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Advocacy


National Alliance on Mental Illness Ohio

Ohio's Voice on Mental Illness





Dear Mental Health Advocate, the Coalition for Healthy Communities, a consortium of 27 statewide mental health and alcohol/drug addiction advocacy organizations including NAMI Ohio, is jointly communicating the following message. Please read this carefully and forward it on to others.

Sincerely, Your friends at NAMI Ohio

BUDGET UPDATE:

The Ohio Senate and House of Representatives have each taken action on Am. Sub. H.B. 1, the Fiscal Year 2010 – 2011 Biennial Budget. The bill will now go to a Conference Committee where three legislators from the House and three from the Senate will work to reconcile the differences between the two versions of the bill. It is anticipated that additional cuts will be made to parts of the state’s budget. It is absolutely imperative that consumers, family members, providers, board personnel, and other behavioral health advocates communicate directly with House and Senate leaders and their own legislators indicating the urgent need to safeguard the community alcohol, drug addiction and mental health system from further cuts.

Your advocacy is critical to any chance of success in putting a stop to the deterioration of our behavioral health care system here in Ohio. Legislators listen to the members of the Coalition, but what makes all the difference is your voice directly communicated to your elected representative. If we do not act, consumers and their loved ones will pay the price in reduced service availability. Ohio’s behavioral health system is on the verge of collapse! Specifically, we need your help in advocating for the changes below.

BUDGET CHANGES NEEDED:

The Coalition for Healthy Communities calls on the General Assembly to take the following action on Am. Sub. H.B. 1:

Mental Health:


1.

Transfer $31 million in Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) funds in each year of the biennium from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services budget to the Ohio Department of Mental Health budget. DSH funds are federal reimbursement dollars for indigent care provided in ODMH state hospitals. This transfer will eliminate the need for ODMH to have to take funds out of community mental health services to pay for the increased cost of care to serve forensic patients in state mental health hospitals. Forensic patients are those who are court involved.

Alcohol and Drug Addiction:


2.

Restore the $3.4 million in funding to the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services (ODADAS) budget for community alcohol and drug addiction services which was cut in the Senate version of the bill, but not in the House version. If funded at the Senate-passed level, ODADAS is projected to lose $4,525,167 in federal funding.

MH & AoD Combined:

3.

Restore the $3.8 million that was cut from the Residential State Supplement (RSS) program in the Ohio Department of Aging’s budget. These funds are used to provide supportive housing for individuals with severe mental illness and substance abuse disorders.

4.

Restore the 0.5% Medicaid rate increase for behavioral health services included in the House budget. Behavioral healthcare providers have not had a rate increase in 12 years.

CALL TO ACTION:

Step One

Write, call or e-mail the Legislative Leaders listed below and ask them to support the four changes outlined above.

Step Two

Write a letter to the editor of your local paper stating why you support the four changes. Send a copy of the letter to your local legislators.

Step Three

Contact your local House Representative and Senator and urge them to support the four changes. To find out who your Senator and Representative are and how to contact them, go to: www.legislature.state.oh.us.

Step Four

Urge three people who you know to complete steps 1-4.

Senate Leaders
and Conferees

Phone Number

E-mail Address

The Honorable Bill Harris, President

614-466-8086

SD19@senate.state.oh.us

The Honorable Tom Niehaus, President Pro Tempore

614-466-8082

SD14@senate.state.oh.us

The Honorable Capri Cafaro, Minority Leader

614-466-7182

senatorcafaro@maild.sen.state.oh.us

The Honorable Shirley Smith, Assistant Minority Leader

614-466-4857

senatorsmith@maild.sen.state.oh.us

The Honorable John Carey, H.B. 1 Conferee

614-466-8156

SD17@senate.state.oh.us

The Honorable Dale Miller, H.B. 1 Conferee

614-466-5123

SD23@maild.sen.state.oh.us

The Honorable Mark Wagoner, H.B. 1 Conferee

614-466-8060

SD02@senate.state.oh.us

The Honorable Armond Budish, Speaker of the House

614-466-5441

district08@ohr.state.oh.us

The Honorable Matt Szollosi, Speaker Pro Tempore

614-466-1418

district49@ohr.state.oh.us

The Honorable William Batchhelder, Minority Leader

614-466-8140

district69@ohr.state.oh.us

The Honorable Louis Blessing, Assistant Minority Leader

614-466-9091

district29@ohr.state.oh.us

The Honorable Vernon Sykes, H.B. 1 Conferee

614-466-3100

district44@ohr.state.oh.us

The Honorable Ron Amstutz, H.B. Conferee

614-466-1474

district03@ohr.state.oh.us

The Honorable Jay Goyal

614-466-5802

district73@ohr.state.oh.us

Senate Mailing Address

House Mailing Address

Ohio Senate
Statehouse
Columbus, Ohio 43215

Ohio House of Representatives
77 S. High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215

The Coalition for Healthy Communities is a consortium of 27 statewide organizations advocating for quality mental health and addiction services.

View NAMI Ohio’s Television Commercial on YouTube

Recently, a commercial informing television viewers about NAMI Ohio began airing in various media markets around the state. To view the commercial, click here.

Ohio Receives “C” for Mental Health Care: A Decrease from Last Report Card

Columbus – On March 11th the National Alliance on Mental Illness issued a national report card that gives Ohio a C for its public mental health system.

The report is a follow-up to a NAMI report published three years ago to measure the progress of states in achieving the goals of a presidential commission that called for transformation of the mental health care system – which too often is fragmented, outmoded and inadequate.

In the previous report, Ohio received a grade of B. This year it is one of 12 states that saw their grades decline. The national average is D, remaining stagnant from three years ago. Six states received B’s, six received Fs, and no state received an A.

“This grade is a tremendous disappointment. Three years ago, Ohio received a B and was viewed as a national leader. Instead of moving forward as we should have, we have fallen miserably backwards, and in the process have left many of our most vulnerable citizens behind,” said Jim Mauro, Executive Director of NAMI Ohio, the state affiliate.

“Ohio has worked hard over the years to establish a solid infrastructure, only to have it threatened by funding cuts. NAMI Ohio calls on the Strickland Administration and the members of the General Assembly to stop the erosion of Ohio’s mental health system. We cannot continue to rely on jails and emergency rooms to serve as our safety net. Instead, we must invest in cost-effect, proven mental health services that save lives and save money,” said Mauro.

The report card is based on 65 criteria, including access to medication, housing, family education and support to National Guard members. It includes policy recommendations for federal and state leaders. State governments provided most of the information on which the grades are based. To view the report in its entirety, go to www.nami.org/grades2009.

NAMI Ohio

State Affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness

747 East Broad Street Columbus, Ohio 43205
Tel:  614-224-2700
FAX: 614-224-5400
1-800-686-AMIO
614-224-1498 (TTY)
866-924-1478 (toll free TTY)
amiohio@amiohio.org
Jim Mauro, Ex.Dir.

HELPLINE

1-800-686-AMIO
(1-800-686-2646)