Dorn Schuffman, MA, has over 30 years of experience in behavioral healthcare administration. Before joining OPEN MINDS, Mr. Schuffman served as Director of the State of Missouri Department of Mental Health in Jefferson City, Missouri, where he managed the department’s $1 billion budget, helping to assure the continued availability of services during a period of significant state revenue reductions, serving in both Democrat and Republican administrations.

Mr. Schuffman is currently serving as the Coordinator – Primary/Behavioral Healthcare Integration Unit for the Missouri Department of Mental Health in its health homes initiative.  In that role, he is responsible for managing Missouri’s Primary/Behavioral Healthcare Integration Initiative, a multi-year initiative designed to bring the CMHC and FQHC safety net systems together while improving access to primary care for individuals with severe, disabling mental illness, and integrating behavioral health consultants into primary care teams.

Mr. Schuffman also served as the Director of the Division of Comprehensive Psychiatric Services in Jefferson City, Missouri. In that role, he oversaw the Division’s funding for community mental health services, including the selection of contractors, allocation of funds, development, and supervision of community mental health program certification, liaison to community mental health providers and associations, and staff support to the division’s state advisory council.

Mr. Schuffman has also served on a wide range of influential commissions and committees. In 2000, he was appointed to the Joint Legislative Committee on Mental Health Insurance, representing the Executive Branch, which developed legislation mandating parity for mental health insurance coverage in Missouri. In 2005, he was appointed to the Medicaid Reform Commission, again representing the Executive Branch of this Joint Legislative Commission, which developed broad recommendations for reforming Missouri’s Medicaid Program.

Mr. Schuffman is also the author of numerous articles and presentations, including the 2009 article, State Mental Health Policy: Mending Missouri’s Safety Net: Transforming Systems of Care by Integrating Primary and Behavioral Health Care, that appeared in Psychiatric Services. Mr. Schuffman received his Master’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Missouri and completed his undergraduate degree at Augustana College.