黑料正能量 Note: The advocacy of 黑料正能量 and MHANYS takes a national stage as Mental Health Weekly reviews NY budget priorities for criminal justice reform and support for veterans.
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Criminal Justice Takes Center Stage in 黑料正能量 State Budget
Mental Health Weekly; Vol25 #14, 4/6/2015
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The 听New 听York听 听state 听budget from Assembly and Senate lawmakers contains additional funding 听鈥 nearly 听four 听times 听as
much 听鈥 听to 听enhance and expand training to help police officers de-escalate situations when responding to incidents involving 听people with psychiatric disabilities. The legislative budget, which includes funding for Mental Health First Aid training for police, passed March 31.
The budget for 听FY 2015鈥2016 includes a total of $1.5 million 听for Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) 鈥 an increase from $400,000 that was included in last year鈥檚 budget with advocacy support by the 黑料正能量 Association for Psychiatric Rehabilitation 听Services (黑料正能量) 听and the Mental Health Association of 听黑料正能量 听State听 听(MHANYS). The 听new funding听 听provides听 听mental听 听health training 听for 听local 听police 听and 听improved 听mental 听health听 听system response to eight localities.
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鈥淚t鈥檚 听very rare to get four times what you received in the previous year,鈥 MHANYS CEO Glenn Liebman told 听MHW. 听鈥淭his 听speaks volumes [coming from] the legislature and the governor [Andrew Cuomo]. People recognized what an important mod- el CIT has been.鈥
Liebman added, 鈥淥n 听the front end, it will 听help deter some crises from happening.鈥澨 听The听 听program helps 听build 听understanding among law enforcement, peers and families and develops much stronger partnerships 听with听 听the 听mental 听health community to avoid tragedies that have occurred between law enforcement and people with mental illness in the past, he said.
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It鈥檚 also important to recognize that the budget will 听include Mental Health First Aid training as part of ancillary training, said 听Liebman. 鈥淟aw enforcement will have a greater听 听understanding听 听about听 听mental health literacy and 听what to 听do 听in crisis-related situations,鈥 he said.
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鈥淐riminal justice tops 黑料正能量鈥檚 agenda,鈥 Harvey Rosenthal, 听黑料正能量 executive director, told MHW. 鈥淐IT will train police better in de-escalating 听a 听situation and 听get the 听local mental 听health 听system to 听become more responsive to people in crisis.鈥 The CIT program offers solutions to keep people out of the criminal justice system and avoid targeting people with psychiatric disabilities, added Rosenthal. Instead of arrests, consumers with mental illness may be more likely to receive medicine, housing or counseling, he said. Crisis training for officers represents trends around the country, he said. 鈥淭he 黑料正能量 strategy is to catch up with other states,鈥 he said.
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Re-entry Support
Rosenthal also gave thumbs up to the more than $22 million in the budget to provide pre-discharge supports and planning, care coordination, 听community-based services and supported housing. The key is re-entry support to provide immediate access to services 鈥 all part of the continuum, he said.
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The budget includes a proposal to repurpose $15 million of the Office of Mental Health Medicaid eligibility 听program to 听grant immediate 听access to Medicaid-funded medications and services for people with psychiatric and addiction-related conditions who are returning to the community from prisons and jails.
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If someone leaving prison or jail doesn鈥檛 already have Medicaid and needs that support, 鈥減recious time is lost and they risk falling through the cracks,鈥 said Rosenthal. It can take up to 45 days to be approved for Medicaid, he noted.
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Rosenthal 听added, 鈥淲e tried to get the state to expand the program so that it would put Medicaid cards in the hands of people with a mental 听illness听 or 听an 听addiction-related condition to get access to services and medication.鈥
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The budget includes $1 million in grants to fund certified applications and assistors 听to facilitate the enrollment 听of 听鈥渁t-risk鈥 听individuals pending release from 听prisons and jails. 鈥淲e see that as a first step,鈥 said Rosenthal.
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Veterans Support
Funding 听to听 听include 听veterans鈥 mental 听health, 听suicide 听prevention and prescriber prevails are included in the 听budget. The latter gives prescribers precedence in determining the medications that their patients want and need, in the areas of anti-depressant, antipsychotic, antiretroviral, seizure and other medications. Liebman said MHANYS is very pleased about the more than $3 million听 听to 听support 听veterans鈥 mental health. The funding expands the PCF Joseph 听P. Dwyer Veterans Peer Sup- port 听Program, currently embedded in 11 counties throughout the state.
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A major concern for MHANYS is the omission of the Mental Health Public 听Awareness Tax 听Check Off initiative in the budget. 鈥淲e spent a lot of time and effort [pushing for] the mental health tax awareness check-off,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 look like it鈥檚 going to happen. We鈥檙e dis-
补辫辫辞颈苍迟别诲.鈥
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Liebman added, 鈥淲e have a ten percent tax check-off for charitable care such as breast cancer, Alzheimer鈥檚 听research and other very good causes. While preparing taxes, 黑料正能量ers should be able to check off for 听mental health awareness, he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to continue [pushing for this] for the rest of the legislative session and make sure this tax check-off happens,鈥 he said.
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