Re: The National Council Looks Back at 2007 and Ahead to 2008

As 2007 came to a close we thought it was important to review the year's accomplishments. Highlights of our accomplishments are now posted at on our website, there is much to be proud of and I encourage you to go and view the list.

We began 2007 with ambitious goals. We committed to strengthening membership, nurturing strategic partnerships, refining our message, delivering state of the science clinical and business training, and implementing an assertive public policy agenda.

Our accomplishments speak to our progress. Membership is at an all time high and increasing numbers of members are involved in advocacy and political action. We've gained the hard-earned respect of federal policy makers and sister advocacy groups and established productive partnerships. Attendance at our annual conference was the highest ever and we rolled out an array of practice improvement initiatives to help members improve access, continuity, and the general health of consumers. We were increasingly successful in telling the compelling story of our member organizations and the people they serve. And our public policy efforts have been creative and tenacious.

And it is the National Council's public policy successes of which we are most proud. For an association with limited resources, our accomplishments are monumental, particularly within the context of the millions and millions of dollars spent by groups lobbying the Hill. When I joined the National Council three years ago we committed to becoming a stronger voice on behalf of our member organizations and the adults and children they serve—and we have made considerable progress. The introduction of S.2182, the "Community Mental Health Services Improvement Act" by Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) in the United States Senate is an important milestone in National Council history and in behavioral health.

And on December 18 and 19, as 2007 came to a close, the Senate and the House passed legislation imposing a 6-month moratorium on any rule changes by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) that would cut Medicaid funding for rehabilitative services and school-based services--a striking example of what the National Council can accomplish when members and staff work together to get the attention of Congress.

But our work is not done. In 2008, we will build upon what we've accomplished in 2007. We only have a 6-month rehab option reprieve and we need to use the time to secure a more permanent solution to the ongoing assault on Medicaid mental health services. We need to have S.2182 and the companion bill, S.2183, the Community Mental Health Services Infrastructure Improvement Act, introduced in the House and we need to generate co-sponsors for those bills in both the Senate and the House.

We need to seize the 2008 Presidential election as an opportunity to move mental health and freedom from addictions to the forefront of the national healthcare agenda. And we must all commit to addressing the premature death of people with serious mental illnesses. Our 2008 mantra is--healthy minds and healthy bodies.

We're excited about our work on Capitol Hill including our efforts to get returning soldiers behavioral health services; about our Annual Conference in Boston, May 1-3; about hundreds of members coming to Hill Day, June 17; about consumers benefiting from our practice improvement initiatives; and about Project Helping Hands and Mental Health First Aid, new projects described in my December 2007 letter.

But most of all we're excited about continuing to work with our member organizations and state and local associations--all committed to recovery and a meaningful life in the community for those with mental illnesses and addictions.

We thank you for your support in 2007 and your continued membership. And please make 2008 the year you really get involved with the National Council!

Best Regards,
Linda

Linda Rosenberg, MSW
President and CEO
National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare
LindaR@thenationalcouncil.org
301.984.6200, ext. 227