The Department of Children and Families' Self-Directed Care program provides mental health treatment andsupport services to adults who have a serious mental illness. The program seeks to help participants movetoward recovery and independence by allowing them to have more control over decisions regarding theirtreatment. Program participants can use individual budgets to purchase traditional mental health careservices such as mental health counseling and medications, as well as non-traditional services that are not typically provided by the department's community mental health programs. During the first six months of Fiscal Year 2009-10, the majority (81%) of participants' purchases were for non-traditional services, such as transportation, housing, and computers.
In Fiscal Year 2008-09, it cost, on average, $4,313 to serve each participant in the program. These costsinclude direct expenditures for participant purchases, as well as costs to operate the program. While thestate has not appropriated additional funds to operate the program, it is not cost-neutral as the departmentspends more, on average, to serve these participants than the average cost to serve adults with seriousmental illnesses in the traditional community mental health system. The department needs to develop astronger accountability system to monitor how well the program is helping participants achieve their personaland recovery goals.

Copies of this report in print or alternate accessible format may be obtained by email OPPAGA@oppaga.fl.gov, telephone (850) 488-0021, or mail 111 W. Madison St., Room 312 Tallahassee, FL 32399-1475.