Voices of Transformation - National Empowerment Center

Voices of Transformation: Developing Recovery-Oriented Statewide Consumer Organizations
has produced position papers in response to specific state regulations, and has been
an active participant in developing the regulations.
As this new law begins to fund services, the California Network is actively
monitoring the process to be sure that the goals of promoting voluntary, supportive
services are achieved, and that a fair share of the funding goes, as intended, to
programs designed and operated directly by clients.
Another example of a successful coalition is the work the California Network did
with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents mental
health workers in state hospitals and community mental health programs. Although
there are many issues on which workers and clients disagree, they worked together
on a bill to reduce the use of seclusion and restraints, which was passed in 2003.
The two unlikely partners in this cause held focus groups of workers and clients
across the state, and developed a joint public statement in support of the reduction
of restraints and seclusion. As a separate organization, the California Network’s
position was stronger than the joint statement; nevertheless the California Network
could agree to all of the points of the joint statement.
Like several of the other organizations described in this manual, the Network has
also been an active participant in statewide cross-disability coalitions.
Client Culture
Every year the
California Network
chooses a Cultural
Competency project as
an activity. One of
these projects was the
development of a
training curriculum on
the concept of client
culture. While it is now
Client Culture: Mental health clients have values, beliefs,
and lifestyles that are molded as a result of their personal
experiences of a mental disability, the mental health
system, and their own ethnic culture. When these personal
experiences are shared, mental health clients can be
understood better and empowered to effect positive
system change.
generally accepted that the cultures of various ethnic groups and other special
population groups need to be recognized and supported so that services can be
provided that are relevant to people’s needs, the concept of a “disability culture” is
not as widely known.
The California Network, with support from the California Department of Mental
Health’s Office of Multi-Cultural Affairs, conducted focus groups to ask clients to
define “client culture”, and whether it is useful to have a designated group culture
for clients. These focus groups were held in each region of the state and resulted in
a report. Trainings on client culture were then conducted throughout the state, and
eventually the Department of Mental Health added a definition of client culture, and
a mandate that every county have trainings on it, as part of its overall cultural
competency managed care requirements.
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