CONSUMER ALLIANCE OFFICE

Home

Websites

• Participation in various agency committies/meetings, including ethics & hiring committees.
• Liaison to various community and state-wide events/workshops.
• Participation in community/agency educational and training activities.
• Consultation regarding consumer perspective of mental illness, substance use and recovery.

To learn more about these opportunities, please contact the Consumer Alliance Office at 280-2672.

Who are Consumers?
People who receive services from the Mental Health Center of Dane County Inc. are referred to as consumers or clients, rather than patients. These individuals and families are neighbors, parents, friends, tax payers, children, co-workers, team mates, civic leaders, congregation members, teachers, grandparents, etc. They are contributing members of our community.

Examples of MHC Consumer Participation
1. Consumers participate as members of the MHCDC Board of Directors.
2. Consumers participate in clinical MHCDC hiring committees*
3. Consumers particpate fully in the following agency wide committees:*

a. Cultural Diversity
b. Policy Review and Development
c. Safety
d. Training
e. Institutional Review Board (I.R.B.)
f. Recovery Planning
g. Quality Improvement
h. Ethics and Boundaries

*Consumers are paid hourly for their participation on Mental Health Center Committees.

4. Consumers are hired in both professional and para professional capacities throughout the agency. Policies governing consumers as staff are developed in the Ethics and Boudaries Committee and then discussed and reviewed broadly.

5. Consumers represent our agency as trainers, political advocates, conference participants and policy makers at local, state and national levels. They have been instrumental in integrating principles of Recovery and Cultural Competence into state managed care guidelines and local practice.