NAMI - Capitol Day 2005 - 012505
Wow! What an interesting day -- a day of overcoming fears of lobbying and getting involved with the legistlature of Texas. I had always had an itching to do this, but never did because I wasn't quite sure where to begin. Joel Roberts is a reknown speaker who offered the NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness) organization some tips and tricks towards effective communication with the legistlatures; he certainly knew how to console the soul!!
SOME NOTES TAKEN THROUGHOUT THE DAY --
"All politics are local" - quoted often by Joel throughout the day
We are all constituents - able to speakup and advocate for mental illness (or for any other subject matter for that matter; however, today's focus was on mental illness)
MH Coalition - active since 1995 regarding real medical illnesses; effectively treatable.
Steve Russell - a lobbyist for TSPP:
* advocating for every child having health care - including mental health
* appropriate role for various medical care providers in the Mental Health system
* committees will be appointed Thursday (rumor has it)
Dr. Sawyer, TSPP:
* psychologists - should be prescribing without medical education b/c they must know how to differentiate between the masking of other real medical conditions and label as psychiatric disorders
* foster child movement - need to look beyond the surface issues
* scientology - one of their goals is to do away with psychiatry
Cliff Gay, NAMI staff member (Consumer Network and Education Coordinator):
* HB2292 - mandated into law; targets population; wants to see this continued (as a disease management model); under this same bill, wants to see jail diversion incorporated into the disease management model (diverting the consumer from the jail door into getting treatment)
* Each company was mandated to have such a program running by February 1st of this year
Statistic Speaker (name not written in notes):
* he wasn't given Rx in jail until he finally arrived at the Kerrville State Hospital
* advocates for psych assessment to actually being done within 24hrs of the arrest
Jim Sweeny, Chairperson of legislation affairs committee of the Texas Depression & Support Alliance:
* medicaid funding - elimination of various options (ie, they cut therapy and adult counseling services from the funding)
* peer to peer support - helpful to treatment and continuation; trained specialists are instrumental
Representative, of Texas Mental Health Consumers Association:
* North STAR (Star of Texas Access Reform)Project in Dallas TX - provides consumers with a choice fee for service model
* HB470 - seperation of authority model (authority can't provide services)
* wanting legislation to adopt this model which provides for access as a one-stop eligibility center; regionalizes 42 MHMR locations into 11 Regions
* Houston StarStar+ Program - to manage medicaid; a con is that the management program is not paying people
* physician from audience spoke up - says that the model puts restrictions on services; not necessarily in the best interest of patients
* another issue advocating for - reinstatement of trauma counseling by medicaid as a medicaid billable service
JOEL WANTED US TO BREAK UP IN 4 DIFFERENT BREAKOUT GROUPS AND COME UP WITH SOME KEY MESSAGE POINTS (STORIES, STATISTICS, ILLUSTRATION) AND PICK 3 PEOPLE FOR BEING SPOKE PERSONS + 1 ON DECK JUST IN CASE)
NOTES FROM THE JAIL DIVERSION BREAKOUT GROUP:
* criminals can buck the system (con)
* worthless recovery (another con)
* 75% affected juveniles
* 20% affected adults
* 60% substance abuse/mental illness
* $31,000 - cost per year in jail vs. $6,500 - cost in halfway programs
* no mentally ill person should be left behind, based on direction to change
* Harris Co - non-lockdown facility - commissioners funded
* recovery - reintegration - 2-4 years mandated program
* Probation Officer follows psych assessment
AFTER BREAKOUT SESSIONS, JOEL HAS US RETURN AND GROUPS OF 3 FROM EACH BREAKOUT SESSION COMES FORWARD TO BE ANALYZED BY JOEL:
SOME NOTES TAKEN THROUGHOUT THE DAY --
"All politics are local" - quoted often by Joel throughout the day
We are all constituents - able to speakup and advocate for mental illness (or for any other subject matter for that matter; however, today's focus was on mental illness)
MH Coalition - active since 1995 regarding real medical illnesses; effectively treatable.
Steve Russell - a lobbyist for TSPP:
* advocating for every child having health care - including mental health
* appropriate role for various medical care providers in the Mental Health system
* committees will be appointed Thursday (rumor has it)
Dr. Sawyer, TSPP:
* psychologists - should be prescribing without medical education b/c they must know how to differentiate between the masking of other real medical conditions and label as psychiatric disorders
* foster child movement - need to look beyond the surface issues
* scientology - one of their goals is to do away with psychiatry
Cliff Gay, NAMI staff member (Consumer Network and Education Coordinator):
* HB2292 - mandated into law; targets population; wants to see this continued (as a disease management model); under this same bill, wants to see jail diversion incorporated into the disease management model (diverting the consumer from the jail door into getting treatment)
* Each company was mandated to have such a program running by February 1st of this year
Statistic Speaker (name not written in notes):
* he wasn't given Rx in jail until he finally arrived at the Kerrville State Hospital
* advocates for psych assessment to actually being done within 24hrs of the arrest
Jim Sweeny, Chairperson of legislation affairs committee of the Texas Depression & Support Alliance:
* medicaid funding - elimination of various options (ie, they cut therapy and adult counseling services from the funding)
* peer to peer support - helpful to treatment and continuation; trained specialists are instrumental
Representative, of Texas Mental Health Consumers Association:
* North STAR (Star of Texas Access Reform)Project in Dallas TX - provides consumers with a choice fee for service model
* HB470 - seperation of authority model (authority can't provide services)
* wanting legislation to adopt this model which provides for access as a one-stop eligibility center; regionalizes 42 MHMR locations into 11 Regions
* Houston StarStar+ Program - to manage medicaid; a con is that the management program is not paying people
* physician from audience spoke up - says that the model puts restrictions on services; not necessarily in the best interest of patients
* another issue advocating for - reinstatement of trauma counseling by medicaid as a medicaid billable service
JOEL WANTED US TO BREAK UP IN 4 DIFFERENT BREAKOUT GROUPS AND COME UP WITH SOME KEY MESSAGE POINTS (STORIES, STATISTICS, ILLUSTRATION) AND PICK 3 PEOPLE FOR BEING SPOKE PERSONS + 1 ON DECK JUST IN CASE)
NOTES FROM THE JAIL DIVERSION BREAKOUT GROUP:
* criminals can buck the system (con)
* worthless recovery (another con)
* 75% affected juveniles
* 20% affected adults
* 60% substance abuse/mental illness
* $31,000 - cost per year in jail vs. $6,500 - cost in halfway programs
* no mentally ill person should be left behind, based on direction to change
* Harris Co - non-lockdown facility - commissioners funded
* recovery - reintegration - 2-4 years mandated program
* Probation Officer follows psych assessment
AFTER BREAKOUT SESSIONS, JOEL HAS US RETURN AND GROUPS OF 3 FROM EACH BREAKOUT SESSION COMES FORWARD TO BE ANALYZED BY JOEL:
posted by Kat Davis at 12:16 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home