Seventeenth Annual Rosalynn Carter Georgia Mental Health Forum:
"Building Quality Behavioral Health Community Services and Supports
for All Georgians"
May 18, 2012
8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
The Carter Center

View Agenda (PDF) >

This event is open to the public, but we do ask that participants register by Wednesday, May 16. Please complete and return the registration form by e-mail to ymjacks@emory.edu, or fax the form to The Carter Center Mental Health Program, c/o Yolonda Johnson, at (404) 420-5158. Download registration form >

The Carter Center has committed to improve community behavioral health services in Georgia through assisting stakeholders in developing a draft vision report for community services and in supporting services included in the landmark Georgia settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. Since last year's forum, much has occurred: Georgia has been working to meet the obligations of the settlement and The Georgia Department of Community Health has embarked on a process to redesign the state Medicaid program. Carter Center and Department of Behavioral Health-sponsored town hall meetings have been held in three of the six Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Regions (1, 3, and 5) to facilitate input into the vision report and to use the vision report to stimulate local community planning. 

The 2012 Georgia Mental Health Forum will provide an opportunity for consumers, families, providers, and other stakeholders to be updated on the settlement, discuss behavioral health funding, and consider how to improve public policy for Georgia's children and adolescents with behavioral health challenges. Since child and adolescent services are not covered in the settlement agreement, we are taking this opportunity to focus particular attention to this service area. Read the Preliminary Report for Public Comment – Building a Vision for Community Services for Children, Adolescents, and Adults with Behavioral Health Disorders (PDF) and learn more about the Center's Georgia mental health crisis efforts.

The Rosalynn Carter Georgia Mental Health Forum, established in 1995, is held each May for state mental health organizations. The forum has addressed such topics as "Children's Mental Health: Generating Hope Through Shared Responsibility," "Improving Access for Georgians," and "Recovery: A Journey for Life." The meeting brings mental health professionals together for open discussions on mental health to affect change in the state. The meetings include representatives from all sectors of the Georgia mental health community — policymakers, health care providers, and consumers.