National Council Signs Letter in Support of Full Second Chance Act Funding
 

 

 

The National Council is pleased to announce the launch of our first-ever Letter Writing Campaign! The goal of the Letter Writing Campaign is to bring consumers’ and advocates’ voices to Capitol Hill by generating letters to elected officials in support of community mental health and addiction services. Personal stories from consumers, providers, advocates, and family members are one of the most powerful ways to influence elected officials. Your letters can build political support for community mental health and addictions services by showing your legislators how those services matter to you and your communities! Letters will be delivered to Capitol Hill on June 30th at the National Council’s 6th Annual Public Policy Institute and Hill Day – this is a great way for people who won’t be attending Hill Day to make their voices heard on Capitol Hill. In addition, the state whose members generate the highest total number of letters, along with the individual organization that collected the most letters on its own, will be recognized at the Member Reception during Hill Day.

 

Participating in the Letter-Writing Campaign is easy – just print our sample letter form and recruit as many people as possible to fill it out and share their stories! We encourage you to leave copies of the form in your waiting room so consumers can fill it out while they’re waiting for their appointments. Or, give the form to staff, board members, even friends and family members to fill out. Print your organization’s name, city, and state on each letter, and return them by email to rebeccaf@thenationalcouncil.org (preferably in a single mailing rather than one-by-one). The deadline for letter submissions is June 21, 2010. A detailed description of the letter-writing contest is available on our website. Click here to register for our 6th Annual Public Policy Institute and Hill Day, or visit our Hill Day website for more information.

 

 

 

Last week, Reps. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), Tim Murphy (R-PA), Gene Green (D-TX), Alcee Hastings (D-FL), and Chris Murphy (D-CT) introduced the Health Information Technology Extension for Behavioral Health Services Act of 2010 (H.R. 5040). This legislation ensures that behavioral and mental health professionals, psychiatric hospitals, behavioral and mental health treatment facilities, and substance abuse treatment facilities will be eligible for the electronic health record incentive payments established under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

 

The National Council strongly supports this legislation and has worked closely with Reps. Kennedy and Murphy’s offices to secure its introduction in the House. We extend our gratitude to those who responded to our Action Alert urging your Representatives to sign on as cosponsors of the HIT Extension Act. So far, eight additional Representatives have agreed to sign on to the bill: Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Charles A. Gonzalez (D-TX), Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ), Tim Ryan (D-OH), Ike Skelton (D-MO), and Diane Watson (D-CA). We need to keep the pressure on Congress: if you have not already done so, please contact your Representative today, and urge him or her to sign on as a cosponsor to the HIT Extension for Behavioral Health Services Act!  

 

Since introduction, the National Council has signed on to a letter from the Mental Health Liaison Group in support of this bill. In addition, National Council President and CEO Linda Rosenberg has sent letters to the original cosponsors of the bill thanking them for their leadership on this issue. Linda and other leaders in the behavioral health community have also issued a letter to the field in support of expanding the incentive payments program to better incorporate behavioral health providers and organizations. For more information about the HIT Extension for Behavioral Health Services Act, please see the National Council’s fact sheet on this topic.

 

 

 

The National Council would like to thank our members who signed on to a letter to Representatives Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and John Sullivan (R-OK) in support of therapeutic foster care (TFC). The letter thanks Reps. Baldwin and Sullivan for introducing the Medicaid Services Restoration Act of 2010 (H.R. 4787). This legislation would create a new option under Medicaid for states to provide TFC, helping to ensure children’s access to needed clinical treatment services and evidence-informed treatment protocols which are individualized for each child or youth. The legislation would also permit states to use “reasonable and efficient” payment methodologies for TFC, Medicaid rehab and targeted case management (TCM) services, including the use of capitated rates for treatment services. In all, nearly 200 organizations signed on to the letter, which was circulated by the National Council, the Foster Family-based Treatment Association, and other national organizations. 

 

The Medicaid Services Restoration Act arose from the fight against 7 proposed Bush Administration regulations that would have dramatically restricted states’ ability to provide TFC, rehabilitation, and TCM. The National Council strongly opposed these harmful regulations and has consistently supported efforts to rescind them. Although the Obama Administration has withdrawn the regulations, the Medicaid Services Restoration Act will protect these services from future attempts to limit or restrict their availability. 

 

 

 

The National Council invites you to apply to participate in our Access to Care Redesign Initiative. Through participation in this initiative, your organization will be provided with the tools necessary to:

The Access to Care Redesign Initiative is a state-wide initiative  involving up to forty community behavioral health organizations in two states (20 in each) chosen through a competitive application process.  Eligible entities for participation include state-level trade associations that are members of the National Council, or groups of National Council members in a state that join together to submit a single application. $125,000 in grant funds are available for this project; participants must meet a $1 match for every $9 received in grant funds. The application form provides additional information about the project. Applications are due by close of business (5:00 PM, Eastern time) on May 7, 2010.  We prefer that applications be submitted electronically to RebeccaF@thenationalcouncil.org (If submitting by mail, please mail to the National Council office, attn: Access Redesign Initiative). For questions, please contact Rebecca Farley at RebeccaF@thenationalcouncil.org or 202-684-7457 ext. 235.

 

 

 

The fifth annual National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day will take place on Thursday, May 6th. The National Council is a supporter of Awareness Day, which is a day to promote positive youth development, resilience, recovery, and the transformation of mental health services delivery for children and youth with serious mental health needs. The National Institute of Mental Health recently released several new interactive resources for organizations planning activities for Awareness Day. They include:

Additionally, the National Center on Children in Poverty has issued a brief titled "Children’s Mental Health: What Every Policymaker Should Know.” This document is a useful resource for state and local advocates; it provides an overview of mental health problems among children and adolescents and offers policy strategies to enhance mental health for children, youth, and families.

 

 

 

The National Council and over 300 other national, state, and local organizations have signed on to a letter to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies in support of full funding for the Second Chance Act in fiscal year 2011. Second Chance Act programs improve coordination of reentry services and policies at the state, tribal, and local levels, including demonstration grants, reentry courts, family-centered programs, substance abuse treatment, employment, mentoring and other services needed to improve transition from prison and jail to communities and reduce recidivism. The Second Chance Act of 2008 authorized $165 million for these programs; however, President Obama requested only $100 million in his FY 2011 budget proposal, which is level to the FY 2010 funding. For additional information about this year’s appropriations process, see the Federal Budget page of our website.