Smoky Mountain Center is committed to collaborative partnerships with community stakeholders in the region. By working together, SMC believes that we can improve the lives of those we serve.

The SMC Board of Directors is the governing body for the organization and is made up of county commissioners, consumers and family members, and community and business representatives, from each of the seven counties served by SMC. This Board sets policy for the organization and serve as liaisons between SMC and communities they serve (see Board of Directors link).

The Smoky Mountain Consumer and Family Advisory Committees (SMCFACs) is made up of consumers and family members who represent each disability area, as well as Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain Counties. The Advisory Council to the SMC Board of Directors and Administration work together as a group to provide meaningful input into the availability and quality of services in the region, as well as comment on SMC’s local business and strategic plan (see CFAC link).

With reform, Smoky Mountain Center has developed a community of providers that offer a full array of mental health, substance abuse and developmental disability services to consumers and their families in the region. This partnership is vital to ensuring that individuals get the services they need that are based on best practice treatment models that promote real life outcomes (see Provider Network section).

Over the last two years, Smoky Mountain Center has worked to develop much stronger ties with each of the seven County Boards of Commissioners to provide education and information of reform initiatives, solicit input and feedback, and to be responsive to needs in each of the seven counties served by SMC. This partnership continues to grow as SMC becomes a fully functional manager of public resources (see county government section in related links.

Lastly, but certainly of critical importance, SMC continues to partner with social and juvenile services, school systems, health departments, law enforcement and the adult court system, hospitals, and related non-profit agencies in the region to identify service needs and provide ongoing communication regarding reform initiatives. Local Care Managers and Case Coordinators also work closely with these county-based agencies to ensure coordination of care for consumers and to participate on interagency planning councils.