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August 10, 2007Topics: Health Insurance for Direct Care Workers in Mental Health Update on MHANYS Conference Mental Health Foundation Fundraiser---August 15th in Saratoga Bridges to Health Programs for Children in Foster Care
Signing On to Join the Organizations Supporting Health Insurance for Direct Care Workers in Mental Health Licensed Programs As a follow up to a recent letter we sent to Governor Spitzer regarding providing health insurance stipends for direct care staffs in licensed mental health programs, we (The Mental Health Association and the New York State Rehabilitation Association) have been meeting with state policy makers on this issue. This is a replication of the successful Health Care Enhancement model in OMRDD in which direct care staff receives health insurance stipends or other funding incentives to defray the cost of health insurance. We also know that this will likely be a very difficult budget year. This means that we have to very vigilant on this issue and have a strong grassroots movement as has been done in several recent successful mental health campaigns (i.e. Timothy’s Law and The SHU Bill). To that end, we are building a strong coalition and have already received responses from many organizations throughout the state. If your organization is interested in signing on to support funding to enhance health insurance coverage for direct care staff in mental health licensed programs, please send me an e-mail at gliebman@mhanys.org MHANYS
Conference Update— We are very pleased that we have lined up several speakers and topical workshops for our annual conference being held at the Marriot Hotel on October 26th on the subject of 16—24 year olds and their transition needs. David Woodlock, the Director of the Bureau of Children’s Services at the New York State Office of Mental Health will be our keynote speaker. I have participated in several forums with David recently and he is a very knowledgeable and informative speaker. In addition, we have workshops across state agencies including participation from the New York State Office of Mental Health, New York State Office of Children and Family Services, Department of Labor, Commission on Quality of Care and VESID. Also, we will be hearing from youth in a plenary session to kick off the conference. They will be talking about the ideas and programs they need to help create a more responsive system of care. Several other innovative practices will be discussed including those of several Mental Health Association affiliates across New York State as well as collaborative programs underway in Albany County. Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with one of the nation’s leading experts in the field of evidenced based best practices in mental health. I asked if there were any emerging best practices in the area of adolescents in transition. He said there were none that he knew of across the country. That comments says a great deal about this issue. We all know it exists and we deal with it on a daily basis, yet there are few systemic responses that incorporate the needs and desires of this population. The hope is that this conference will help lead to a discussion of innovative ideas and practices that will help reach out to a population who have all to often fallen through the cracks in the mental health system, foster care system and juvenile justice system. We will be posting registration and conference information, in the coming weeks, at our website at www.mhanys.org. In the mean time, please feel free to e-mail mramirez@mhanys.org with any questions.
Mental
Health Foundation Holding Fundraiser Our colleagues at the Mental Health Foundation are holding a reception on August 15th at the Reading Room (148 Union Avenue) in Saratoga from 5:30 to 7:30. The Honorary Chair People are former First Lady of New York, Matilda Cuomo and Marylou Whitney. Tickets are $100 and they go to support the very important anti-stigma educational efforts of the Foundation. For registration information, log onto www.mentalhealthfoundation.net Bridges to Health Programs for Children in Foster Care to be Eligible for Home and Community Based Services Listed below is information provided from our colleagues at the Commission on Quality of Care about the new Bridges to Health Program. This program allows children with serious emotional disturbances, those who are developmentally disabled and children who are medically fragile to be eligible for home and community based services when in foster care.
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