The Durham Center

The Durham Center is responsible for ensuring that Durham County citizens who seek help for mental illness, developmental disabilities and substance abuse receive the services and supports for which they are eligible to achieve their goals and to live as independently as possible. The Durham Center is also responsible for making sure Durham County citizens receive quality services and their individual rights are protected.

The Durham Center is a Local Management Entity (LME). When North Carolina began implementing its mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse service system reform in 2001, local area programs like The Durham Center became managers instead of providers of care.

The Durham Center is now responsible for managing finances, service authorizations, contracts with direct service providers, service quality, and regulatory standards , developing the service array and ensuring appropriate customer choice. It no longer directly provides mental health, developmental disabilities or substance abuse services.

The Durham Center contracts with more than 140 service providers in the area to provide mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse services to children and adults in Durham County. For those clients who do not speak English, we can provide a list of providers who speak languages other than English. All of our providers meet established standards of care.

It is our main priority to help implement System of Care
as ‘the way business is done’ community-wide in Durham.

System of Care is a framework for ensuring continuity of care with a holistic, strengths-based, empowering approach to supporting people and their families. This framework respects the individual and encourages best practice service delivery that operates from a philosophy of recovery for persons having mental or substance abuse conditions, promotes resiliency and family support for children with emotional and behavioral challenges, and consumer directed services and supports for individuals with developmental disabilities.The Durham Center, along with key community partners are adapting this System of Care framework, building upon the SOC infrastructure for children and their families developed over the past three years, to incorporate Best Practice principles of Recovery and Self-Determination.

The ultimate goal is to establish a seamless System of Care,making comprehensive, flexible and effective support available for individuals and families throughout the community and through this assistance, to make the Durham community a better place to live for all individuals and families.

To learn more about Durham’s System of Care (SOC):

People who are referred to a case management agency by Durham Center Access will create a person-centered plan, also called a PCP. At their PCP meetings, clients choose the services and supports they need to achieve their goals.

Assertive community treatment—a program for adults with severe mental illness who work with a team of professionals to reach their goals.

Case management—the process of working with adults or children and their families to develop a plan to meet life goals and to coordinate various services and supports that will help adults, children and their families meet those goals.

Clubhouse—a place for adults with mental illness to receive support, learn new skills and be encouraged to reach their goals.

Crisis stabilization and crisis residential—offered at Durham Center Access, a place where individuals in crisis can go that is not a hospital to receive help. The goal is for individuals to return home as quickly as possible.

Emergency crisis services—services such as phone support, facility-based evaluation and support, or hospital care in response to a MH/DD/SA emergency.

Employment services—assistance for adults to learn job skills and receive support in the job setting.

Evaluation and testing—collection of information about an adult’s or child’s and family’s life, strengths, needs and abilities in order to better develop a plan of services and supports.

Home-based services for families—services and supports in the home and community to help a child remain at home and be successful.

Housing and residential Services—secure, safe and supportive living arrangements.

Information and referral—information to address a concern including individuals or organizations that provide help.

Medication management—evaluation of medication options to determine which is best, how it should be taken and if it’s working.

Outpatient therapy (individual, family and group)—professionals teach new skills or ways to cope with problems.

Respite care—care for an individual with a disability in the home or in a safe place so the family or loved ones can take a “break” from their caretaking duties.

Substance abuse detox—help for individuals with an addiction to drugs or alcohol.

Substance abuse treatment—services and supports to help people with drug and alcohol problems.