Other Frequently Asked Questions

NAMI Family & Friends is a 4-hour seminar that informs and supports people who have loved ones with a mental health condition.  

Please note: NAMI Family & Friends is currently in the pilot phase and is only availble in AK, CA, MT, NM, OR, TX and WA. The seminar will become available nationwide in mid-2018.

  • Are participants who attend this seminar eligible for continuing education credits (CEUs)?

    As with most NAMI programs, we cannot guarantee that the NAMI Family & Friends seminar will be eligible for CEUs. However, NAMI may be able to provide a certificate that indicates the number of contact hours if needed.

  • Before we commit to the program I want to make sure it’s the right thing for my State Organization or NAMI Affiliate to spend our limited time and resources on.

    There is a financial incentive of $1,000 for being involved in the pilot and to help with any expenses. We don’t expect the cost of offering the 2 required seminars to exceed this amount and you can use the surplus funds as needed.

  • Having NAMI do registrations is a red flag for me in meeting our local needs. Can my NAMI State Organization or NAMI Affiliate handle registration on our own?

    One of the requirements of being a pilot site is to use the NAMI Portal registration system. You will not receive the seminar materials or the grant monies if you do not use the system.

    We need to determine if we can standardize some aspects of registration, participant management, participation reporting and evaluation while also allowing the flexibility each part of the alliance requires. This registration system is an initial step to better inform how to best leverage technology and meet the unique needs across NAMI.

  • How will my State Organization or NAMI Affiliate share our experiences with NAMI Family & Friends as well as the online portal?

    NAMI staff and volunteers involved with this pilot (affiliate leaders, seminar leaders, etc.) will have an opportunity to provide feedback by completing an online survey which will be released in late November/early December. If you provide permission, NAMI may also schedule a follow-up phone conversation prior to the national roll-out. We hope the NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates that are part of the pilot will provide honest feedback on what worked and what didn’t. Having everyone involved will help make our alliance stronger!

  • How will registrant information be used? Will registrants be solicited by NAMI for contributions, memberships and so on?

    Registrant information will only be used for activities related to the seminar including emailed reminders the seminar and the evaluation. NAMI will not be soliciting the pilot participants.

  • Sometimes our NAMI affiliate offers childcare, which we’re thinking about trying for this seminar. How can we track this as part of the registration process?

    NAMI requires all NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates to have liability insurance. Before offering childcare please consult with your insurance agent or broker to confirm that your organization has the appropriate insurance policy in place to offer childcare and that you are fully aware of the liabilities. Also, you should check with your state’s Child Care Resource and Referral agency, or child care licensing agency to find out if your state requires you to have a certain type, or amount, of liability insurance to offer childcare.

    NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates that do not have adequate liability insurance policies should not offer childcare. If your organization has secured appropriate liability insurance coverage (and you are fully aware of the liabilities associated with offering childcare) and you decide to offer childcare you will be able to include specific details when you enter seminar information in the online portal. For example, the email confirmation the attendee receives could include instructions to contact your office to register for childcare. You might also include information such as which door to enter, where to park, meeting room number, etc.

  • We need specific information for our grant reporting and are wondering how we'll get that?

    If NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates need to collect specific information for grant reporting—such as the participant’s employer or if the participant has a family member receiving SSI/SSDI or is enrolled in a specific program—the state/affiliate will need to ask for this information directly. Seminar leaders can obtain this information from participants on-site or your organization could ask for this information via email (before or after the seminar).

  • When does the pilot end?

    The pilot officially ends December 31, 2017. Seminars must be offered prior to that date to be eligible for the grant monies.

  • When will NAMI Family & Friends be released to the rest of the U.S.?

    NAMI will assess the evaluation data on both the seminar and NAMI Portal in the first quarter of 2018 and update as necessary. Assuming the results are positive, we expect the national roll-out to begin in the second quarter of 2018.