MHMRA of Harris County - Annual Report FY 2012 2012 | Page 4

Investing in Healthy Minds and a Healthy Community

MHMRA at a Glance
MHMRA of Harris County serves the residents of Harris County who are financially disadvantaged and living with a serious mental
disability. We care for people through three service divisions:
Mental Health Services
Major mental illness is a
chronic condition - it can
affect people for long periods
of time and in multiple aspects
of their lives. It is important to
provide continuous appropriate
care for individuals living
with mental illness to ensure
that their symptoms are
manageable, that their risk
of experiencing a psychiatric
crisis is lower than it would be
without services, and that they
can lead productive, dignified
lives. Our Mental Health
Services Division provides
an array of outpatient clinical
services in the community,
including medication,
nursing, talk therapy, and
case management, as well
as specialized services for
individuals who are involved
in the justice system. Our data
shows that individuals who
receive our outpatient mental
health services for more than
three months reduce their
admission rates to emergency
services such as MHMRA’s
Psychiatric Emergency Services
(49% reduction), the Harris
County Psychiatric Hospital
(50% reduction) and the Harris
County Jail (36% reduction). In
FY 2012, we evaluated 12,700
individuals for eligibility
to receive our services. We
treated 21,900 adults who had
a primary diagnosis of major
depression, schizophrenia, or
bipolar disorder, over half of
whom had no form of health
insurance coverage. We also
served around 9,300 children
between the ages of 3 and 17
who were diagnosed with a
mental illness disorder.

4| 2012 Annual Report| MHMRA of Harris County

Comprehensive Psychiatric
Emergency Programs
A psychiatric crisis is a
traumatic event and can
include thoughts or actions
pertaining to harming oneself
or others, acute psychotic
symptoms, increased substance
abuse, and sudden changes
in mental status. Crises
demand rapid attention and
intervention to ensure that
the individual experiencing
the crisis is as protected and
safe as possible. Many services
provided through our CPEP
Division are available to all
adults living in Harris County,
regardless of their financial
standing or diagnosis. Some
services are also available to
children. The CPEP Division
served 12,747 individuals in
FY 2012, often times serving
one individual through several
programs. Our services include
a 24/7 phone counseling
hotline, an emergency room
specifically for individuals
experiencing psychiatric
crises, community mobile
crisis services and short-term
residential programs for those
who need time to recover from
their crisis. In many instances,
psychiatric crises can cause
individuals to act in ways that
lead to incarceration. We have
developed strong partnerships
with local law-enforcement
to divert people committing
low-level offenses away from
jail and into appropriate mental
health care services where they
can receive treatment for the
root causes of their behavior.

Intellectual and
Developmental Disabilities
Services
Intellectual and developmental
disabilities (IDD) involve
delays or impairments in
physical, learning, language, or
behavior. These conditions may
impact day-to-day functioning,
and usually last throughout a
person’s lifetime. Examples
of these conditions include
Intellectual Disabilities, Autism
Spectrum Disorders, Fetal
Alcohol Spectrum Disorders,
Down’s Syndrome, and others.
Intellectual and developmental
disabilities affect over 200,000
individuals of all ages in Harris
County. Through funding
received from state and local
sources, our IDD Services
Division was able to serve
17,185 people in FY 2012.
The Division provides a wide
range of services and supports
to assist people affected by
IDD, all of which are focused
on helping people rise to
their full potential and be as
integrated in the community
as they can be. Services include
Early Childhood Intervention,
employment assistance,
supervised residential living,
autism services, and clinical
services for individuals
diagnosed with IDD and
mental illness or a behavioral
challenge.