|
Advocacy News You Can Use
Tuesday
The Council of State Governments Justice Center, in collaboration with the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice, presented Family Engagement in Juvenile Justice and Mental Health Programs: Making It Real on February 7th. Part of the presentation was based on this Model for Change report. A copy of the presentation is available.
Wednesday
Under the heading "big surprise!" or maybe "really, it took a study?", the figures from both the Council for State Governments and the Vera Institute suggest that many people who wind up in jail or prison got into trouble at least in part because of clinical conditions, and that many of them come out with the same problems they had when they went in.
Thursday
HIPAA: The Final Act
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the final "Omnibus Rule" for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Friday The 2013 MHSOAC Meeting Schedule has been revised and posted to the website. Please Note: There will NOT be a Commission Teleconference Meeting in February. SACRAMENTO -- State Controller John Chiang today released his monthly report covering California's cash balance, receipts and disbursements in January 2013. Total revenues for the first month of the calendar year were $4.3 billion above (39.1 percent) estimates found in the Governor's proposed 2013-14 State budget.
"Last month's revenues were by far the highest that California has seen in any January for the past decade. Along with increased auto sales, rising home values, and more construction, it signals that California may be entering an era where we can govern outside of crisis," Chiang said. "However, given our state's troubled history with boom-or-bust revenue cycles, this good news must be tempered with increased fiscal discipline in how we interpret and budget January's collections." Sunday Upcoming MHSOAC Committee Meetings
The Evaluation Committee will be hosting a meeting on February 19, 2013 from 12:30 PM to 3:30 PM. The agenda is available here. The Services Committee meeting will be taking place on February 20, 2013 from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Read the agenda here.
The February 20, 2013 Community Forum Workgroup meeting will be taking place from 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM. The agenda is available here.
The February 20, 2013 Client and Family Leadership Committee meeting will be held from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM and here is the agenda.
The February 27, 2013 Financial Oversight Committee meeting has been rescheduled to April 4, 2013.
The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is hosting a series of monthly conference calls about the Healthy Families Program Transition to Medi-Cal. The intent of the call is to hear from mental health, autism, and substance use disorder service partners, stakeholders, state representatives and the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
These calls will be held on the third Thursday of the month from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m., Pacific Standard Time. Please confirm your attendance by February 20th to ensure adequate call in lines for this monitored call by emailing dhcshealthyfamiliestransition@dhcs.ca.gov.
Thursday, February 21, 2013 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm (Pacific Standard Time) 1-800-779-9403, Conference Call line 1696084 Participant passcode Monday (U.S.) Senate Group Votes to Boost Mental Health Services And now (drum roll, please) the QUESTION OF THE WEEK: If you knew more about the purpose and the procedures of the MHSOAC (the Commission) and its committees, would you be more likely to participate? The MHSOAC needs the input of NAMI members and other stakeholders and we, as NAMI members, need to be sure that our voices are being heard by the Commission and its committees. If the answer is yes, we'll arrange a great orientation! | 
Dr. Beardslee is Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Boston's Children's Hospital and Gardner/Monks Professor of Child Psychiatry at Harvard University. He is the author of over 100 articles and chapters and books including the acclaimed Out of the Darkened Room: Protecting the Children and Strengthening the Family When A Parent Is Depressed. Dr. Beardslee is a frequent speaker and consultant on families and mental illness.