View: NEW! Recommendations on Issues of Access to and Inclusion in Behavioral Health Services for GLBTQI Consumers

The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) and its Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) have recently acted to address the disparities in the delivery of behavioral health services between the GLBTQI population and the larger population served by the Commonwealth’s service network. With facilitation and consultation provided through a contract to the UPenn Collaborative on Community Integration, the Deputy Secretary of OMHSAS invited representatives of the GLBTQI consumer communities and their advocates to form a workgroup that would make recommendations to DPW/OMHSAS on how to ensure that OMHSAS, county mental health programs, behavioral health managed care organizations, and mental health provider agencies reduce disparities in outcomes between GLBTQI individuals with a mental illness and the general population.

The Workgroup published this document calling on (OMHSAS) to pursue three goals :

1. Protect GLBTQI individuals with a mental illness from mistreatment;
2. Ensure that OMHSAS and contracted providers offer welcoming environments for GLBTQI individuals with a mental illness; and
3. Ensure clinically competent behavioral health care for GLBTQI individuals with a mental illness.