Brian Stettin will speak to NAMI Members on the “The Untapped Power of AOT in Kentucky”

Brian Stettin, Policy Director of the Treatment Advocacy Center will be the presenter of two morning workshops titled: “Untapped Power of Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT)”, on July 20th at the NAMI KY conference. (For more details see the bottom of this post.)

In his presentations, Brian will cut through the common misconception's surrounding AOT. He will share research on its effectiveness, walk through the Kentucky AOT law and explain how it needs to be improved, and explore strategies for grassroots advocates to mobilize to make AOT those who need it a routine component of the Kentucky mental health care system.

Brian Stettin is the Policy Director of the Treatment Advocacy Center, a national advocacy organization based in Arlington, Virginia that works to remove legal barriers to the treatment of severe mental illness.  In 1999, as an Assistant New York State Attorney General, Brian conceived and drafted the original proposal of “Kendra’s Law,” landmark legislation establishing Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) in New York. He was also instrumental in marshaling critical support for the bill, negotiating revisions with the New York Legislature and Governor, and enhancing the law upon its initial expiration in 2005. After leaving the Attorney General’s Office, Brian worked in Albany as Special Counsel to the New York State Commissioner of Criminal Justice Services, and Counsel to the Health Committee of the New York Assembly.  Since joining the Treatment Advocacy Center in 2009, Brian has been active across the U.S. in fostering the creation of local and regional AOT programs; reforming states’ inpatient commitment standards; and nurturing alliances with like-minded groups and advocates.  Brian is a 1991 graduate of the City College of New York and a 1995 graduate of the University of Texas School of Law.

 
Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) is the practice of placing certain individuals with severe mental illness under court order to adhere to their prescribed treatment while living in the community. The target population is people caught in the “revolving door” of the mental health and criminal justice systems, as a result of their chronic inability to recognize their own illness and seek care voluntarily.
 
AOT has been prove in studies to drastically improve treatment outcomes, by lowering rates of hospitalization, incarceration and homelessness. However, it remains controversial within the mental health community, because some view it as an intrusion on the individual’s right to make his or her own treatment choices.
 
AOT is authorized under law in 44 states (including Kentucky) but is underused in nearly all of them. In the select jurisdictions across the country that employ it, AOT is considered an indispensable component of the mental health system. Typically, once an AOT program is up and running, controversy tends to die down as it dawns on people that the approach is not punitive at all, and offers a true lifeline to those in need.
 

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NAMI Kentucky Annual Conference

July 20, 2013

Christ Lutheran Church

9212 Taylorsville Road

Louisville, KY

$25.00 registration fee

1.) 9:15 or 10:30 am  "The Untapped Power of AOC in Kentucky"  Presenter Brian Stettin, Policy Director of the Treatment Advocacy Center, VA

Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) is the practice of placing certain individuals with severe mental illness under court order to adhere to their prescribed treatment while living in the community.  The target population is people caught in the "revolving door" of the mental health and criminal justice systems, as a result of their chronic inability to recognize their own illness and seek care voluntarily.

2.) 9:15 or 10:30 am  "How to Effectively Advocate your Legislators"  Presenter Carl Boes, Jr., BA Philosophy Masters of Public Administration

Participants will learn to use their personal experiences to inform and inspire decision makers as they consider the future of public mental health services

3.) 9:15 or 10:30 am  "Counseling SSA Beneficiaries on Work Incentives and Employment"  Presenter: Tim Sloan, a twelve year veteran of counseling disabled Social Security beneficiaries on work incentives and employment.

4.)  9:15 or 10:30 am "Mental Health Courts, both the Enhanced Supervision docket Misdemeanants in District Court, and the Mental Health Court for Circuit Court Felony offenders".  Presenters: Judge Judith Bartholomew, District and Family Courts, Jim Burch of Seven Counties and Susan Jones, with the Jefferson County Attorney office

The workshop is a collaborative effort between the courts and Seven Counties

11:45-12:45Lunch___________________________

12:45-1:00 Break

1:15-2:15 Keynote Speaker Karen Winters Swartz, Author

Where Are the Cocoa Puffs? A Family's Journey Through Bipolar Disorder is Winter's debut novel. Her second novel: Reis's Pieces: Love, Loss and Schizophrenia was released in May 2012. She is an active board member of National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Syracuse and has traveled throughout the country advocating for mental illness awareness.

 

6.) 2:30 or 3:45 pm   "Caregiving Elderly Parents: How to Navigate the Challenges"  Presenter: Jim Schorch, LCSW, LMFT, has been in private practice for 12  years   
The workshop will focus on the common struggles faced by adult children as they care for the unique needs of their parents failing health and mental health needs, how to provide for their own self-care, and access available resources.

7.) 2:30 or 3:45 pm   "Advocating for a Mentally Ill loved One who is Caught in the Criminal Justice"  Presenter: Rebecca Cotton , Attorney for Protection and Advocacy
Discusses the manual " Mentally Ill persons Caught in the Criminal Justice System:  A support manual for family and friends she wrote in her second year of law school.

8.) 2:30 or 3:45 pm  "NAMI ON Campus"  Presenters:  Marcie Timmerland, NAMI Lexington and Jaxcy Odom, UK Student

NAMI On Campus is an exciting extension of NAMI's mission into the campus community.  NAMI on Campus clubs are student-let clubs that tackle mental health issues on campus by raising mental health awareness, educating the campus community, supporting students, promoting services and supports and advocating.

4:45 Closing 

To register, contact: NAMI KY

Somerset, KY 42501
Phone: (606)-451-6935 or 1800-257-5081
Fax: 606-677-4053
namiky@bellsouth.net
www.ky.nami.org