The initiative grows out of SAMHSA's efforts to promote mental health systems transformation as called for in the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health's Final Report. Recommendation 2.1 of this report specifically suggests that SAMHSA "convene a consensus panel to examine and explore developing models to guide individual plans of care." The initiative also builds upon a similar consensus meeting that CMHS sponsored on the topic of mental health recovery, in December 2004, called the National Consensus Conference on Mental Health Recovery and Systems Transformation. Free copies of the recovery consensus statement are available by contacting CMHS. A poster version is under development.

CMHS mounted its person/family-centered planning initiative by convening a workgroup of national experts to provide direction. For the past several months, the workgroup has advised CMHS on the location and date of the meeting, potential participants, topics and authors for pre-conference papers, the agenda, and the facilitators. The committee also assisted in identifying a number of existing resources for person/family-centered planning.

Following the meeting, final conference papers and recommendations will be widely disseminated to federal and state agencies, advocates, and other stakeholders.