NAMI CAN!
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2011/2012 Legislative Session
The Assembly adjourned at 1:22 AM Saturday morning, with the State Senate ending its floor session at 1:30 AM. Both houses will reconvene after the November elections to swear in newly elected members on December 3, 2012.
- Attention now shifts to the Governor's actions on the hundreds of bills being sent to him from the Legislature. The Governor has until September 30 to sign or veto those bills.
- Bills that passed on to the Governor for Action include AB 1569, AB 1907, SB 9 and the two Health Essential Benefit bills with mental health language added, AB 1453 and SB 951.
- Bills that died in the last week of session include AB 154 mental health parity bill and AB 2134. All bill position statements are available on the NAMI California website Legislative page.
Local Action Urged
When AB 109 realigned part of the state's criminal justice responsibilities to the counties, it specified that counties should set up committees called Community Corrections Partnerships. Those committees are responsible for developing an annual budget for the AB 109 funding and they are doing that right now for the coming year. That means that this is your opportunity to educate your community's leaders about the needs of individuals living with serious mental illnesses. This letter is ready for you to personalize and send to the Chairperson of your Board of Supervisors/Commissioners.
Our apologies for sending the draft letter as a pdf file but there is no way around it. Please let us know if the letter proves useful.
Planning for 2014
Great resource for tracking health care reform developments:
Want to know the latest on Health Care Reform in California and the other states? Download "Health Care Reform Weekly" put out by a great organization - KidsWell.
- - Bettie Reinhardt, MPH
NAMI CAN! Coordinator
bettie.reinhardt@namicalifornia.org
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NAMI on the Go!
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 NAMI California successfully reached out to minority communities in Southern California this summer with transit ads. The campaign included signs on buses and transit stations in the Los Angeles region to target the under-served populations in this area. The bus in this photo was spotted en-route by Dorothy Hendrickson, NAMI California Board President.
NAMI California is also pleased to report on its wide-spread radio PSA announcement that highlights NAMI California in English and Spanish to help bring people to our website where they will find information about programs and services.
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Location Update on Merced Regional Meeting, Sept. 17
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Merced Regional Meeting: Includes Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Merced and Tuolumne counties. (There are no active affiliates in Madera or Mariposa counties.)
The meeting will be held in Modesto.
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The 2012 NAMI California Annual Statewide Conference Survey
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We hope you got the most out of our 2012 Annual Conference in Irvine. Your feedback will help us to develop our meeting program and events for 2013.
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Financial Incentive Program Example in Contra Costa County
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Contra Costa County Behavioral Health Division has developed a loan and scholarship program, funded through their local workforce, education, and training funds. The program began in May of this year, and has now provided awards to 3 staff members. There are seven additional slots to fill, possibly next year when the program is rolled out again.
The California Mental Health Services Authority (CalMHSA) is acting as fiscal intermediary for this program. Read the informational document that has more details about the scholarship and loan repayment program. If any county would like to replicate this model, or would like more information, please contact Adrienne Shilton.
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Local MHSA News
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To SF Bay Area NAMI Affiliate Presidents and Contacts:
Alameda County, East Bay, Tri-Valley, Santa Clara County, Sonoma, Solano, Marin, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Sacramento, California, et al.
You are invited to the Alameda County Sponsored INN Round 1 Grant Results Conference on Friday, October 12th, 8 a.m. - 2:30 p.m in Oakland, CA.
For details and registration click: INN Round 1
Final results of this Project will be presented at the INN Round 1 Conference stated above. Guy Qvistgaard, Hospital Administrator, JGPP (John George Psychiatric Pavilion), San Leandro, CA will be presenting the final MoD project results.
Although these 22 grants were an Alameda County Project, the grants were funded by the MHSA. Therefore, results are in the public domain and may be used by anyone who sees that the project results provide value to their community.
In addition, FYI, Guy Qvistgaard, received the NAMI California 2011 "Zero Tolerance for Seclusion & Restraints" Award for reducing S&R's by one half at JGPP from Feb 2010 to Feb 2011. His goal was to reduce S&R's in half again by Feb 2012.
The S&R reduction and MoD programs are not NAMI programs. However, it is through my relationship with Guy on the MoD program that he has agreed to be NAMI Alameda County South's "VP of Provider Outreach." As such, we are working together to bring NAMI consumer programs to JGPP, other psychiatric facilities and our community.
To see what our new affiliate has been able to accomplish to date, please visit our website at www.NAMIacs.org.
Please forward this information to whomever you think may have an interest in this information.
MoD Grant Coordinator for JGPP,
President, NAMI Alameda County South
510-378-1578
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Graduates of Santa Barbara County Training Program Recognized
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On August 24th, Santa Barbara County Second District Supervisor Janet Wolf will recognize more than 30 individuals who have completed the third Alcohol Drug and Mental Health Services (ADMHS) Consumer and Family Member Peer Support Training, funded by MHSA workforce, education, and training in Santa Barbara County.
Santa Barbara County was awarded the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) Merit Award earlier this year for the same training program.
The goal of the training program is to strengthen the skills and competencies of consumers and family members to serve in either paid or volunteer roles offering peer support and mentorship.
Following is a link to an article published in the Santa Barbara Independent regarding the graduation ceremony:
http://www.independent.com/news/2012/aug/22/supervisor-wolf-honor-graduates-admhs/
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Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services (ACBHS) Intern Stipend Program
| | Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services (ACBHS) has just launched an Intern Stipend Program. This Graduate Intern Stipend Program is a financial incentive strategy that was included in the ACBHCS WET Plan.
In FY 2012-13, ACBHCS will provide up to 35 stipends to graduate student interns who are enrolled in a qualifying school and pursuing a Master's or Doctoral Degree in Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, Psychology, Psychiatric Nursing or as a Physician's Assistant.
Selected interns will receive two payments at the completion of each semester, of up to $6,000 per year, in exchange for 720 internship hours for the academic year 2012-13.
View the application for the stipend program, and follow this link to their website which has the program announcement:
http://www.acbhcs.org/internships/grad_internship.htm
Congratulations to Alameda County for developing this program which is designed to meet their specific workforce needs.
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Training for Trainers Scheduled Nov. 30.
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Attention current NAMI - trained support group facilitators:
Announcing a training for state trainers of Support Group Facilitators, November 30 through
December 2 in Sacramento. NAMI California will be flying in two National NAMI trainers to conduct this training.
Please contact Lynn Cathy, State Family Programs Coordinator, for a state trainer application.
Deadline: November 16th, but please submit as soon as possible. Thank you!
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Orange County Community Forum on the MHSA, Sept. 13
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If You Paid for PaxilŽ, You Could Get a Payment from a Class Action Settlement
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A class action settlement will provide money to California residents who were 18 years old or older and who paid for any portion of the price of the prescription antidepressant PaxilŽ while living in California from January 14, 1999 through January 1, 2003, and who qualify under the settlement (these people are called "Class Members"). If you're included, you may ask for a payment, or you can exclude yourself from, or object to, the settlement. The Superior Court for the State of California, County of Los Angeles will have a hearing to decide whether to approve the settlement so that payments can be issued. The lawsuit claims that GlaxoSmithKline falsely advertised and promoted PaxilŽ as being non-habit forming or non-addictive and that GlaxoSmithKline's advertisements and promotional materials failed to disclose the risk of symptoms from stopping or discontinuing PaxilŽ. GlaxoSmithKline denies each of these allegations. Click here for details. |
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Contact Information
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Weekly Report
NAMI California
1851 Heritage Lane,
Suite 150
Sacramento, CA 95815
Phone: 916-567-0163 Fax: 916-567-1757
www.namicalifornia.org
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