RECOVER e-works: Issue No. 23

An electronic circular of the Center for Rehabilitation and Recovery, a project of the Coalition of Behavioral Health Agencies.

The Center for Rehabilitation and Recovery provides assistance to the New York City mental health provider community through expert trainings, focused technical assistance, evaluation, information dissemination and special projects.

PLEASE NOTE: The Coalition is asking readers to answer three questions on RECOVER e-works with this issue. Thank you for your time! Take the survey.

March 2006

This issue:

• APSE: The Network on Employment
• Coalition of Mainstream Employment Programs
• Coalition of Behavioral Health Agencies
• Hunter College
• Job Accommodation Network
• National Association of Social Workers
• SAMHSA
• US Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association
• University of Illinois/Chicago

• Hewlett Packard for Community Grant Initiative
• Medical and Health Research Association of NYC
• NYS Homeless Housing and Assistance Corporation
• SAMHSA
• US Department of Health and Human Services
• US Department of Housing and Urban Development

• Careers and the disAbled
• Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities
• NYS Assembly and Senate
• NYS Office of Mental Health
• SAMHSA
• University of Pennsylvania Collaborative
• Workforce Investment Act

• Archives of General Psychiatry
• Bazelon
• Behavioral Healthcare Tomorrow
• Community Mental Health Journal
• Human Services Council of NYC
• Kaiser
• National Alliance on Mental Illness
• Psychiatric Services
• SAMHSA

Education:

• APSE: the Network on Employment will hold a national symposium, "Employment First: The Road to Recovery" on employment and Psychiatric Rehabilitation on April 10th and 11th at NY's LaGuardia Marriott Hotel in East Elmhurst, NY. Featured will be the Center for Rehabilitation and Recovery and other experts in the field of supported employment including Robert Drake and Gary Bond. Download brochure with registration information, including early registration discount by March 20th.
  
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  The Supported Employment Institute Spring Tele-training Series starts March 14th and runs through June 2nd. Topics include Career Planning, Positive Behavior Supports and Foundations for Supported Employment. More information.


• Coalition of Mainstream Employment Programs will hold a training on April 12th on "Counseling Skills for Direct Service Providers" at 350 5th Avenue, room 314. For more information call 212-741-0100, ext. 4519.


• Coalition of Behavioral Health Agencies is offering two free workshops in March with new information on Medicare Part D. "EPIC and Medicare Part D", March 13th from 3-4PM, will explain the EPIC program and how it works with the low income subsidy program; "Medicare Part D Exceptions and Appeals", March 29th from 2-4PM, will cover the procedure for filling out exceptions and appeals. Pre-registration is required. Call 212-742-1600, ext. 210.
  
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  The Center for Rehabilitation and Recovery is offering free training in the "Basics of Benefits" geared toward staff working in clinical settings on March 23rd at Venture House in Queens, April 4th at Postgraduate Center for Mental Health on the Westside of Manhattan and April 20th at Howie the Harp in Upper Manhattan. All trainings will be held from 1-4PM. A three day Comprehensive Benefits Training for a fee will be offered at the Center on April 17th-19th. Click here to access information on both sets of Benefits Training.
  
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  The Professional Learning Center's Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment Training Series is offering "Co-Occurring Substance Use & Psychiatric Disorders in Addiction Treatment Programs" on April 21st from 1PM-5PM at St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center, Cronin Auditorium. More information.
  
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  The Center for Rehabilitation and Recovery's second module from the Core Competency Training series will be held at the Center on April 25th-26th. "Integration of Clinical, Rehabilitation and Employment Services" will provide knowledge in the necessary skills and techniques useful in coordinating the integration of services. More information on the Core Competency Training.


• Hunter College Schools of the Health Professions and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will host a conference on April 10th called "Advancing Public Mental Health into the Mainstream of the Public Health". The program will present evidence based information supporting the incorporation of the mental health agenda into the public health agenda describing cross-disciplinary research. To register call 212-481-4313 (RSVP by April 3rd).


• Job Accommodation Network: "Disability Etiquette in the Workplace" is an audio conference scheduled for March 14, 2006, 2-3PM (EST). Included will be discussion on politically correct communication with individuals in the workplace. More Information.


• SAMHSA's Resource Center to Address Discrimination and Stigma Associated with Mental Illness (ADS Center) is offering a free teleconference on March 30th called "Stigma and the US Military". More Information.


• US Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association will offer an audio conference called "Peer Support as a Medicaid Reimbursed Service" on March 22nd for a fee from 3:30Pm-4:30PM (EST). This audio conference will give an overview of funded peer support services in various states, standards for best practices and peer support advocacy strategies. More Information.


• University of Illinois/Chicago, Center on Mental Health Services, Research and Policy, Department of Psychiatry has made available a webcast called "Grading the Evidence for Consumer-Driven Services". Included in the discussion with Dr. Judith Cook and others will be evidence base for consumer-operated and centered services, self-directed care and recovery self-management. More Information.

Funding and Grant Opportunities:

• (3/22) Hewlett Packard for Community Grant Initiative will award up to 100 organizations in the US and Puerto Rico an Hewlett Packard wireless technology package of approximately $17,000 including 5 HP Notebook PCs, a wireless ready HP all-in-one printer/scanner/fax/copier and an HP digital camera bundle. More Information.


• (4/10) Medical and Health Research Association of NYC has released a request for proposals for HIV/AIDS services in the five boroughs of NYC. Services include mental health, harm reduction, housing placement, maintenance in care and early intervention services. A letter of intent is due March 24th. Proposals are due April 10th. More Information.


• (4/24) NYS Homeless Housing and Assistance Corporation: $30 million in funds for construction and rehabilitative housing for the homeless will be available with proposals due April 24th. Included is permanent, transitional or emergency supportive housing for individuals or families. More Information.


• (3/29) SAMHSA's Family Centered Substance Abuse Treatment Grants for Adolescents and their Families has a request for applications addressing gaps in substance abuse services for adolescents with substance abuse disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders. Seventeen awards will be given from a total of $5,200,000. The due date is March 29th. More Information.
  
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  (4/6) SAMHSA's Development of Comprehensive Drug/Alcohol and Mental Health Treatment Systems for Persons Who are Homeless Program will award 25 agencies up to $400,000 each from a total amount of $9.7 million to address gaps in substance abuse and mental health services for the homeless. The due date is April 6th. More Information.
  
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  (4/10) SAMHSA's Drug Free Community Support Program will award 120 community based coalitions from a total of $12 million with proposals to reduce substance abuse among youth and adults in communities at risk and that support community coalitions establishing and strengthening collaborations towards this goal. Proposals are due April 10th. More Information.
  
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  (5/1) SAMHSA's Cooperative Agreements Aimed at Expanding Culturally Competent HIV/AIDS-Related Mental Health Services from a total of $8.4 million will award 16 grants of approximately $525,000/year, total costs for up to five years, for proposals targeting these services. The due date is May 1st. For more information call 800-729-6686 mentioning grant #SM-06-001 or go to their web site.
  
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  (5/2) SAMHSA's Treatment for Homeless Supplements from a total of $4 million will be awarded to 20 agencies treating homelessness whose awards began in FY 2004 and FY 2005. Eligibility does not include grantees whose grant period ends FY 2006. The goal is to expand and enhance grant activities funded under the Development of Comprehensive Drug/Alcohol and Mental Health Treatment Systems for Persons Who are Homeless. Proposals are due May 2nd. More Information.


• (5/25) US Department of Housing and Urban Development has released the superNOFA Request for Proposals initially mentioned in the February RECOVER e-works. The RFP covers $2.2 billion in grants through 39 individual programs and proposals are due May 25th. More Information.

News Briefs/Events:

• Careers and the disAbled will be holding a NYC Hire the disAbled Career Expo on March 23rd from 10AM-3PM at the Marriott Marquis Hotel at 1535 Broadway between 45th and 46th Streets. Employment opportunities will be available for college students, graduates and professionals. Accommodations are available. Click here for pre-registration.


• Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities: the President's proposed budget includes a 50% cut of $118miliion to the Section 811 supportive-housing program for people with disabilities within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). More detail on this and on other housing related budget proposals.


• NYS Assembly and Senate: In the last issue of RECOVER e-works (February 2006, #22) it was erroneously reported that the NYS Senate alone overrode Governor Pataki's veto of bill S.1410. In fact, both the NYS Assembly and the NYS Senate unanimously overrode the Governor's veto. View the NYS Assembly press release. View S.1410


• NYS Office of Mental Health has delayed the implementation of the Personalized Recovery Oriented Services (PROS) program as of February 24th in the early adopter counties with the exception of Clinton County. Clarification on billing issues, more training on documentation and a better definition on Medical Necessity contributed to this delay.
  
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  OMH has a website that provides Assisted Outpatient Treatment Reports (AOT/Kendra's Law) including program statistics, recipient characteristics and recipient outcomes. The site will be updated regularly and has a mechanism for feedback. Go to web site.


• SAMHSA issued a Consensus Statement on Mental Health Recovery. Outlined are principles seen as necessary to achieve mental health recovery. Included in the ten fundamental components are self-direction, individualized and person-centered principles and peer support. More information.


• University of Pennsylvania Collaborative, the RRTC on Community Integration of Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities is conducting a study on mental health experiences of post-secondary students diagnosed with a mental illness using a national survey. More information.


• Workforce Investment Act (WIA): the President's budget is proposing a 15% cut to the WIA formula funds represented by $680 million less for training and employment services. Included is a proposal to replace individual WIA Adult Dislocated Worker and Youth formula programs with a state block grant to pay for individual Career Advancement Accounts (CAAs) for high school dropouts. More information.

Publications:

• Archives of General Psychiatry has published a landmark study on bipolar disorder in children and teens through the efforts of COBY (Course and Outcome of Bipolar Illness in Youth Research Program), Brown Medical School, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of California-Los Angeles (February 2006). The course of bipolar disorder and its behavioral and social effects was studied with four hundred pediatric patients over five years. COBY represents the largest and most comprehensive pediatric study of bipolar disorder to date. More information.


• Bazelon has issued a report (January 2006) on mental health funding levels for FY '06 from the appropriations bill that funds the Center for Mental Health Services within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Increases were given to the State Incentive Transformation Grants and the suicide-prevention program. For more detail go to: More information.


• Behavioral Healthcare Tomorrow: "A Story of Transformation: An Agency Fully Embraces Recovery"(April 2005) portrays a traditional behavioral health agency utilizing numerous strategies geared towards closer alignment with recovery principles. To access the abstract go to: More information.


• Community Mental Health Journal published an article entitled "Implementing Recovery Oriented Evidence Based Programs: Identifying the Critical Dimensions" (April 2005) that has relevance today. The paper includes a description of value based practice to conceptualize recovery-oriented mental health programs. View abstract.


• Human Services Council of NYC has an update (March 6, 2006) on Hurricane Katrina services and other matters affecting evacuees in NYC. To access "Hurricane Katrina Relief Updates March 6, 2006" call the Council at 212-836-1230. In addition, the Coordinated Assistance Network (CAN) has the "New York and New Jersey Assistance Guide" (March 6, 2006).


• Kaiser has a number of publications and reports available: -an updated Fact Sheet (February 2006) on Medicaid's Role for Dual Eligibles, Medicaid's role in providing health care and issues on the transitioning period from Medicaid to Medicare Part D. More information.
  
  -an issue brief (February 2006) summarizing the Medicaid policy changes and the potential impact to states and beneficiaries as a result of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. More information.
  
  -a 50-state survey (February 2006) of Medicaid officials assessing the transition of low-income seniors and dual eligibles. More information.
  
  -a Medicare Drug Enrollment Update (February 2006) displaying statistics pertaining to the Medicare drug benefit. More information.
  
  -a policy brief tracking prescription drug coverage under Medicare (February 2006). More information.


• National Alliance on Mental Illness: "Grading the States: A Report on America's Health Care System for Serious Mental Illness" (February 2006) is a 230 page report with state narratives and scoring tables reporting on the nation's mental healthcare system state by state. More information.


• Psychiatric Services: "Integrating Physical Activity into Mental Health Services for Individuals with Serious Mental Illness (March 2005) stresses the need for physical activity for mental health recipients based on data indicating the positive effects of exercise on chronic disease. More information.


• SAMHSA's National Mental Health Consumer Self-Help Clearinghouse has a Consumer Driven Services Directory (January 2006) aimed at providing viewers with a comprehensive resource on local and national consumer-driven programs. More information.

REMINDER: The Coalition is asking readers to answer three questions on RECOVER e-works with this issue. Thank you for your time! To access go to: Take the survey.