Testing Self-Directed Care in Florida

Participants meet with self-directed care program staff called brokers to receive a program orientation, share perceptions of their current life situation and mental health status, and review past year behavioral health service use as well as participants' views of service helpfulness. This culminates in participants' choice of recovery goals and development of an individual budget to pay for for services and material goods directly related to recovery goals. After budget approval by the program supervisor, brokers make purchases. At quarterly meetings, brokers and participants discuss the latter's progress toward recovery goals and create the next quarter's budget. After receiving 12 months of SDC services, participants are helped to transition back to usual community mental health services.

Participants receive usual outpatient psychiatric care delivered at community programs from which the person can choose from an array of services negotiated with the state mental health authority.