Our Purpose

To promote wellness and positive mental health and substance use disorder outcomes through improvements in California’s health systems.

Our Vision

CiMH envisions a future in which California is the national leader in the provision of mental health services and support systems that successfully advance hope, wellness, resiliency, recovery and full community integration for all adults, children and families across their life spans. In this future, mental health wellness, resiliency and recovery are fully understood by the general public; thus communities and mental health, substance use and primary health systems partner to promote and support opportunities for people at risk of mental health issues to achieve wellness and/or full recovery. Proven practices, opportunities and technologies are used to prevent and/or reduce the impacts of mental illness and addiction and to promote the health of individuals and families.

CiMH envisions a future in which consumer and family choice, clinician expertise and empirical and practice-based evidence drive services to assure quality care leading to positive outcomes. In this future, diverse approaches to scientific investigation are valued, including practice-based evidence and cultural accommodations or adaptations. CiMH provides leadership and support to mental health systems and their partners in creating positive outcomes for all ethnic, linguistic, cultural communities, and other un-served or underserved populations. This means that CiMH works with counties, state and national organizations, academic/research organizations and foundations to document, address, reduce or eliminate disparities. These efforts focus on the particular strengths of CiMH in translating (and bridging the gap between) research and implementation in local systems of care as well as supporting the development and study of effective practices.

CiMH envisions a future that eliminates the stigma and discrimination associated with mental health care. Effective initiatives speak not only to the stigma and discrimination people with psychiatric disabilities experience, but also to the very particular needs and experiences of distinct populations, including ethnic, racial, rural and cultural populations, as well as sexual orientation and gender identification.

CiMH’s vision is of a community-based mental health system that is seamlessly coordinated with substance use and primary healthcare; is continuously improving; where staff development is ongoing; where innovation is welcomed; and, where consumers and family members and their needs are central to all decisions.

Our Core Values

• Customer Responsiveness
• Hope, Wellness, Resiliency, and Recovery
• Empirically-Informed Approaches
• Cultural and Linguistic Inclusion
• Financial Sustainability
• Innovation
• Quality Workplace

A. Customer Responsiveness

1. We view everyone as our customer, both internally and externally.
2. We acknowledge contact with our customers within 24 hours.
3. We work collaboratively with our customers to analyze their needs.
4. We proactively offer support and assistance to our customers.
5. We listen to our customers and adjust our services based on their input.
6. We measure our customer responsiveness and practice continuous quality improvement.

B. Hope, Wellness, Resiliency, and Recovery

1. We look for opportunities to promote hope, wellness, resiliency and recovery with our customers, potential customers and the general public.
2. We incorporate hope, wellness, resiliency and recovery in all our projects.
3. We consistently advocate for consumer and family inclusion at all levels of the mental health system.
4. We involve consumers and family members in the design and implementation of our projects.
5. We work to understand healthy communities and natural networks and to integrate that understanding into our work.
6. We develop and maintain a high level of knowledge about hope, wellness, resiliency and recovery practices, including practices that are culturally specific.
7. We include consumer and family members in the governance and staffing at CiMH.

C. Empirically-Informed Approaches

1. We value diverse approaches to building and developing evidence for scientific investigation.
2. We are committed to being scientifically driven, because consumers have been harmed by untested assumptions, theories, and practices.
3. We promote practices that integrate consumer and family member choice, clinical expertise, and empirical findings.
4. We promote the dissemination of empirical findings to assure fully-informed decision making on the part of consumers, family members, and mental health stakeholders.
5. We promote full disclosure of the empirical basis when selecting and implementing evidence-based practices.
6. We research and promote practice-based evidence.
7. We promote the explicit investigation and development of cultural and environmental accommodations and adaptations.
8. We promote ongoing evaluation to assure that consumers are receiving positive and equitable outcomes.

D. Cultural and Linguistic Inclusion

1. We respect and appreciate the gifts of difference, including age, culture, ethnicity, language, disability, sexual orientation and gender identification.
2. We reflect our commitment to cultural inclusion in the planning, designing, and implementation of our projects.
3. We promote equitable access to quality care.
4. We reach out to understand and address the needs and wants of un-served and under-served individuals and communities.
5. We are committed to increasing the level of linguistic access in our projects, events and publications.
6. We are committed to cultural inclusion in the hiring and retention of our staff.
7. We are committed to increasing the cultural awareness, knowledge, and skills of our staff and our Board of Directors.

E. Financial Sustainability

1. We foster strong partnerships.
2. We maintain a balanced budget.
3. We assure all our projects have balanced budgets with adequate financial margins.
4. We have diverse funding sources.
5. We develop and maintain an adequate reserve.
6. We assure the timeliness and accuracy of our financial reports.
7. We are entrepreneurial in finding new business opportunities and funding sources.

F. Innovation

1. We engage in innovative practices at CiMH.
2. We promote an environment that encourages diverse viewpoints.
3. We commit resources to the development and piloting of innovative projects.
4. We solicit input on project design, development, and implementation from diverse sources.

G. Quality Workplace

1. We attract and retain talented people.
2. We promote leadership in our organization.
3. We promote continuous learning and quality improvement.
4. We welcome people into our organization.
5. We promote a healthy work place.

Measures of success tied to the core values are in the Performance Scorecard.

See also: Our Vision