Elaboration of a Decretal and Implementation Decisions Mental Health

The Decree on Mental Health Care of 1999 is a limited decree in terms of design and is essentially restricted to the mental health centers. Mental health care in Flanders, however, covers more than just the mental health centers. It is a very diverse sector with many actors and subsectors, each with a specific yet often shared role.

In response to the Sixth State Reform, the government of Flanders is developing a new decree: a contemporary and at the same time future-oriented decree for sustainable and thus affordable, accessible and high-quality mental health care.

Because the mental health care sector is very complex, there is – next to legal expertise – also a need for substantive and scientific expertise to elaborate a policy vision that supports the new decree.
LUCAS developed this policy vision and wrote the explanatory memorandum for the draft decree. This was done in close collaboration with the Specialized Care Department of the Care & Health Agency and in collaboration with policy advisers of the Minister of Welfare, Public Health and Family.