Sara Goldsby

This document presents an agenda for action to advance Supported Decision-Making (SDM) as a less restrictive alternative to guardianship for individuals with cognitive disabilities. It synthesizes findings and recommendations from a symposium, outlining action steps across four key areas: empowering individuals and their support networks, addressing legal frameworks to safeguard decision-making rights, reforming policy and practice at all governmental levels, and identifying critical research questions. The overarching goal is to enable people with disabilities to make their own life decisions, aligning with human and legal rights and promoting inclusion and self-determination.

The Beckman Center for Mental Health Services (BCMHS) Strategic Plan outlines the organization's commitment to creating and maintaining quality mental health programs and services, empowering individuals to live healthy and fulfilled lives. The plan prioritizes adults with serious mental illness, children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances, and individuals requiring crisis intervention. Key goals for 2025 include enhancing community outreach, improving staff engagement and professional resources, optimizing clinical and administrative outcomes, and growing the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) program. The plan also details service overview, patient demographics, and addresses social determinants of health and market trends within its seven-county service area.

This manual outlines the definitions, quality assurance standards, and forms for primary prevention services provided by the Office of Substance Use Services (OSUS) within the South Carolina Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. The strategic direction is guided by the OSUS mission to ensure the availability and quality of substance use services, its vision to be an innovative leader through partnerships, and strategic visions focusing on accessible services, continuous quality improvement, and community engagement. Key focus areas include reducing substance use disorder prevalence, decreasing youth and young adult drug use, mitigating associated consequences, and increasing access to evidence-based services. The framework incorporates the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF), risk and protective factor model, and Institutes of Medicine prevention classifications, implemented through six CSAP strategies: Information Dissemination, Education, Alternatives, Community-Based Process, Environmental, and Problem Identification and Referral. Prevention priorities target reducing underage alcohol use, alcohol-related car crashes, youth tobacco use, and overall substance misuse, aiming to improve the well-being of youth and families across South Carolina.