ACT Program

Individuals engaged in ACT services must meet DSM-5 criteria for Serious and Persistent Mental Illness (SPMI). This individual must have a primary diagnosis and meet DSM-5 criteria for at least one of the following diagnoses: 

• Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders 

• Major Depressive Disorder 

• Bipolar Disorder 

• Anxiety Disorders limited to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 

• Schizotypal Personality Disorder 

Individuals with a primary presenting condition of substance use disorder, intellectual developmental disabilities, traumatic brain injury (TBI), personality disorder, or an autism spectrum disorder do not meet diagnostic criteria to enroll in ACT services.

Individuals enrolled in ACT services must be able to maintain in the community without one-on-one care, meaning they can live in the community safely and independently, without supervision.  

If the individual is unable to maintain in the community without one-on-one care, as described above, they do not meet minimum criteria for ACT services.

Individuals enrolled in ACT services must demonstrate that they experience significant functional impairments under at least one of the following: 

• Significant difficulty consistently performing the range of practical daily living tasks required for basic adult functioning in the community, including: 

• • Caring for personal business affairs 

• • Obtaining medical, legal, and/or housing services 

• • Recognizing common dangers or hazards meeting nutritional needs 

• • Maintaining personal hygiene 

• Persistent or recurrent difficulty performing daily living tasks expect with significant support or assistance from others such as friends, family, or relatives 

• Significant difficulty maintaining consistent employment at a self-sustaining level 

• Significant difficulty consistently carrying out activities needed for independent living, including: 

• • Household meal preparation 

• • Washing clothes 

• • Budgeting 

• • Child-care tasks and responsibilities 

• Significant difficulty maintaining a safe living situation, like repeated evictions or loss of housing 

If the individual does not demonstrate a history of functional impairment, as outlined above, they do not meet minimum criteria for ACT services.

Continuous high service need is defined as receiving greater than eight hours of service per month. Individuals enrolled in ACT services must demonstrate continuous high service needs in at least one of the following areas: 

• High use of acute care psychiatric hospitals or emergency departments for psychiatric reasons. Example: two or more readmissions in a six-month period 

• Intractable severe major symptoms, affective, psychotic, suicidal 

• Coexisting substance use disorder of significant duration. Example: greater than six months 

• High risk or history of criminal justice involvement, including arrests or incarceration 

• Significant difficulty meeting basic survival needs, residing in substandard housing, homelessness, or imminent risk of becoming homeless 

• Residing in an inpatient or supervised community resident in the community, and clinically assessed to be able to live in a more independent living situation if intensive services are provided or requiring a residential or institutional placement if more intensive services are not available 

• Difficulty effectively utilizing traditional office-based outpatient services 

If the individual does not demonstrate a history of continuous high service need, as outlined above, they do not meet minimum criteria for ACT services.