Hogg Foundation for Mental Health

Hogg Foundation Supports Texas Agencies Taking the Lead in Reducing Seclusion and Restraint

December 1, 2006

Twenty-nine private and state agencies from across Texas demonstrated a strong commitment to reducing and eliminating their use of seclusion and restraint by sending leadership teams to a free training institute sponsored by the Hogg Foundation.

Ms. Kevin Ann Huckshorn, RN, MSW, of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors' National Coordinating Center to Reduce and Eliminate the Use of Seclusion and Restraint, led the institute, which was held in San Antonio on September 20-22.

With support from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Ms. Huckshorn has developed "Creating Violence Free and Coercion Free Mental Health Treatment Environments for the Reduction of Seclusion and Restraint." Her training team leads workshops around the country to help organizations modify their use of seclusion and restraint.

Leadership teams participating in the institute reflected a diverse group of key personnel including higher-level executives, mental health professionals, training specialists, and direct care staff.

The institute covered a wealth of practical information on instituting agency culture change around seclusion and restraint. It also included a panel that featured mental health consumers and family members discussing eye-opening experiences of being subjected to seclusion and restraint.

Following these sessions, the leadership teams met individually to begin drafting a facility seclusion and restraint reduction plan.

During the institute, representatives of the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, Texas Department of Family Protective Services, Texas Department of State Health Services, and Texas Juvenile Probation Commission also met to identify common issues and to share strategies for incorporating best practices detailed in the Behavioral Management Workgroup report into their agency regulations as directed by SB 325. [A link to the Behavioral Management Workgroup report is available on the Hogg Foundation website.] Contributing to that collaboration were representatives from Advocacy, Inc.; Texas Council on Family Violence; The Children's Partnership; National Alliance on Mental Illness - Texas; and Texas Mental Health Consumers.

The institute ended with leadership teams' presentations of their plans to the entire institute audience.

Participants responded enthusiastically to the training institute. Reflecting the sentiments of most attendees, one participant commented, "This is the most intensive, well-organized, goal-driven training I have participated in. I leave here motivated and armed with new ideas and energy to make our facility a better prepared place to serve our people with mental illness."

The foundation is currently planning follow- up activities to support the efforts of the attendee organizations and other interested organizations in reducing and eliminating their seclusion and restraint use.

To facilitate a Texas dialogue on the use of alternatives to seclusion and restraint, the foundation has engaged in activities designed to promote culture change in agencies serving people with mental illnesses since 2004. The foundation's website (www.hogg.utexas.edu) contains a variety of information and resources stemming from those activities.

Training Institute Participating Facilities

Austin State Hospital
Bexar County Juvenile Probation Department
Big Spring State Hospital
Cal Farley’s Residential Treatment Center
Caring Family Network
Cook Children’s Medical Center
DePelchin Children’s Center
El Paso County Juvenile Probation Department
El Paso Psychiatric Center
Helping Hand for Children
Kerrville State Hospital
Krause Residential Treatment Center
Meridell Achievement Center
Nelson Children’s Residential Treatment Center
The Oaks Treatment Center
New Life Residential Treatment Center
North Texas State Hospital
Randall County Youth Center of the High Plains
Presbyterian Hospital of Plano
Rio Grande State Center/South Texas Health Care Center
Rusk State Hospital
SafePlace Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Survival Center
San Antonio State Hospital
San Antonio State School
The Settlement Home for Children
Spindletop MHMR Services
STARRY
Terrell State Hospital
Waco Center for Youth