November 2002 NACBHDD Newsletter
The Newsletter of the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors
In this Issue...
NACBHD's 2003 Membership Campaign: A Critical Choice for Critical Times
"As county behavioral health organizations are stretched for resources, NACBHD makes my voice and the voices of the people we service heard in the places that count: the federal government, and important policy and advocacy organizations. Not only do I learn from others around the country with similar issues, but Milwaukee County's issues are at the table." Kathleen Eilers, Director, Milwaukee County Mental Health Department, speaks for NACBHD members across the country when she emphasizes the importance of membership to the survival of county/local systems of care.
Membership Benefits
NACBHD's achievements this year have been substantial on both the policy and program fronts. We work diligently to
advocate for your issues and keep them out in front of federal policy makers. You can read about an example of this
advocacy and dialogue in this issue of the newsletter. Twenty-two NACBHD members recently represented your interests
at the recent invitation only SAMSHA and CMHS sponsored conference on Medicaid and Mental Health Services (see following
article).
Key committees offer a venue for involvement in specific areas of interest or expertise, and lead efforts to inform both NACBHD members and relevant state and federal entities about important issues in county behavioral health. For example, results and recommendations from the Co-occurring Survey developed by the Substance Abuse Committee were used to give NACBHD members, state groups, and key federal agencies insight into the treatment of co-occurring disorders in the county arena. Other NACBHD committees include Conference Program, Corrections and Behavioral Health, Developmental Disabilities, Medicaid, Membership, and Policy and Legislative.
Our publication and conferences have been upgraded and improved for more responsive membership services. We have introduced NACBHD Newsline, the electronic information dissemination system that gets the latest policy and association information to you as quickly as possible. Our web site at www.nacbhd.org contains more information and better links, providing easy access to membership and conference registration.
Special Benefit This Year
NACBHD is delighted to continue its partnership with Manisses Communications Group. Once again, they will offer 2003
NACBHD members discounted subscriptions to Mental Health Weekly and Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Weekly. New This Year:
A free annual subscription to Behavioral Health Tomorrow. This benefit will begin in February, 2003. All directors
joining after that will be added as their dues are received.
Renewing Your Membership
As NACBHD gears up for its 2003 Membership Campaign, we urge each of you to renew your membership and make the investment in your professional development this year. Look for your renewal notice in the mail, and renew by mail or online at our web site. Either way, retain your membership with an organization that fights for you everyday.
NACBHD Members Talk About Membership
We talked with various members in different parts of the country, often with different mental health systems, about their local programs and services and NACBHD membership. No doubt, you will find a reflection of your own experience in their words.
When asked what is rewarding about her work, Nicole Bryant, Director of Community Services, Essex County Mental Health Department, New York, says, "No day is the same as the day before. I'm never bored." She adds that there are new challenges each day, but that she works with skilled and committed staff who are all of the same mindset - to serve the population of the county as best they can.
Bryant describes Essex County as a small rural county with a population of around 37,000 in 2,200 square miles. It is completely located in Adirondack Park with a separate park board and limits on economic growth, and therefore on employment opportunities. Lake Placid is still a tourist attraction, and the service industry is a main source of employment.
Essex County Mental Health Department offers a mix of services including: mental health services located in the county seat with satellites, case management, a drop-in approach for social integration (the risk for isolation in the area is high), and development of a vocational training program. (County public transportation to meet all needs is scarce and there is very limited subsidized transportation.) There are crisis services - one peer run, which includes respite services, and one run by mental health staff. Staff are working with the local county jail on identifying inmates with mental illness to provide short-term services to inmates and training to deputies on mental illnesses.
The county faces significant challenges. Bryant notes that the major concern is the great gap in child psychiatry services - a significant need as more and more young children are identified with psychiatric needs. The county has been designated a health professional shortage area in psychiatry, but the services of a psychiatric nurse practitioner have been helpful. There is no inpatient mental health unit in the county. Residents have to drive 50 miles to the nearest facility and it is a rural, mountainous drive. In terms of housing, Bryant reports that there is not a lot to offer except in subsidies and case management, but they try to provide services as much as possible through case management. Yet another challenge is working with 13 school districts, some of them quite small, and with very different ways of approaching mental health, often with limited resources.
Bryant sees three key benefits to NACBHD membership:
As she puts it, membership helps one's voice to be heard at the federal level, and for a voice to be heard at the federal level, "it needs a lot of little voices behind it and NACBHD has that."
Mike Drummond, Executive Director, Harford County Core Services Agency, Inc., in Maryland, and a new NACBHD member, enthusiastically describes the many programs with which he is involved and the challenges his agency is facing. In Maryland each jurisdiction has mental health authority and services vary from county to county. Harford County Core Services Agency, Inc. is a designated local partner in managing health care services, and works with local providers to assess community needs and with consumers and key stakeholders to come up with an overall plan of mental health services. Services include work training, intensive case management, and a crisis response team that responds to residents and moves them to ongoing treatment in the community. In addition, the agency coordinates a grant funded outreach program to the local county detention center and develops plans for individuals for outpatient treatment in the community. There is a recent grant to fund family intervention staff to have home-based family and mental health services for juveniles on probation. Having enough affordable housing is a huge issue to the well-being of those with mental illness, which will only become more pronounced as the number of middle-aged mentally ill grows and their parents/families are no longer able to provide housing. Drummond hopes to work with the county to get this into the county's five-year consolidated plan. In addition, an outreach case manager works with homeless individuals with mental illness. The agency is more involved with the emergency preparedness plan since 9/11, works with schools to provide a mental health presence in the schools, and works to integrate mental health with the needs of the community, such as special outreach to senior centers with the Department of Aging to individuals identified with mental health problems. Cultural competency is also an issue, with continued training to network providers. Consumer participation is important; a November consumer conference will examine the possibility of a self-help advocacy program and help identify unmet needs.
Drummond says, "We decided to join NACBHD because of the reality that planning, developing, and maintaining support for mental health is a tough job and we can learn in terms of approaches to take." He attended this year's Annual Conference in San Diego, and found it valuable in understanding how other states set up their programs. He is looking forward to the Legislative Conference in February and to being part of the "great momentum and support for support and recovery."
Fran Lewis, Mental Health Manager, Pierce County RSN, Tacoma, Washington, and a NACBHD board member for about five years, says that her thirty years in mental health have taught her that the national connection an organization like NACBHD provides is very important. She cites information gained, the value of networking, and the influence on federal legislation as important aspects of NACBHD membership, particularly the connection and advocacy with federal agencies, such as SAMSHA. Personally, she has a lobbying voice, but also a network for learning and for keeping her skills honed. Lewis makes it a point to always attend the yearly NACBHD Legislative Conference in Washington, which includes national leadership. She finds this especially important when leadership changes, and notes that NACBHD puts "all the key people together for this" - "all the entities we relate to." In addition, she values the presentations about best practices for those working directly with mental health clients. Lewis encourages people to join NACBHD; she feels that the more broadly the organization is represented the more it can speak and be heard at the federal level. "It is a unique opportunity to get county concerns heard at the federal level."
Doug Morton, Chief Executive Officer of Pathways in Marquette, Michigan, heads a four-county mental health system that serves mentally ill adults and children, developmentally disabled adults and children, and people with substance abuse. Pathways has over 500 employees and a $35 million yearly budget, and directly operates most programs except residential and inpatient programs. The state department of mental health contracts with them to provide mental health for their region. Under a Medicaid waiver, they act as a provider of services and as a managed care organization. Morton is a relatively new member and a board member, but he outlines several key opportunities available in NACBHD membership:
For those considering joining NACBHD, Morton notes that it's a fairly small focused group, with a chance to develop some interpersonal relationships. He likes the blend of meetings, with a legislative focus in the winter, and a training focus at the Annual Conference in the summer.
Deborah Donaldson, Executive Director, Comprehensive Community Care of Sedgwick County, Wichita, Kansas, and NACBHD board member for about eight years, finds the Legislative Conference extremely valuable. She urges more people to attend it "because it is a unique opportunity to hear how these issues will effect you;" and she notes, "it is incredible to have a whole group facing similar issues." In describing the benefits of NACBHD membership, she explains what is most important to her: keeping current on relevant issues, "having someone there working on your issues," and having the backing of the National Association of Counties. Kansas has a county run system, with a local authority that oversees services and contracts to others, and Donaldson feels that NACBHD "really speaks to that county relationship."
Tom Papin, Director of Human Services for Mesa County, Colorado, comments on NACBHD membership from his perspective as both a NACBHD member and as President of the National Association of County Human Services Administrators. Both associations are affiliated with the National Association of Counties. Mesa County has private nonprofit mental health services that have integrated all behavioral health and child welfare services at the local level, which is unusual. With a county population of about 125,000, this integration has made for both more resourceful and higher quality services.
From Papin's point of view, it is important to look nationally at the integration of behavioral health, child welfare, and adult protective services, as well as substance abuse services. He notes, "In these days of tight funding, we can do a lot more working closely together." He believes that all funding sources, including Congress, want to see as much integration and planning as possible. Ultimately, Papin feels that NACBHD membership will help enhance partnerships and services to families.
State Associations in the News
Large Scale System Change in North Carolina
Jean Overstreet, Director of Marketing and Communications, North Carolina Council of Community Programs, provided this information about systems changes in North Carolina. The North Carolina Council is the state association that represents the 38 Area MH/DD/SA Authorities in North Carolina.
Over the next five years North Carolina's system of mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse (MH/DD/SA) services will experience more change than at any time since the creation of the public community mental health system under President Kennedy. The driving force behind these changes is the system reform legislation enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly last year and a "State Plan for MH/DD/SA System Reform" currently being implemented by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
The legislation and the State Plan set forth major changes in who will be served, what kind of services will be provided, and how the public system will be governed and organized. The legislation also expands the role of county government in community service oversight and places a high priority on involvement of consumer and family members in service planning and evaluation at both the state and local level.
Management of Services
The new law creates local programs called a Local Management Entity (LME). The LME's primary role is to manage and monitor community services that are carried out by a qualified network of independent service providers. The plan is for the current 38 Area MH/DD/SA Authorities to consolidate and organize themselves to become LMEs. The LME (either a single or multi-county entity) will be responsible for planning for local services, the provider network development, service management, financial management, service monitoring and oversight, evaluation, collaboration, and ensuring access to core and targeted services.
This is a significant change from the existing system in which Area Authorities both provide services and contract with independent service providers. Today, approximately 50% of the public services are carried out by independent service providers. The State Plan calls for those Area Authorities that intend to become a LME to either divest their direct service functions or demonstrate that these services needs will not be met in the qualified provider network. That transition will take place over the next 3-5 years.
Each Area Authority or county intending to become a LME will be preparing a mandated Local Business Plan over the next 18 months. The local plan, which spells out how the various elements of the State Plan will be implemented locally, will have to be approved by the participating counties and the State.
New Roles for Counties
The new law seeks to substantially expand the involvement and accountability of county government in the management and oversight of MH/DD/SA services. Counties will oversee the planning process and approve the local business plan. Counties will also review the financial management of the LME on a regular basis.
As a first step, each county has been directed to select a governance option -- each will declare their intent on one of several governance structures by October 2002. The county may opt to keep the existing structure of single or multi-county Area Authorities or to directly manage services through a single county run program or through a multi-county run program. To date, only three counties have voted to change the governance structure to become county operated programs.
The General Assembly has also set a target for consolidating the existing 38 Area Authorities to increase economies of scale among smaller programs. While the law does not set a minimum population or geographic threshold, it does include a "targeted" goal of 20 LMEs with a population threshold of 200,000 or a 5 county area.
Focused Target Populations
Another major change occurring under system reform is the definition of who will be served by the public MH/DD/SA system. For the past 20 years, Area Authorities have been responsible for serving anyone that comes to their door for assistance "within reason," a large burden in an underfunded system. The State Plan defines, "target populations" or those the state wishes to serve, with priority on those "with the most severe need." A large concern is what will happen to those currently being served in the community system who do not fit in the state's target populations. Under the State Plan, it will be the LME's responsibility to assure services and supports for these defined populations.
A Major Role for Consumers/Family Members
To increase the involvement of consumers and family members in State decision making, a Division of MH/DD/SA Services Advisory Council will be created and made up of consumer and family members representing each of the disabilities. In addition, the chief of this new section will be a self-identified primary or secondary consumer and will serve in the role of the State Consumer Advocate. This person will be appointed by the Secretary, will report directly to the Division Director and will be authorized to bring consumer problems directly to the attention of the Secretary.
At the local level, each LME is required to create a Consumer and Family Advisory Committee. It will be their role to participate in all aspects of system change, from building the appropriate provider network of services, to approval of the Local Business Plan and on-going local policy decisions.
State vs. Community Services
The legislation and State Plan also envisions a gradual downsizing of state institutional services in favor of expanded community-based care management and services. Toward that end, the DHHS Secretary has announced that a new, $100 million, 430 bed state-of-the-art inpatient facility will be built to replace two of the State's Psychiatric Hospitals which will close when the new facility opens.
View of Reform
In general, while enthusiasm for reform predictably varies, it appears that most of the stakeholders in the system support the basic directions of the system reform effort, and community programs are moving forward with the planning that will implement the State's mandates.
Tom Maynard, Area Director of the Orange-Person-Chatham County Area Authority, expressed the challenges facing those at the local level responsible for carrying out system reform. He said, "This is the most complex and trying time I have experienced in 30 years in community mental health. We need reform in North Carolina, but this change is so fundamental, and made worse by current budget woes, that the emerging issues overwhelm us daily. Counties are learning new roles as we are; staff are overworked and insecure; consumers have been promised great things. It is hard, but we also have a chance to give consumers great things and to revolutionize the local process of service accountability. We, as always, will do our part, but our partners in state government hold most of the resource keys to success."
State Funding
Perhaps the biggest question mark hanging over the implementation of system reform in North Carolina is how these changes will be funded. This question is especially problematic at a time of severe shortfalls in the overall State budget. In the past, efforts at system change have been undermined by the lack of funding. To address these issues, the State is attempting to devise new payment systems that will provide appropriate incentives to the LMEs, independent service providers, and others to implement the goals of the legislation. One way this may be done is through changes to the Medicaid State Plan from a medical model to a rehabilitation model and the use of various Medicaid Waiver programs for child mental health and developmental disability services. The Division of MH/DD/SA Services, the state's Medicaid agency, and others are currently collaborating to formulate needed fiscal changes.
Like This Article?
NACBHD Bulletin's New "State Associations in the News" column provides state association directors an ideal opportunity to describe their latest developments, legislative initiatives, program challenges, accomplishments or upcoming events. Contact newsletter writer/coordinator Nancy Sydnor-Greenberg at nesydnor@erols.com to tell your story and get the word out!
Gail Hutchings, MPA, is Acting Director of CMHS
Gail P. Hutchings, MPA, was appointed Acting Director of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMSHA) Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) September 9, and she will serve in the position during the national search for a new CMHS Director. Bernard Arons, M.D., has left CMHS after nine years for a position at the National Institute of Mental Health. NACBHD recently spoke with Hutchings about her experience and her priorities as Acting Director.
While serving as Acting Director, Hutchings will continue in her role as Senior Advisor to SAMSHA Administrator Charles Curie. Before joining SAMSHA, she ran her own company, the Behavioral Health Policy Collaborative in Alexandria, Virginia, when Curie asked her to join his executive leadership team. As Senior Advisor to Curie, she coordinated the agency's work on homelessness and terrorism/bioterrorism, in addition to other policy and program areas. Her other previous experience includes working as the Deputy Executive Director of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (where she developed programs and policies on behalf of state mental health authorities in the areas of trauma, housing, homelessness, cultural competence, and systems integration), directing the National Technical Assistance Center for State Mental Health Planning, and serving as associate director for the National Resource Center on Homelessness and Mental Illness.
Hutchings explains that she has "one priority and only one priority" in her current role - to help Curie realize his vision of "a life in the community for everyone." She notes that repeated surveys of mental health consumers show that they want a job, a safe place to live, and meaningful social relationships. In accordance with this and because recovery is real, the system needs to be oriented less toward illness and more toward recovery. In her role as Acting Director, she represents Curie at meetings of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (see following article); and she will be involved in positioning CMHS in applying recommendations to state and local systems. She says that this will mean examining the current portfolio, how much it is costing, if it is the right thing to do, and determining whether to shift resources.
In addition, Hutchings is acutely aware of state budget deficits and their impact at the local level, and noted the emphasis on the science-to-services cycle in addressing the problem, such as evidence-based practices. SAMSHA will be involved in figuring out how to apply the science, evaluate the services, and determine what needs more research - a cycle she sees as a sort of "grand quality improvement mechanism."
Update on President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health
NACBHD recently spoke with Michael Hogan, Ph.D., Chair of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, and Director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health, about the commission's work. Hogan outlined the commission's two major activities to date - the interim report to the President and the development of "issue papers." (The commission was set up for one year from the President's Executive Order on April 29, 2002. A final report will be due April 2003.)
Interim Report
At the time of the interview, the commission was preparing its interim report to the President, which was due at the end of October. Hogan reports that the interim report will "be a reasonably tough statement" that will say that "the current system is so fragmented it is incapable of effectively delivering and financing effective treatments." It will identify a number of barriers to care and unmet needs, as well as identify eight or nine models that seem to work well in integrating good care and outcomes.
Issue Papers
The development of the issue papers is related to the challenge of how to speak to a big diffuse system in the short time frame of one year. The strategy has been to identify a subcommission of commissioners to work with experts and develop issue papers on programs, aspects of policy, and salient issues, with the overall guidance and oversight of the commission. Ideas about programs will serve as major input into the final report to the President. Issue paper topics fall into several general areas and include:
Another issue paper will be done on rural issues, which emerged from commissioners' concerns and from comments sent to the commission website. Hogan says that the volume and intensity of concern about access to care in rural areas was overwhelming. There also will be a paper on consumer issues.
Hogan expects the interim report to be released to the public on the commission's web site after it is submitted to the President. The issue papers may serve as resources for the field regarding policy analysis and examples of model programs, and will hopefully generate interest and ideas.
Input and comments can be provided through the web site at www.mentalhealthcommission.gov. In addition, commission meetings are open to the public and time is allotted for public comment. The next meeting is November 13 and 14th in Los Angeles.
Want to Receive Behavioral Health Headlines from SAMHSA's Managed Care Tracking Project?
It is available online at www.samhsa.gov/mc/mc.html. To receive Headlines every week by email, contact bhtracking@lewin.com.
Report on the Medicaid and Mental Health Services Conference
SAMSHA and CMHS sponsored the conference "Medicaid and Mental Health Services" September 17 and 18th in Baltimore, Maryland. NACBHD was represented by 22 members at the invitation-only conference, with all county-authority states represented by at least one person. Medicaid Committee Chair David Wiebe feels that this shows a growing recognition by both state and federal governments of counties' role in the public mental health system. Wiebe says this is critical at a time when Medicaid accounts for over half of all public mental health expenditures.
Some areas of discussion included: Medicaid and mental health's perception of one another; state innovations in Medicaid mental health services; Medicaid managed behavioral care and the impact on adults and children; Medicaid financing of state/county mental hospitals; Medicaid coverage for psychotropic medications; ACT under Medicaid; Medicaid and persons with mental illness in nursing homes; home and community based services for children (1915c); and consumer directed care. NACBHD members were among the speakers. David LaLumia, Executive Director, Michigan Association of Community Mental Health Boards, debated, "Should Counties Be Given Preference Over Commercial MCOs to Operate Medicaid Managed Care Mental Health Programs?" Doug Morton, Chief Executive Officer, Pathways, Marquette, Michigan, spoke on "Medicaid Mental Health Services in Rural Settings."
Jeffrey Buck, Associate Director for Organization and Financing, CMHS, characterizes the conference as primarily about information sharing and "general consciousness-raising." Buck notes that there is still insufficient appreciation of how important and critical Medicaid is to mental health services, and that it is significant that the discussion of Medicaid and mental health service merited its own conference. He reports that the conference was "fairly well-evaluated" and notes that while there is no firm commitment yet, there was enough feedback for SAMSHA and CMHS to strongly entertain the possibility of another conference in the next few years.
Wiebe says, "We'd look to SAMSHA to be the advocate with CMHS to support and implement values we have and structures for programs that are most effective for the consumers we serve." And he says that it is important "to continue to have influence over Medicaid policies and structures and how they're delivered because we're the ones who have to make them work."
Mark Your Calendar
NACBHD's 8th Legislative Conference: Strengthening Alliances for Local System Survival
February 26 - 28th
Jurys Washington Hotel
Washington, DC
Registration brochures and online registration at www.nacbhd.org/conferences.html will be available in mid-November.
Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project
Recommendations of the Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project are now available on the Internet at www.consensusproject.org. The eight chapter, 400+ page document was released in June, and represents "an unprecedented national, two-year effort to prepare scientific recommendations that local, state, and federal policymakers and criminal justice and mental health professionals, can use to improve the criminal justice system's response to people with mental illness." (Online, www.consensusproject.org)
Jeff Davis, Chair of the NACBHD Corrections Committee, says the information will be valuable to NACBHD members because it is a "current, collaborative document" that "you can pick up and use and not have to do research to get a project up and going." The report contains 47 policy statements that can guide the criminal justice system's response to people with mental illness, with specific recommendations for policy and addressing problems.
The Council of State Governments initiated the project as a result of requests from state governments for guidelines to improve the criminal justice system's response to people with mental illness. The project was lead by a steering committee of the six project partners: the Association of State Correctional Administrators, the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, the Center for Behavioral Health, Justice, and Public Policy, the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, the Police Executive Research Forum, and the Pretrial Services Resource Center. Expert practitioners and policymakers across the country on four advisory boards (law enforcement, courts, corrections, and mental health) were involved in surveying the field for exemplary programs and policies.
Davis explains that the report gives examples of what could be done as a way of trying to involve people in providing services to those with mental health issues in correctional systems. The chapters examine:
An appendix discusses the methodology of the project. Davis says it is "really critical for local systems to examine the project to maintain their credibility with the law enforcement community."
2003 Annual conference call for proposals
As NACBHD development and planning has begun. The Call For Proposals will be on our web site by November 8th. The theme is Corrections and The Disability Community. We are interested in presentation topics and speakers that address a variety of topics within this theme and reflect our range across mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse programs. Check out www.nacbhd.org/conferences.html by November 8th and make a contribution to your conference program.
Position Announcements
SAMHSA
Director, Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS)
A search is being conducted for a candidates to fill the position of Director, Center for Mental Health Services. We want to ensure that our search efforts result in a strong and diverse applicant pool which includes individuals who would welcome such a challenging and rewarding management position.
This is a career position in the Senior Executive Service with a base salary range of $125,972 to $138,200. Additional recruitment incentives could include a recruitment bonus, relocation expenses, and for physicians only, an additional allowance of up to $30,000 annually. SAMHSA's offices and staff are located in Rockville, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. The vacancy announcement, which can be obtained by visiting career.psc.gov and searching for announcement # EX-02-15 provides more detailed information concerning the functions of the position, in addition to describing the specific qualification requirements. You may also obtain a copy of the announcement by contacting Patricia Bransford at 301-443-3408, pbransfo@samhsa.gov.
Director, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP)
We are currently conducting a search for candidates to fill the position of Director, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP). We want to ensure that our search efforts result in a strong and diverse applicant pool which includes individuals who would welcome such a challenging and rewarding management position.
The Director, CSAP, is a key participant in the Federal substance abuse prevention and treatment strategy. He/She reports directly to the Administrator of SAMHSA, and is an important member of SAMHSA's top management team. The Director, CSAP, provides national executive leadership and management for a range of innovative and comprehensive program initiatives. He/She oversees and directs a staff of approximately 110 employees and a budget of $212 million, and provides leadership for and works with the States with regard to the approximately $241 million allocated for prevention programs through the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant.
This is a career position in the Senior Executive Service with a base salary range of $125,972 to 138,200. Additional recruitment incentives could include a recruitment bonus, relocation expenses, and for physicians only, an additional allowance of up to $30,000 annually. SAMHSA's offices and staff are located in Rockville, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C.
The vacancy announcement providing more detailed information concerning the functions of the position, in addition to describing the specific qualifications requirements can be accessed at: career.psc.gov/HRShowVac.taf?&VACANCY_uid1=1003. For specific questions or to obtain a copy of the vacancy announcement, please contact Patricia Bransford at 301-443-3401 or bransfo@samhsa.gov.
National Mental Health Association
Vice President, Media Relations Public Affairs/Communications
NMHA seeks a Senior Media Relations professional to manage our aggressive media program. The VP will be responsible for developing and implementing media strategy to promote awareness of mental health issues, forward advocacy positions, and enhance the visibility of NMHA's work. Background in
working with the media on mental health and public policy issues is required, as are 10+ years of experience in the communications field; skills in program management, budgeting and staff supervision; and an understanding of cultural competence. Send resumes to LBM at jobs@nmha.org
County Position
Area Director, Alamance-Caswell Area Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities & Substance Abuse Authority - Burlington, N.C.
Area Director for the MH/DD/SA Program serving Alamance and Caswell Counties. $20 million budget and 240+ employees. CEO position directs other managerial, professional, and support staff in the delivery of all agency services, including the planning, budgeting, and organizing of a comprehensive community-based system of programs and services to citizens in the catchment area consistent with N.C. State Plan for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services. Position serves at the pleasure of and reports to the Area Board.
Requires minimum of master's degree in Mental Health, Public Health, Psychology, Social Work, Nursing, Business/Hospital/Public Administration, or related Human Services degree and four years of professional work experience in a community, business or governmental program in a human services or health related field including three years of supervisory, administrative, or consultative experience.
Salary Range: $65,196 - $105,432/DOQ. Please send resume and state employment application (PD-107) to: Juliana Smith, HR Director, 319 N. Graham-Hopedale Road, Burlington, NC 27217
News from SAMHSA
We are pleased to announce that Ms. Stephenie Colston has joined SAMHSA as Special Assistant to the Administrator focusing on substance abuse and treatment policy issues.
Ms. Colston brings 27 years experience in substance abuse and mental health management, programming, assessment/evaluation and financing in both the public and private sectors. Her policy work spans financing, intergovernmental policy (Federal/State/Local), and specialized programming for target populations. Included within Stephenie's experience is 16 years at the State and community levels serving as Chief Financial Officer for a State substance abuse and mental health agency and as a Policy Analyst/Staff Director for the Oklahoma Legislature.
Stephenie has worked extensively with both CSAP and CSAT in her most recent position with Johnson, Bassin & Shaw as Officer-in-Charge of projects including the National Leadership Institute, the State Prevention Advancement and Support project (SPAS), and the State Alcohol and Other Drug Technical Reviews (AOD). Through her technical reviews work with CSAT, she has experience supporting the initial design and implementation of the SAPT Block Grant application and analyses of state systems to assess the impact of BG financing. She will be temporarily sitting in the Parklawn Building, Room 12-105 and can be reached on 443-4795. Please join me in welcoming Stephenie to SAMHSA.
Charles G. Curie, M.A., A.C.S.W., Administrator, SAMHSA
Contributions Welcome
The Editors of Mental Health Weekly and Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Weekly invite county behavioral health directors to write articles and be interviewed on a variety of topics. If you are interested, please contact Brion McAlarney at Manisses Communications Group at 401-861-6020 or bmcalarny@manisses.com.
The NACBHD Bulletin is published electronically six times a year by the National Association of County Behavioral Health Directors, 1555 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20036. Articles of interest to county/local behavioral health professionals are welcome by the 15th of the month prior to publication. Please submit copy to Nancy Sydnor-Greenberg at nesydnor@erols.com. Editor-in-Chief - Dr. Sandra Naylor Goodwin, sgoodwin@cimh.org.
NACBHD is an affiliate of the National Association of Counties.
