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of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

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    ACT or ACT-like programs have been in existence in Pennsylvania since the mid-1990s.

    However, no statewide standards existed for ACT until the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) issued the ACT bulletin in September 2008 stipulating the standards and procedures for developing, administering, and monitoring Assertive Community Treatment programs in the Commonwealth.

    Currently, PA has 43 licensed ACT  teams that serve about 3200 individuals. Consistent with the concept of urban and rural teams in the National ACT Standards, the OMHSAS ACT bulletin defines two sizes of ACT teams:

    • Full-size team (Urban): 10-12 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) multidisciplinary clinical staff plus a psychiatrist and program assistant. Staff to an individual-served ratio of 1:10 (not including the psychiatrist and the program assistant);
    • Modified team (Rural): Six-eight Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) multidisciplinary clinical staff plus a psychiatrist and program assistant. Staff to an individual-served ratio of 1:8 (not including the psychiatrist and the program assistant).