Community residential services provide living arrangements for people with mental illness or mental retardation who cannot live at home, and detoxification and treatment programs for people with substance problems that need 24-hour, structured treatment. Eight residential treatment programs serve youngsters with the most severe alcohol and drug-related problems. Day programs help people with severe disabilities learn basic living, social and work skills. New day services include peer-operated centers. Supported employment provides the supports people with mental illness or mental retardation need to find and keep jobs.
Consumers continue to say that employment is their top priority.
Today over 6,192 people with mental disabilities work in real jobs through supported employment. Outdoor therapeutic programs in Warm Springs and Cleveland serve troubled young people in wilderness, camplike settings. In FY 00, the programs served 209 youngsters. Georgia has developed a network of community services to help people with schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses live in the community and avoid repeated hospitalizations. All 27 community mental health programs are fully funded for these services.