The FloridaSDC Program is based upon the understanding that individuals choosing services and making purchases will help them begin, or remain on the road to recovery, and develop or regain meaningful, productive activity.  The goal of FloridaSDC is to promote self-determination, recovery and full inclusion of people who have been diagnosed with a mental illness, and who depend on government subsidized mental wellness services. Participants in FloridaSDC select the providers, services, and activities that they deem necessary for recovery and achievement of the highest level of desired personal wellness and quality of life. Through a careful self-assessment, experiences, and results, individuals employ personal flexibility to make adjustments to fit their needs, engage in activities meaningful to them, and work to attain a higher quality of life.

 Through the FloridaSDC program each participant controls of the public financial resources to access mental health services. FloridaSDC participants use their budgets to purchase mental wellness services from any member of the FloridaSDC Network. The primary purpose of these funds is to purchase psychiatric and mental wellness care, however, a unique option within the program is the opportunity for participants to access alternative and non-traditional services that result in the same successes as traditional mental health services. For example, instead of attending psychotherapy group for depression at a local mental health professional’s office, a FloridaSDC participant may elect to participate in a community-based support group. The personal outcomes are similar, but the type of actual service is very different, both in cost and experience. Through FloridaSDC participants also have match-funding opportunities to purchase tangible items, such as clothes and shoes, that will enhance the person’s opportunities for integration into the community, and return to work or other meaningful activity.

Though residential and crisis stabilization services are delivered by existing community mental health providers through the traditional delivery system, participants in the FloridaSDC program choose from a variety of community-based services providers that may or may not already be a part of the current public community mental health system.  Participants are responsible for determining exactly which community-based services they want and by whom these services will be provided.  Participants will measure recovery in a number of ways including productive days in the community (productive as defined by each individual), structured self-reports of reactions to the program’s delivery approach, and structured self-reports about achievement of personal recovery goals and objectives. Standard objective measures will include input from significant others and recovery coaches. The major difference between FloridaSDC and the traditional system is the focus on participant self-reports about personal recovery, achievement and satisfaction. 

Why does FloridaSDC work?

The FloridaSDC model stresses self-determination at each point in the service delivery process. People participating in mental health services have guided the development of this program through the development of forms for reporting and planning, creation of operational policies and procedures, and expansion of the provider network.  As a result, the model reflects the values and priorities of participants and enhances the ability of each to live and interact as independently as possible, enjoy an improved quality of life, and demonstrate success.  

 THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF THE FLORIDASDC PROGRAM IS THAT PARTICIPANTS LEAD
 PERSONALLY SATISFYING LIVES IN THEIR COMMUNITIES, BY SETTING PERSONAL
 AND FAMILY GOALS, AND CHOOSING SERVICES AND SUPPORTS THAT HELP ACHIEVE
 THOSE GOALS.