Adult mental health
Local Mental Health Advisory Councils
A Local Mental Health Advisory Council (LAC) offers individuals, parents, families, and providers the opportunity to make a real difference in how mental health care is provided in their community. It offers county and state policy makers the wisdom of those who experience mental health concerns first-hand.
Benefits of the councils
There are many benefits to having a LAC:
- LACs empower individuals with a lived experience of mental illness and their families
- Having an active, productive and effective LAC can lead to the improvement of the local mental health system and services for the community
- LACs offer advice on the local mental health system on what is and is not working
- Counties can utilize LACs to advise them on a range of mental health related topics, such as improving their local mental health and social services systems.
All counties, alone or in partnership with other counties should have LACs. Counties, county boards and community leaders use LACs to advise them on a range of mental health topics, such as improving their local mental health and social services systems. A county may have both an adult and a children’s mental health LAC, or they may be combined.
Quick links
Advocacy and support websites
Advocacy and support websitesFederal and state government websites
Federal and state government resourcesCrisis contact numbers
Mental health crisis contact numbersWho serves on Local Mental Health Advisory Councils
The adult LAC includes:
- At least one person with mental illness
- One family member of an adult with mental illness
- One mental health professional
- One community support services program representative.
The children’s LAC includes:
- At least one person who was in a mental health program as a child or adolescent
- At least one parent of a child or adolescent with severe emotional disturbance
- One children’s mental health professional
- Representatives of minority populations of significant size residing in the county
- Representative of the children’s mental health local coordinating council
- One family community support services program representative
Resources
For additional questions, concerns or support related to Local Advisory Councils, email mhadvisory.council.dhs@state.mn.us.Local Mental Health Advisory Council guidebook (PDF)
Counties and Local Mental Health Advisory Councils (PDF)
Counties and Local Mental Health Advisory Councils (PDF)Serving on your Local Mental Health Advisory Council (PDF)
Serving on your Local Mental Health Advisory Council (PDF)Mental health matters
The Department of Human Services (DHS) is dedicated to supporting adults, children and youth with a mental illness in their personal journey toward recovery, as well as preventing mental illness whenever possible.
People with mental illness have the same rights as anyone. The department is committed to making sure individual choice is respected and that people with mental illness are able to live, learn, work and enjoy life in their community to the best of their ability.
The department oversees a number of publicly funded programs offering community-based mental health services, creating a continuum of services designed to meet the needs of individuals.