Hogg Foundation for Mental Health

Seclusion and Restraint Reduction Leadership Group Assists HHSC Win SAMHSA Grant

December 1, 2007

This fall, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded $213,817 per year for three years to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to promote seclusion and restraint reduction in Texas state hospitals.

Texas was one of eight successful applicants for SAMHSA's Alternatives to Restraint and Seclusion State Incentive Grant program.

"Too often, seclusion and restraint are the cause of additional trauma, injury and even death," said SAMHSA Administrator Terry Cline, Ph.D. "These grants ensure that states and tribes can invest in sustainable solutions and strategies for the treatment of those with serious mental illness."

Through HHSC's State of Texas Alternatives to Restraint and Seclusion (STARS) Project, four state hospitals will adopt best practices in seclusion and restraint reduction. They will also create data collection processes to evaluate the impact of their activities.

HHSC will use the four hospitals' experience to inform seclusion and restraint reduction efforts in other state hospitals and agencies. The four hospitals selected for intensive support under the grant are Austin State Hospital, Big Spring State Hospital, North Texas State Hospital, and San Antonio State Hospital.

The Texas Seclusion and Restraint Reduction Leadership provided substantial assistance to HHSC in the grant's preparation and will serve as an advisory group on the STARS Project.

"This grant will go a long way in bolstering Texas' seclusion and restraint reduction efforts," said Lynda Frost, Hogg Foundation associate director and co-facilitator of the Seclusion and Restraint Reduction Leadership Group. "We look forward to working with HHSC and the four state hospitals to apply their lessons learned to other agencies and organizations around the state."

Comprised of mental health consumers, family members, advocates, and representatives of private and public agencies, the Seclusion and Restraint Reduction Leadership Group supports and guides culture change in Texas agencies. The group was launched by the Hogg Foundation in February 2007.