Evaluation Finds San Mateo County’s FSP Program Changes Lives
Clients of San Mateo County’s Full Service Partnership (FSP) Program had statistically significant decreases in psychiatric hospitalizations and emergency services according to a recent study by the American Institutes for Research.
Hospitalizations decreased significantly after FSP enrollment, ranging from 11 percentage points for clients enrolled one year to over 20 percentage points for clients enrolled 5 years or more. The number of hospital days experienced by clients decreased from 5 days for clients enrolled for one year or more to 13 days for clients enrolled five years or more. Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES) use decreased significantly ranging from 12 percentage points for clients enrolled one year or more to 17 percentage points for clients enrolled 5 years or more and admissions decreased significantly ranging from .5 to 1 less PES admission per client per year.
Funded by the 2005 Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), the FSP program allows County behavioral health departments to provide comprehensive services for individuals living with mental illness. Psychiatric hospitalizations and use of emergency services are key indicators of well-being for persons diagnosed with psychiatric conditions. Reductions in use of these services may indicate that individuals’ mental health status has improved and that they no longer require intensive care.