Introduction

NAMI Alaska's Children &emdash; Long Range Plan

Our Mission is to help families and professionals work together as full partners, so that they can improve the systems of care - at both the local and state levels - for children who have a mental disorder.   

Our long range plan is our information base. Because it is on-line it is readily accessible to all advocates. Because it is "issue oriented" it is easily expanded to take advantage of changing conditions and new opportunities.
   Because advocates do not have any decision making authority, we must take a different approach to planning than may be done by a government agency or private business.
   To affect change, we must advocate before the decision making groups: the legislature, government agencies, boards and commissions, and provider agencies. In this environment our advocacy must be consistent, based on the best scientific research available, and be realistic of attainment.
   Since we do not control the planning agenda, we have to adapt to the target group's agenda. Hence, we need to understand some of the weaknesses in government planning in Alaska.

• At both the state and local level the responsibility for services is fragmented between a numerous agencies. No single agency, at any level, is responsible for assessing the needs of the whole child and their families. Because the state lacks an overall strategic plan, each agency plans for the goals assigned to that individual agency. From a child's standpoint, this assures that planning will be fragmented, incomplete, overlapping, and difficult to coordinate.
• In most agencies, planning is done through collaborative processes. While this involves many people, providers and families, the planning generally depends on the knowledge of participants. The planning groups do not review changes in the law, current research recommendations, and the new delegated authorities that they may have gained through changes in federal laws and regulations. Since 1984 the federal government has gradually relaxed their regulations so that state and local agencies have far more freedom to innovate than they had in the past. However, many agencies do not recognize that they have this new freedom. Hence, the agency planning tends to foster the "status quo." Collaborative processes generally reduce proposals to the "lowest common denominator" before agreement is reached; this makes innovation difficult.
• Most agency personnel also seem to be "boxed" in by existing laws, regulations, and policies. This is partly due to the way the state legislature appropriates money; it is difficult for the departments to shift money between programs. While the agencies need the legislature's approval for changes in direction, the planning processes seldom allow for proposing changes in the state laws or regulations. This again makes change difficult.
• Most of the local services are provided through grant agencies, which have employees to protect and payrolls and other expenses. Hence, any proposed changes are going to affect someone, and "turf" issues are often a higher priority to that agency than meeting the needs of children and families. Hence, local planning tends to support the status quo and fragmentation.
• Politics plays a big role at all levels.
• Most of all, no one at any level is responsible for assessing and planning for the needs of the whole child in a systematic and analytical manner

The state should reform their planning processes. However, children cannot wait. Hence, we need to structure our processes to work within what exists.
    While we do not want to be antagonistic, we need to be factual. Many children are being allowed to develop serious disabilities and even die unnecessarily. Hence, where we have the facts, we need to say that publicly.
   It is not intended that everyone work on all of the issues in this plan. However, at any one time advocates are working with statewide or local boards and agencies on a number of these issues. Having the information, including issue papers and supporting documents, readily available gives advocates a powerful tool.

The plan includes the following sections (an explanation is with each section).
1. Introduction
2. Mission, Goals and Assumptions
3. Service Principles
4. Issues