Governor Andrew Cuomo Announces Steps to Cut Waste and Improve Government Efficiency

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced transformative steps that his administration is taking to change the way state government does business in order to reduce costs and increase efficiency. These reforms are expected to save taxpayers $600 million in all funds over five years including $100 million in all funds over the next fiscal year.

Click here to learn more.  

The NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) and the NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH) are jointly hosting regional BHO Orientation Meetings beginning this week to acquaint providers and BHOs and discuss implementation of the BHO initiative.

Providers are strongly encouraged to send representatives to the appropriate regional meeting. You may register up to three people. You must register in advance, please click here to register.  

The ENGAGE Team is pleased to aid in the distribution of Dual Diagnosis, A Guidebook for Caregivers, Susan Scharoun, Ph.D., author.

Please read about more about the author, Dr. Scharoun, the current Chairperson of the Department of Psychology at LeMoyne College where she teaches. Credibly, Susan is also a sibling of a person with a developmental disability and a psychologist who helps people who have "dual diagnosis," a term typically used when a person with a developmental disability also has a mental illness.

This guidebook offers caregivers tools they need to understand how mental illness might look in a person with a developmental disability, and information on what to do and where to go for help.  

Additionally, this resource was written in 2011 for the New York State Institute for Health Transition Training with a grant support from the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council. Continuing education credits are available for health care professionals who review this guidebook.   

ENGAGE wishes to especially thank Nienke P. Dosa, MD, MPH. and Kathy Ahern, RN for their work on the Guidebook and for their consultation, planning and assistance.

NYS Medicaid Infrastructure Grant Funding Helps Make Work Pay 

For Older Youth, Young Adults and Families-go to www.nymakesworkpay.org to learn more about ways that the NYS Medicaid Infrastructure Grant funding is helping to merge segregated disability-related employment systems into a mainstream resource that most people in NYS (and elsewhere) turn to for assistance in finding job opportunities and supports - the Department of Labor. This comprehensive employment system will provide all New Yorkers - of all abilities - with a single point of access to all employment-related services and supports, including job matching with the nearly 90,000 jobs currently posted by employers in the NYS Job Bank, www.jobcentral.com/ny.  

It is expected that the implementation of NYS' comprehensive job matching/employment supports coordination and data system will take place in a number of phases over the next several years, beginning this year. 

Additional resources include:

• Preparing for the New York State Employment Support System for Master Trainers Webinar.  (Previously recorded) 
• Registration for the NYESS Master Trainer Training is now available. 
• Current Participating Providers 

Available Trainings Include:

• NYESS Master Trainer Training 
• HIPAA and Information Security Trainings 
• Current Participating Providers 

Thanks to NYAPRS  and Harvey Rosenthal for contributing to this article.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a serious public health issue. Nearly every mainstream medical, psychological, and educational organization in the United States has concluded that it is a real, brain-based medical disorder and that children and adults benefit from appropriate treatment. Support ADHD Awareness Week by learning-and sharing-the facts and Learn More About ADHD and Help Increase Awareness.

ADHD Resources From SAMHSA

• Helping Children and Youth With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Systems of Care     
• Ayudando a ninos y jovenes con trastorno por deficit de atencion/hiperactividad: Sistemas de cuidado (Helping Children and Youth With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Systems of Care-Spanish version)      
• Guia para la familia de los sistemas de cuidado para la salud mental de sus hijos (Family Guide to Systems of Care for Children With Mental Health Needs-bilingual) 

America's Promise Launches Grad Nation Communities

America's Promise Alliance is drafting more communities into its campaign to boost high school graduation. The Alliance recently launched Grad Nation Communities, part of the Grad Nation Campaign, which is a 10-year initiative to mobilize all Americans to help end the high school dropout crisis and better prepare young people for college and the new workforce.   

The Alliance invites communities to join this national network of cities and towns that will work to improve high school graduation rates by focusing on the local schools that are most in need of improvement. Grad Nation Communities work toward achieving the Grad Nation Campaign goal of raising the national high school graduation rate to 90 percent and helping the United States regain its standing as first in the world in college completion. Grad Nation Communities include Long Island City/Astoria, NY.

To learn more about the supports and services provided to Grad Nation Communities and to complete the Grad Nation Communities online commitment form, visit the website. 

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