goal II. Objective 3: 

Increase the focus on safe, affordable, accessible housing for all people served by JPHSA through June 30, 2013.

Strategies:

II.3.1. Utilize person/family-centered planning to assist individuals and families in   identifying goals for housing and home ownership and resolving barriers to purchasing a home.

Performance Indicator

• Number of adults with a developmental disability who lived independently outside of their family home through receiving state-funded supported living services (K)

Goal III. Objective 1:

Retain an adequate workforce to fulfill the mission and priorities of Jefferson Parish Human Services Authority each year through June 30, 2013.

Strategies:

             III.1.1. Recruit individuals in accredited training programs for

                          clinical experience

             III.1.2. Utilize state or federal funding for recruitment.

             III.1.3. Provide ongoing professional training for staff.

                                Performance Indicators:

• Percentage of vacancy of full-time positions (32 hours or more) (G)
• Percentage of respondents to the JPHSA Employee Satisfaction Survey rating overall satisfaction with employment at the agency as satisfied/good or higher (G)