History
After federal legislation was passed in the 1960s, the City and County of Denver established four community mental health centers in 1969 by dividing the community into four segments known as “catchments.” The Federal Community Mental Health Center Act mandated catchment areas not exceed populations of 200,000 people, thus Denver was segmented into four areas.
The names of the centers changed over time; however, prior to consolidation the centers were Bethesda Community Mental Health Center (serving southeast Denver), Denver Center for Mental Health Services (serving northwest Denver), Park East Comprehensive Mental Health Center (serving northeast Denver), and Southwest Mental Health Center (serving southwest Denver).
Residents of each were able to utilize the services of the community mental health center in their area only, thus, specialized services were not available to individuals residing out of the catchment area boundaries.
Despite efforts by the four mental health centers in Denver to provide quality care for their citizens, problems stemming from city fragmentation were difficult to remedy. Issues of client mobility, homelessness, program and administrative duplications and other operational inefficiencies affected clinical and fiscal opportunities.
For many years Denver unsuccessfully attempted to reorganize in response to these issues. In 1986, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Program on Chronic Mental Illness provided the final impetus and funding to accomplish the task of system streamlining. As part of that program, Denver, as one of nine cities, was awarded a $2.5 million grant to achieve this change. The funds were dispersed in annual increments over a five year period beginning in November 1987 and ending in December 1991.
The grant enabled concerned citizens, consumers, family members and professionals to join together to create an effective and quality system. From 1987 to 1989 many hundreds of individuals and over 50 organizations participated in the planning process to restructure the programs and services. MHCD was incorporated as a private, not-for-profit (501c3) corporation under executive order from the former Mayor of Denver, FedericoPeña, in December 1987 and became operational July 1, 1989, as the designated community mental health authority for the City and County of Denver.
In June 2004 a name change took place to more accurately reflect the status of the organization and it became known as the Mental Health Center of Denver.
Today all residents requiring and meeting eligibility for mental health services in the City and County of Denver may utilize programs and specialized services of one organization – The Mental Health Center of Denver.
Licensure
MHCD is licensed by the Colorado Department of Health and the State Division of Mental Health. MHCD's residential facilities receive additional licenses from both the city and state. As a term of licensure, surveys and audits of MHCD's services are conducted on an annual basis.
Staffing
MHCD directly employs over 450 people. Staff are skilled in a variety of clinical areas to provide services to MHCD consumers. Direct service staff include psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, occupational therapists, mental health workers and residential assistants. MHCD provides ongoing training and education to constantly improve professional skills.
Clientele
MHCD specializes in the treatment of serious and persistent mental illness. At the close of 2007, MHCD had approximately 4,500 active cases.
Adults
- Adults comprised 88 percent of this group which is 48 percent male and 52 percent female.
- A little over half of the consumers are white, and minority group representation pretty well reflects Denver statistics.
- Generally, MHCD's consumers speak English and have never married.
- Fifty seven percent of our consumers live independently, with only 7 percent homeless and .5 percent incarcerated.
- The top four diagnoses are Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, Major Depression, and Schizoaffective Disorder. Just under 40 percent have a diagnosis of Substance Abuse, with or without other diagnosis. (See Learn About Mental Health for more information.)
Children
- About 12 percent of MHCD's active cases are children and adolescents under 18 with an average age of 12.
- Boys comprise 60 percent of this group and girls 40 percent.
- Forty percent of the children are Latino, 21 percent are Caucasian, 20 percent are African American, and 17 percent are of mixed race.
- English is the primary language of 83 percent, and Spanish is primary with 15 percent.
- Eighty three percent live in some family-like environment, and 6 percent live in foster homes.
- Anxiety is the number one diagnosis among children followed by Adjustment Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder and Major Depression. About 4 percent of the children have a diagnosis of Substance Abuse. (See Learn About Mental Health for more information.)
Funding
With an annual budget of $47 million, MHCD receives 46 percent of its revenue from Medicaid, 8 percent from Medicare, 32 percent from other state funds, 2 percent from federal grants, 4 percent from private sources, and 4 percent from contracts and grants.
Financial stability is an objective of MHCD. As 89% of funding is from State and Federal sources, it can be challenging for MHCD to attain this objective. Thus, every General Fund and Medicaid dollar is of great importance to MHCD and the consumers it serves. Unfortunately, both of these critical resources are limited annually.
MHCD began to explore other sources of revenue in 1993. In 1994 the organization created the Office of Development whose responsibility is twofold: 1) design, develop, and implement a program to raise funds from individual and business sources – not tied to grant requirements and 2) coordinate all MHCD grant application processes. Additionally, the organization-wide public relations responsibilities are the purview of the Development Office.
MHCD has chosen to execute a mission-based grassroots fundraising approach to appeal to individual donors. Two annual direct mail appeals add to the list of donors and provide a base on which to build long-term relationships. The MHCD Board of Directors as well as senior staff actively participates in fundraising. The Board by-laws require each Board member to make an annual contribution. In future years, MHCD will work toward establishing an endowment and a program for planned giving.