Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) is a fully mobile team of mental health professionals who provide a wide range of community-based treatment and rehabilitation services to individuals with serious and persistent mental illness.
ACT is an evidence-based practice designed to provide service to individuals whose needs have not been met by more traditional mental health services. ACT teams are multi-disciplinary and include members from the field of psychiatry, nursing, social work, mental health counseling, substance abuse and vocational rehabilitation.
ACT teams provide:
• Intensive mental health and substance abuse services in the community with at least 6 contacts per month
• Staff specializing in supportive counseling, Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT), vocational services, family psycho-education, medication management, case management, crisis support and other evidence- based best practices
• 24-hour-on-call support and outreach services
• 10:1 client to staff ratio
• RN’s available for medication support and IM administration
Eligibility for ACT services:
• At least 18 years old
• Must have a Primary Axis 1 Psychiatric Diagnosis such as Schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder
• History of failing to link and maintain linkage to less intensive mental health services in the community
• At least 2 psychiatric hospitalizations over the past 2 years
• Limited availability for non-Medicaid consumers
All referrals to ACT services are made through the internet at:
Erie County Department of Mental Health
http://familyfirst.force.com/spoa/spoa2_home