SOCW 6351: Social Policy, Welfare, and Change Week 6

Discussion 1 Respond to  two colleagues by offering strategies for how the challenges your colleagues described should be addressed to ensure better mental health care.

Support your response with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.

Discussion 1 Colleagues Post 1

Samuel Rullo Ribeiro 

RE: Discussion 1 

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There are several gaps in mental health treatment. According to (Popple et al, 2015) one of the major gaps in mental health care treatment can be funding.  This includes funding and support from insurance companies. While this has improved in recent years, getting insurance to cover mental health issues can be far more challenging than having insurance cover physical issues.  I work at a residential mental health facility as a case manager. I see first-hand, that even with now, it seems to be a constant battle with health insurance companies to show that an individual needs mental health services.

Poverty complicates the issue of mental health treatment even further.  For one it is very challenging for someone without insurance to receive mental health care.  It is far less likely for a free clinic to offer mental health services, in addition to this paying out of pocket for mental health services can come at a very high price.

Resources:

Plummer, S. -B., Makris, S., Brocksen, S. M. (Eds.). (2014). Baltimore, MD: Laureate International University Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].

Popple, P. R., Leighninger, L. (2019). The policy-based profession: An introduction to social welfare policy analysis for social workers. (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Chelsea Soifua 

RE: Discussion 1 Post 2

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There are many gaps in the health care system, from high cost of medicines and services, to out of network doctors that are needed for specific medical intervention. There are also concerns of lack of support with families. Compassion fatigue occurs in individuals that care for people with medical and mental illnesses. These individuals lose their ability to care for the family member or person with the illness. In the case of the Parker family Ms. Parker has a strong family support but there are still concerns with eventual issues regarding payments for medications.

In the United States people struggle everyday with making payments for daily medications. For the poor and homeless populations maintaining medications for illnesses like diabetes, bipolar, and other mental and physical illnesses can be near impossible. Often homelessness and mental illness are related in clients due to the inability to maintain mental health. Research shows that Those who have a lack in resources that cover their basic needs have resulted in being more isolated and having lower social networks (Ljungqvist et al. (2016).

References

Ljungqvist, I., Topor, A., Forssell, H., Svensson, I., & Davidson, L. (2016). Money and mental

illness: A study of the relationship between poverty and serious psychological problems.

Community Mental Health Journal, 52(7), 842–850. https://doi-

org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1007/s10597-015-9950-9

Plummer, S. -B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. (Eds.). (2014). Sessions: Case histories. Baltimore:

MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].

Popple, P. R., & Leighninger, L. (2019). The policy-based profession: An introduction to social

welfare policy analysis for social workers (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson

Education.

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Discussion 2 Respond to two colleagues by expanding on their posts regarding what social workers can do to ensure that clients/populations receive necessary mental health services. In your response, explain the ethical responsibility related to mental health care in host settings that social workers must uphold when they encounter conflicts in administration and professional values. For example, how might you balance insurance, service, and continuity of care?

Support your response with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.

Discussion 2 Colleagues Post 1

DeAnna Oliver 

RE: Discussion 2

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The number of individuals with mental illness is on the rise, for adults and children too. Approximately 1 in 5 adults have a mental illness, and the number of mentally ill children increased from 5.9% to 8.2% in just three years (Mental Health America, 2018). However, this means that 76% of children are lacking proper treatment or care (Mental Health America, 2018). The issue is not lack of healthcare insurance, but rather the lack of medical treatment or proper medical treatment. Over 50% of mentally ill adults in the United States fail to receive proper treatment. This problem is due to the lack of proper healthcare coverage and a shortage of mental health professionals in America.

Policymakers are attempting to address this issue of insufficient mental health treatment by reforming healthcare insurance policies and creating preventative strategies (Mental Health American, 2018). With the Medicaid reform, more youth and adults are insured and receiving proper treatment. Policymakers have also helped create the Affordable Care Act and the Mental Health Parity Act to ensure people have access to proper treatment of mental health issues. In addition, policymakers are creating preventative strategies such as promoting social and emotional learning in school to help prevent the number of untreated children (Mental Health America, 2018).

As social workers, we can help reduce the number of individuals lacking proper treatment or care by using screening strategies to detect mental illness or the possibility of mental illness. Early detection is essential for mental illness, to prevent a crisis later. Next, we can ensure our clients have access to healthcare insurance that covers proper treatment of mental health. Once our clients are properly insured, we can provide them with resources and refer them to mental health professionals. However, it is our job to assess our client’s environment and determine what factors are contributing to their mental illness. Many healthcare facilities treat genetic and biological factors contributing to mental illness, however, fail to recognize the patient’s environmental factors that are partially responsible for their mental illness (Popple & Leighninger, 2019). Lastly, we can advocate for change in policies and creation of new policies to help address the current issues our clients are facing with mental health.

In the state of South Carolina, there are several mental health facilities located around the state. The main goal for them all is to support the recovery of people with mental illnesses. South Carolina Medicaid covers all behavioral health medically necessary that are offered. Medically necessary means that a service is needed to prevent, diagnose, or treat a mental health and/or substance use disorder.

Reference:

Mental Health American (2018). Mental Health American. Retrieved from

www.mentalhealthamerica.net

Popple, P. R., & Leighninger, L. (2019). The policy-based profession: An introduction to social welfare policy analysis for social workers (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

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Discussion 2 Colleagues Post 2

Tre Paige 

RE: Discussion 2

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An explanation of those emerging issues in the mental health care arena that the policymakers address and those that require policy advocacy and why.

One of the challenges in making arrangements for and financing mental health services is the lack of accuracy in diagnosis, and it is significantly harder to ascertain the number of individuals with mental illness than those with physical diseases (Popple & Leighninger, 2015, p. 165). Despite the lack of quality and un-changeability, mental illness can be managed. From one perspective, the re-hospitalization rate among people with severe mental illness is very high, and treatments for mental troubles may take longer than those for other health problems (Popple & Leighninger, 2015). Another emerging issue in mental health care is the struggle to find caregivers with the appropriate contracts for mental health care.

Then, explain what strategies social workers might use to ensure that clients/populations receive necessary mental health services

One strategy a social worker might use to ensure that clients/populations receive necessary mental health services is to be aware of the resources in the surrounding area. Social workers must also be aware of the different health coverages that the clients have so they can assist their clients with obtaining the appropriate and affordable mental health services.

Finally, explain the mental health commitment standards and mental health services in your state. In your explanation, refer to the services covered under your state’s Medicaid program.

Like every state, Georgia has civil commitment laws that establish criteria for determining when involuntary treatment is appropriate for individuals with severe mental illness who cannot seek care voluntarily. Georgia’s laws allow for the use of court-ordered treatment in the community, known as assisted outpatient treatment (AOT). These services include:

Behavioral Health Services

Medicaid Preventive Health Services

Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity

 

Resources:

Georgia. (2018). Treatment Advocacy Center. https://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/browse-by-state/georgia

Georgia Medicaid. (2018, August 30). Types of Services. https://medicaid.georgia.gov/organization/about-georgia-medicaid/types-services

National Alliance on Mental Illness. (2021). Mental Health Conditions | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness. https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Mental-Health-Conditions

Popple, P. R., & Leighninger, L. (2018). The Policy-Based Profession (7th Edition). Pearson Education (US). https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9780134794198

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Follow Rubric

Responsiveness to Directions

27 (27%) – 30 (30%)

Discussion posting fully addresses all instruction prompts, including responding to the required number of peer posts.

Discussion Posting Content

27 (27%) – 30 (30%)

Discussion posting demonstrates an excellent understanding of all of the concepts and key points presented in the text(s) and Learning Resources. Posting provides significant detail including multiple relevant examples, evidence from the readings and other scholarly sources, and discerning ideas.

Peer Feedback and Interaction

22.5 (22.5%) – 25 (25%)

The feedback postings and responses to questions are excellent and fully contribute to the quality of interaction by offering constructive critique, suggestions, in-depth questions, additional resources, and stimulating thoughts and/or probes.

Writing.

13.5 (13.5%) – 15 (15%)

Postings are well organized, use scholarly tone, contain original writing and proper paraphrasing, follow APA style, contain very few or no writing and/or spelling errors, and are fully consistent with graduate level writing style.