MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
| April 2012
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National Alliance on Mental Illness, California State Organization
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 Welcome Members and Affiliates
We welcome your ideas for topics to cover, your feedback on issues that face consumers, families, and providers across the state. Contact us at newsletter@namicalifornia.org.
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NAMI California's 2012 Annual Conference: Applications for Workshops Deadline Extended
 NAMI California's 2012 Annual Conference will be held at the Marriott Hotel in Irvine, California on Friday August 17th & Saturday August 18th. We are now accepting applications for workshops through May 1.
This year's theme is "All of Us Together: Advocacy in Action".
All applications must be submitted with this attached form.
Please include a brief biographical sketch of each presenter, along with the title and proposed objective for your workshop. The may be up to a total of four presenters per workshop. You are responsible for your own LCD projectors; TVs and DVD players may be rented at the hotel.
Completed workshop forms must be received by May 1, 2012.
Fax or email them to:
NAMI California
Attn: Nikki Townsend
nikki.townsend@namicalifornia.org
(916) 567-0163 office - (916) 567-1757 fax
For more information on NAMI California's 2012 Annual Conference and to register please visit our website at www.namicalifornia.org.
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NAMI Can! on Managed Care
 We, in California, are accustomed to managed care. We seemed to provide it first and folks with employer-based health insurance often have no choice beyond HMO or PPO and then are more likely to choose HMO coverage. However, we are not yet accustomed to having Medi-Cal benefits managed although many Medicare beneficiaries choose Advantage (managed) plans.
Times are changing in the Golden State. As of January 1 of this year, individuals with Medi-Cal benefits must choose or be placed in a managed care plan for services not provided by their county behavioral health departments. Some exemptions are allowed for complicated care this year. As of January 1 of next year, individuals with both Medi-Cal benefits and Medicare benefits (Dual Eligibles) in four demonstration project counties accounting for about half of the state's population must choose a managed care plan.
It is time to learn as much as possible about managed care and there is no better source than NAMI's Resource Guide.You will see that historically, Medicaid (Medi-Cal) services for disabled beneficiaries, including mental health services, have been provided on a fee-for-service basis where providers are paid for each billable service provided. In contrast, managed care Medicaid programs pay for some or all services at a prepaid rate, often based on enrollment.
As NAMI's Guide says, "Whether managed care plans improve or impair access to, and quality, of care depends on a variety of factors." We are principal among those factors. Go to the end of the article for NAMI's Advocacy Tips:
- Develop relationships.
- Meet regularly with the behavioral health directors and medical directors of Medicaid managed care plans.
- NAMI's goal is to ensure that children and adults living with mental illness receive the right care at the right time and right place to experience lives of resiliency, recovery and inclusion.
- Use NAMI's Resource Guide on Managed Care, Medicaid and Mental Health to understand key managed care issues and to ask questions that will help inform your advocacy.
Bettie Reinhardt
NAMI CAN! Coordinator
bettie.reinhardt@namicalifornia.org
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Paid Family Leave: A Financial Benefit for Care Providers
 Did you know financial support may be available while you take time from work to care for a loved one? The Paid Family Leave program supports those who find themselves in a position of needing to care for an ill parent, spouse, child, or domestic partner. California is leading the nation in making it easier for working people to balance the demands of the work place and family care needs at home. California Paid Family Leave was created for times like these.
Paid Family Leave is a component of the California State Disability
Insurance (SDI) program. If you are covered by SDI then you are covered for Paid Family Leave. A physician/practitioner must certify that there is a need for care. Up to six weeks of benefits may be provided for those who must take time off work to care for an ill parent, spouse, child, or domestic partner. The benefits are based on your (care provider's) past quarterly income. Most workers are eligible to receive approximately 55 percent of their pre-taxed wage while on Paid Family Leave.
To learn more about the Paid Family Leave program, visit the Employment Development Department website at www.edd.ca.gov/disability or call 877- 238-4373.
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Conference on Schizophrenia Features NAMI Members
A panel of three NAMI affiliate presidents and a NAMI consumer member were featured on the first day of a three-day conference at Fuller School of Psychology in Pasadena titled "Schizophrenia and Human Flourishing: Science, Service, Community and Church".
The "integration seminar", presented in conjunction with Fuller Seminary, featured prominent scientists, consumers, and family members.
Dr. Richard Josiassen, Chief Scientific Officer of Translational Neuroscience, Research Professor of Psychiatry at
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Drexel University College of Medicine, and an active NAMI Pennsylvania member, was chiefly responsible for organizing this year's conference at Fuller, where he received his graduate degree.
He made sure that the points of view of families and consumers were presented as being equally important to those of scientists.
The first day focused on how faith communities can help people who have mental illnesses by creating a more welcoming and compassionate congregation.
Dr. Gunnar Christiansen, founder of NAMI FaithNet, was a speaker, and Rita Murray of NAMI Whittier, Paul Stansbury of NAMI South Bay, and Wayne Baldaro and Fran Hvorka of NAMI Glendale presented the families' and the consumers' suggestions about how churches and synagogues can help people with mental illnesses, and they spoke about how attention to spiritual needs is important to recovery.
The second day focused on scientific research with presentations by Dr. Philip Janicak, Dr. Ming Tsuang, and Dr. Deborah Levy, who reported on their latest findings in the fields of genetics, biochemistry, and epigenetics. The first-person accounts of living with schizophrenia was presented by Drs. Frederick Frese, Roberta Payne, and Nobel Laureate John Nash.
Day three was devoted to "evidence-based" practices for treating people with schizophrenia.
NAMI is grateful to Dr. Josiassen for insisting on including families and consumers along with scientists and practitioners, and for at every opportunity referring to NAMI as the "go to" organization for families. He also organized a showing of "A Beautiful Mind" with Dr. John Nash taking questions afterward, a concert featuring multi-Grammy award-winner Paul Halley, and a fund-raising banquet to support a scholarship in neuroscience.
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The Afghanistan Tragedy: NAMI Statement
 The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has issued the following statement by Executive Director Michael J. Fitzpatrick to address issues reflected in the case of U.S. Army Sgt. Robert Bales:
"After 20 years of U.S. military experience in the Middle East and in light of the recent killing of 16 Afghan villagers by a soldier who news reports indicate may have experienced mental health problems, it is clear that the system of identification, diagnosis and intervention for ongoing invisible wounds of soldiers serving America, as well as concern, care and accountability, is not what it should be.
NAMI deplores any and all unnecessary killing at home or abroad. We recognize the suffering of all victims of war, including their families and loved ones.
NAMI offers expertise and partnership in developing protocols that will lead to education of those who are in positions of leadership, responsibility and accountability, at all levels in our armed forces, with the purpose of helping to avoid future tragedies.
NAMI also believes that strong programs of education and advocacy, coupled with accountability at all levels of management and command in both civilian and military settings, will lead to removal of the stigma of seeking help for mental illness and invisible wounds and will lead to healing and recovery. We pledge to continue our efforts for the good of our warriors, our veterans and their families and for all of those who are affected by the invisible wounds of war and mental illness."
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NAMI Ventura County Trains Hospital Staff
In partnership with the local County acute care psychiatric hospital, NAMI Ventura County put together a customized presentation for a mandatory employee staff training at the hospital. The two-hour presentation was pre-qualified as a psychoeducation training, enabling licensed clinicians to receive Continuing Education Units. The goal of the presentation was to foster a greater sense of compassion and understanding among the staff for what it's like to live with mental illness as a consumer or family member.
Learn more about NAMI Ventura County's presentation and see if it may have applicability in your community. Click here to read more.
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NAMI California Financial Statements and Supplemental Information
NAMI California is posting the most-recent Independent Auditor's Report, June 30, 2011.
Click here to read the full report.
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| Contact Information |
newsletter@namicalifornia.org
or call NAMI California
(916) 567-0163
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Proud Sponsor of NAMI California: 
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NAMI California's Tree of Tribute
Fiscal Year 2011-12
Each year many donors elect to give a gift in celebration of an event, in honor of a special individual or in memory of a loved one.
The Tree of Tribute formalizes this tradition by providing a lasting acknowledgement
for individuals who are remembered, individuals who are honored or have an enduring record of a significant celebration.
Gifts in Celebration, in Honor or in Memory
Gifts of $500 or more will be eligible for an engraved leaf on the Tree of Tribute or an engraved stone at the base of the tree.
$500 - Bronze leaf
$1,000 - Silver leaf
$2,000 - Gold leaf
$3,000 -- Small stone
$5,000 - Large stone
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Major Donors 
NAMI California thanks the following for their very generous contributions of $500 or more.Humanitarian: $5,000-$15,000 Kelly Foundation, Sacramento, CA
Janssen Pharma, New Brunswick, NJAstraZeneca, Wilmington, DE
Ruth Knudtson, Redlands, CA
Phrma, Sacramento, CA Patron: $2,500 - $4,999 May S. Farr, Upland. CA
Samira V. Moran, Encino, CA
Sidney Stern Memorial Trust, Pacific Palisades, CA, $2,500.00 Benefactor: $1,000 - $2,499
The Knudtson Family Donor Advised Fund, CARalph E. Nelson, Visalia, CA Attias Family Foundation, Los Angeles, CA
Frances Tibbits, Pacific Palisades, CA Pfizer Inc., New York, NY David M. Knapp Special Needs Trust, San Diego, CA Dwelle Family Foundation, Visalia, CA
Shackleton Adventure Racing, LLC, Carmel, CA Edward Gaston, MD, San Rafael, CA Ngena Asante, Cypress, CA Henry Garner, Yorba Linda, CA NAMI Westside Los Angeles (from NAMIWalk) Shareholder: $750-$999 Orange County's United Way, Irvine, CA Teresa Walker, San Mateo, CA Ralph E. Nelson, Visalia, CA Sponsor: $500-$749
Joseph Kotzin,, Los Angeles,CAPatricia Goldring, PhD, Sherman Oaks, CA Kessel, Young, & Logan, Charitable Account, Long Beach, CA Wayne Baldaro, Glendale, CA Virginia Whitcombe, Palos Verdes Estates, CA Linda K. Pontious, Grass Valley, CA Miriam C. Wille, Ventura, CA Elizabeth Chamberlain, Woodside, CA Michael Aldrich, Glendale, CA Arnold Klein, Malibu, CA George Greenspon, Westlake Village, CA
Elizabeth Chamberlain, Woodside, CA NAMI California Annual Conference Donors Janssen Pharma, $5,000 AstraZeneca, $5,000 _______________________All donations,
large and small,
are greatly appreciated by
NAMI California and help
us achieve our mission
at the state level.
_______________________
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This educational newsletter is supported, in part, by an educational grant from Lilly USA, LLC. For further information concerning Lilly grant funding visit www.lillygrantoffice.com. |
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