NJAMHAA-70th-anniversary-publication

11 1981 - The rst Medicaid waiver was approved in Arizona. 1982 - The Betty Ford Center was opened a few years after the former First Lady disclosed her addiction. 1980 - President Carter passed the Mental Health System Act. 1984 - NJAMHAA and the State of New Jersey partnered to create the Management Information Systems (MIS) Project (later renamed the Information Technology [IT] Project). 1981 - NJAMHA had nearly 70 members. NJAMHAA Evolves along with the Behavioral Healthcare System njamha njamha NJAMHAA N e w J e r s e y A s s o c i a t i o n o f M e n t a l H e a l t h a n d A d d i c t i o n A g e n c i e s , I n c . IT Project Your guide to tomorrow N J A M H A A O ver the years, NJAMHAA has proactively evolved in its internal structure and opera- tions, as well as its strategic approaches in response to constant changes in the field. One thing that has remained the same is the relatively small staff, although it has grown: In the earliest years, there was technically no staff and it was run by a volunteer part-timer. The first paid staff member was hired in 1975. In 1990, the first full-time CEO came on board, followed by two employees, an assistant and one other who ran the Information Technology (IT) Project. Today, NJAMHAA has 13 staff members, five of whom are dedicated to the IT Project and four of whom focus on strategy, advocacy and member services. Meanwhile, the number of members has consistently increased. The association started with five members. By 1981, it had 70 members and the membership reached 82 just a decade later. When Dr. Debra Wentz started as President and CEO in 1995, NJAMHAA had 98 member organizations, which represented the majority of New Jersey’s mental healthcare providers at the time. The association currently has more than 150 provider members. This figure would be close to 185 if it were not for mergers and acquisitions that providers have under- taken. The steady membership is a testament to the association’s strength and value, and new members are joining on a regular basis. For example, 11 new provider organizations and six council members (business partners, described in detail later in this