Adult Mental Health Initiatives (AMHI) are dedicated to using intentional planning and partnerships to improve the mental health of people in their communities.
Hennepin County’s leadership role
Hennepin County’s role is to identify what is working and not working within the mental health system, to set priorities for the work, to look for opportunities to collaborate and to amplify the voices of people with lived experience. They are grounded in the following principles:
- People with lived experience with mental illness guide the governance and services.
- We connect people with lived experience to providers, counties, tribes, MCOs and DHS, to fully utilize all available resources to meet regional needs.
- We and our partners develop and provide an array of person-centered services that build on personal and cultural strengths.
- We use a data-driven model to evaluate the impact of services on health outcomes.
- We work to assure access, early intervention, coordination, and application of resources through creative partnerships.
Hennepin AMHI funding guidelines
Expenditure guidelines for agencies
Agencies that provide services funded by AMHI dollars must be enrolled Minnesota Health Care Programs (MHCP) providers.
Expenditures must align with BRASS (Budgeting, Reporting and Accounting for Social Services) codes, Minnesota’s classification structure for standardizing and organizing the categories counties use for social services planning, budgeting, accounting, financial statements and audits, and for most fiscal and statistical reporting to the Department of Human Services (DHS). Funded projects must also develop and implement innovative solutions to address service gaps.
Eligibility requirements for residents
To be eligible for AMHI-funded services, people must have a diagnosis of a severe and persistent mental illness. AMHI offers short-term, last-resort funding that people can access once all other options are exhausted. Usually, people who receive Medicare with income or assets qualify via Medical Assistance with a spenddown.
Opportunity to engage: Local Advisory Council (LAC)
A Local Advisory Council (LAC) offers individuals, parents, families, and providers opportunities to influence how mental health care is provided in their communities, providing Hennepin County Behavioral Health with the wisdom of those who experience mental health concerns firsthand. Their biannual unmet needs report provides data used to assess service gaps and inform AMHI allocations, innovations and RFP priorities.
Local mental health advisory councilsHennepin County-operated programs
Embedded mental health expertise in police departments
Embedded social workers offer behavioral health and social services expertise to every police department in the county, meeting with residents to address immediate and underlying needs, and ensure access to resources that promote individual and community well-being.
Community Alternative Response Team
The Community Alternative Response Team is a voluntary, intensive case management service to help people with diagnosed mental health conditions stabilize with mental health supports. Residents can work toward wellness on their own terms, and with the support of a team.