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NYAPRS 2012-3 State Budget-Legislative Priorities
A link called “Read the 14th Annual Legislative Day Book!”
that links to the attached word document
and is followed by the following article text and pix
Mental-Health Advocates Want “Reinvestment” In Housing, Supports
By Cara Matthews Gannett News Service January 31, 2012
Hundreds of people with mental illness and advocates for the mental-health system were at the Capitol today to lobby for the state to invest more money in housing, peer support and employment opportunities. They participated in the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services’ 14th annual Legislative Day.
According to NYAPRS, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget would continue the state’s overhaul of its health and mental-health systems in ways that are intended to continue consolidating and closing Office of Mental Health psychiatric hospitals, improve coordination of care and help avoid Medicaid hospitalizations and emergency-room visits. To achieve these goals, the state has been expanding managed care, establishing health homes and using behavioral health organizations. New York has 27 state psychiatric hospitals, about seven times the national average.
The organization said the state needs to do more than improve access to medical services and medications. It wants the state to “reinvest” the savings in community wellness, prevention and support systems. Research has shown that housing and economic stability and a community support system can reduce relapse rates and costly hospital visits, NYAPRS said in a statement.
“Otherwise, we will only be repeating the deinstitutionalization failures of the past where we closed the door to hospitals and ERs without placing sufficient services and supports in the community,” the group said.
Josue Hernandez, 32, of the Bronx said people with mental illness have a lot to offer, but they need more help finding jobs and housing and getting peer support after they are discharged from hospitals. He participates in a psychosocial club in the Bronx called the Boulevard Clubhouse, which provides placement in transitional jobs, advocacy and referrals and social programs. He finished a transitional-employment program and is now looking for a permanent position.
“My situation now, I’m dealing with finding a job after finishing my program. And it’s been a little hard,” he said.
He and his wife, Margaret, got married last July. They both belong to the Boulevard Club.
“They think that because I get disability and I work part time, they think I have enough to support the both of us. So until he gets a job, a lot of things are a stretch,” said Margaret Hernandez, 33.
Taxpayers spend more when someone is in a state psychiatric hospital than if they live in the community, said Christian Florio, a generalist/case manager at the Boulevard Clubhouse. “It actually costs less if you reinvest the money back into the community,” he said.
For over two decades, NYAPRS and the statewide grassroots coalition it represents has emerged as a leading voice for New York State's recovery movement, a movement whose central aim has been the reform of state and local services, supports and social conditions to best promote the recovery, rehabilitation and rights of New Yorkers with psychiatric and related disabilities.
Key elements in such a system transformation have included the promotion of self determination, choice, empowerment, self-advocacy, individualized person-centered planning, access to full array of services with informed consent, incorporation of wellness self-management, employment and education and holistic "whole person" approach including complementary treatments.
We have done so by developing strong statewide networks of well-informed and activist local partnerships of mental health consumers and providers. In annual regional forums across New York, hundreds shape each year's NYAPRS public policy priorities, priorities that are presented at our 900-person strong annual Albany Legislative Days and followed up with a broad array of local, statewide and Albany based advocacy actions that have received broad media coverage.
Over the past decade, some of NYAPRS' proudest achievements include:
RIGHTS:
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Seclusion and Restraint: In 1992, hundreds of NYAPRS members completed surveys for the NYS Commission on Quality of Care and spoke out on behalf of efforts that significantly reduced the use of S&R in state and local hospitals
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Anti-Stigma Efforts: NYAPRS members have engaged in countless public efforts to protest damaging public stereotypes and to fight bigotry and discrimination.
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Kendra's Law: NYAPRS members strongly oppose forced treatment, favoring choice and informed consent. In that spirit, we led the opposition to the Involuntary Outpatient Commitment program launched under Kendra's Law in 2000 and successfully fought to extend the legislature's oversight and require independent research that looked equally at the impact of voluntary engagement approaches in 2005.
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Electroshock Therapy Oversight/Informed Consent: In 2003, NYAPRS successfully convinced both houses of the Legislature to pass ECT Reporting legislation; our forceful public protest to the Governor's subsequent veto paved the way for OMH administrative actions that enhanced state oversight, reporting and protections that promote informed consent.
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Community Reinvestment Act: NYAPRS members' personal testimonials and "never-say-die" Capitol candlelight vigils played a key role in gaining approval for an initiative that has redirected over $180 million in new community services. Our subsequent strong support helped convince the Governor and the Legislature to approve 3 extensions of this landmark program.
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Funding for Rehabilitation, Peer Support and Employment: NYAPRS was successful in gaining a $1 million increase for clubhouse programs in 1992, and a $1.3 increase for peer services in 2002. We won several increases in PROS funding and formed a statewide Campaign for Employment that helped bring a $5 million Medicaid Infrastructure Grant (New York Makes Work Pay) to our state.
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Fighting Cuts: Throughout the past decade NYAPRS members have played pivotal roles in countless successful campaigns to avoid or restore cuts to the community mental health safety net.
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Cost of Living Adjustment: NYAPRS members played very public roles in the successful effort to gain several multi-year cost of living adjustments for the community mental health workforce.
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Mainstreaming of Rehabilitation: In 2001, a NYAPRS Medicaid Task Force capped several years of investigation and discussion by determining that a Medicaid-funded psychiatric rehabilitation model should be piloted to promote enhanced funding, valuing and availability of rehab services. This ultimately led to the development of OMH's Personalized Recovery Oriented Services (PROS) initiative.
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Adult Home Residents: NYAPRS Public Policy members and staff helped found the NYS Coalition for Adult Home Reform; Harvey Rosenthal was appointed to the Governor's Adult Home Workgroup, which successfully won the development of a new adult home case management/peer specialist model and approval for 2,000 new supportive housing beds.
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Prisoners with Psychiatric Disabilities: NYAPRS Public Policy members and staff worked in support of establishing a Medicaid Presumptive Eligibility program in 1997-2000, and helped lead MHASC's successful campaign to mandate alternatives to solitary confinement and other reforms supporting prisoners with psychiatric disabilities.
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Underserved Minorities: NYAPRS helped win the establishment of two Centers of Excellence in Cultural Competence.
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Transportation: NYAPRS members helped form and lead a NYC/NYS-wide coalition that won passage of the MTA Half Fare Fairness Legislation.
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Housing: NYAPRS has been an active member in the NY/NY Campaigns and the NYS Campaign for Mental Health Housing that have won funding for community housing for thousands of New Yorkers with psychiatric disabilities.
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Employment: NYAPRS members helped form and lead a cross-disability advocacy coalition that won approval of the Medicaid Buy-In program in 2002.
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Entitlements: NYAPRS partnered with our cross disability advocacy partners to successfully defeat proposed SSI COLA cuts in 2003 and 2009.
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Full Community Integration: NYAPRS members again joined with our cross disability partners to win passage of legislation creating New York's Most Integrated Setting Coordinating Council. Our staff and Board members have played active roles in support of the Council's efforts to produce a NYS Olmstead plan.
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Mental Health Coverage: Since the mid-1990's, NYAPRS members have been active members of coalitions that ultimately won passage of mental health parity legislation (Timothy's Law).
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Medication: NYAPRS has long fought to protect full access to Medicaid mental health and related medications.