PURPOSE: To advise and assist the Department of Mental Health, Bureau of Mental

PURPOSE: To advise and assist the Department of Mental Health, Bureau of Mental Health and Bureau of Administration in developing, reviewing and updating a state plan for community mental health services for adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional or mental disorders. The Planning Council will also provide a mechanism for consumers, family members, mental health service providers and providers of support services to work together to identify needs and plan services to address those needs. The Planning Council will allow this broad constituency an additional avenue to evaluate progress on state plan objectives on an ongoing basis, to review goals and objectives and make recommendations for revisions as needs and available resources change.