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DMHSAS Memo Series 2008-04

Replaced by Memo 2009-05 Dated June 1, 2009

STATE OF WISCONSIN MEMO SERIES DMHSAS 2008-04 ACTION
Department of Health Services Date: July 9, 2008
Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services

Re: MENTAL HEALTH BLOCK GRANT
COMMUNITY AIDS FORMULA
ALLOCATION

Replaces DMHSAS 2007-09 ACTION

To: Listserv

For: Area Administrators/Human Service Area Coordinators
Bureau Directors/Section Chiefs
County Departments of Community Programs Directors
County Departments of Developmental Disabilities
Services Directors
County Departments of Human Services Directors
County Departments of Social Services Directors
County Mental Health Coordinators
Tribal Chairpersons/Human Services Facilitators

From: John Easterday, Administrator
Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services

Subject: Mental Health Block Grant Community AIDS Formula Allocation

Document Summary

This memo outlines the reporting requirements for the Mental Health Block Grant (MHBG) for CY 2007 and expenditure requirements for the use of CY 2009 MHBG funds. Counties are required to comply with the HSRS reporting requirements including the Consumer Status Data Set. A DHS priority is to serve persons with a serious mental illness who are homeless. For CY 2008 a new category, Comprehensive Community Serves (CCS) was added to the list. Comprehensive Community Services (CCS) certified counties may utilize block grants funds under the CCS category. Return the County Reporting Form no later than August 15, 2008. Reports are form fillable. You should disregard any previous DMHSAS memos relating to the Mental Health Block Grant reporting requirements.

Background

The Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (DMHSAS) is annually awarded a Mental Health Block Grant (MHBG) (CFDA# 93.958) from the federal Center for Mental Health Services within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The DMHSAS, as required by State statutes 20.435(7)(o) and 46.40(2m)(b), obligates up to $2,513,400 of the MHBG to all counties within the state through a Community Aids Formula Allocation. The formula allocation is based on each county's population, Medicaid caseload, and per capita income. This memo describes the county reporting requirements for the 2007 Community Aids Formula Allocation and the county expenditure requirements for the upcoming 2009 Community Aids Formula Allocation.

Community Aids Formula Allocation Reporting for 2007

The MHBG award carries reporting requirements on how the funding is spent. As a result, the DMHSAS requires counties to report on how much of their formula allocation was spent and for what purposes. The requirements for spending the 2007 MHBG funds were described in DMHSAS Memo 2005-10. Counties' deadline for reporting expenditures and outcomes for the 2007 Community Aids Formula Allocation is August 15, 2008. Use the County Reporting Form in Attachment 1 to record county expenditures in the eight allowable expenditure categories and record the associated outcomes for those expenditures on page 2 of the form. Return copies of the County Reporting Form to your Area Administrator and the Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (DMHSAS) as specified at the end of the form.

Community Aids Formula Allocation Expenditures for 2008

The DMHSAS received $7,415,204 in CMHBG funding. Counties' allocations for CY 2008 must be spent by December 31, 2008 and the associated expenditure reports are due to the Community Aids Reporting System (CARS) within 90 days of the expenditure deadline. Please check your current expenditure level to ensure your county is on track to spend its formula allocation by December 31, 2008. If you have questions, call the Central Office Contact person listed at the end of this memo.

Community Aids Formula Allocation Amounts for 2009

The DMHSAS will receive a projected $7,415,204 in 2009 MHBG funds from the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS). Of the projected $7,415,204 in 2009 MHBG funds, $2,513,400 will again be allocated to county programs using the Community Aids Formula. Attachment 2 lists the projected formula allocation for each county Department of Community Programs/Human Services for Calendar Year (CY) 2009.

The federal and state requirements associated with the expenditure of the MHBG Community Aids Formula Allocation funds are described in detail in Attachment 3. Some of these requirements include:

  • Funds must be used for activities associated with community mental health services,
  • Funds must be used for services to adults with serious mental illness (SMI) or children with severe emotional disorders (SED)
  • The Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (DMHSAS) has identified nine program areas to which counties can apply these funds including Community Support Programs (CSP), Supported Housing, Jail Diversion, Crisis Intervention, Family and Consumer Peer Support and Self-Help, Services for Children and Adolescents with SED, Programs for Persons with Mental Illness and Substance Abuse Problems, Community Mental Health Data Set Development, and Comprehensive Community Services.

In addition to reporting CY 2007 expenditures, counties must use the County Reporting Form (Attachment 1) to submit a plan for the expenditure of their CY 2009 Community Aids Formula Allocation by August 15, 2008. The plan should follow the requirements described in this memo.

Priority for Serving Individuals Who are Homeless

In CY 2005, a new priority for DMHSAS and DHS was begun to improve efforts to serve persons with a serious mental illness who are homeless either through immediate action or priority placement on a wait list. Counties are requested to prioritize the reporting of persons who are homeless and have a serious mental illness through the Human Services Reporting System (HSRS). The primary objective of prioritizing persons with a serious mental illness who are homeless is to provide this population with better access to all mainstream mental health services. Mental Health Block Grant funds can be dedicated to ANY of the priority program areas to provide mainstream mental health services to persons with a serious mental illness who are homeless. The HSRS data will be used by the DMHSAS to report on services provided to persons who are homeless. All HSRS data must be completed for all consumers with a serious mental illness who are homeless regardless of whether the MHBG is used to fund their services.

Data describing individuals whom are homeless shall be recorded in fields in HSRS as follows:

  • Code 80 indicating an individual is homeless should be recorded as a Client Characteristic (Field 7), and

  • For individuals who meet the BRC criteria for inclusion in the Consumer Status Data Set (CSDS), Code 1 indicating the individual lives on the street or in a shelter should be recorded to describe their Residential Arrangement (Field 37).

Every year, the State must report data to the federal Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) as part of the annual MHBG application. Thus, data collection and reporting remains a priority area for the DMHSAS. Mental health information from the CSDS must be reported through HSRS in a timely manner. All data is critical to the Department of Health Services and county agencies in measuring performance outcomes.

ACTION SUMMARY STATEMENT: This Memo outlines a reporting process with priority areas. Counties are required to report data and to develop performance targets. Please disregard the previous DMHSAS memos relating to MHBG reporting.

Complete and return pages 1-3 of Attachment 1 no later than August 15, 2008. The Attachment asks you to:

  • Summarize activities, expenditures, and outcomes related to the Mental Health Block Grant Community Aids Formula Allocation in CY 2007;

  • Indicate your spending plan for the CY 2009 Community Aids Formula Allocation; and

  • Submit one copy to the Area Administrator. Counties may submit electronically, however one hard copy must be sent or faxed to the Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.

REGIONAL OFFICE CONTACT: Area Administrators

CENTRAL OFFICE CONTACT: Rebecca Cohen
Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
1 West Wilson Street, room 850
P.O. Box 7851
Madison, WI 53707-7851
(608) 266-2712
Fax: (608) 266-1533
e-mail: rebecca.cohen@wisconsin.gov

MEMO WEB SITE: http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/dsl_info/NumberedMemos/DMHSAS/CY2008/index.htm

Attachments:
Attachment 1 County Reporting Form (MS Word 80KB) 
Attachment 2 County Program Allocation Levels
Attachment 3 2009 Mental Health Block Grant Requirements

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