FY 2020 annual report

A Y E A R L I K E N O O T H E R 18 NJAMHAA Evolves to Meet the New Norm for Conferences, Training and Technical Assistance I n addition to formal conferences, workshops and webinars, NJAMHAA provides extensive technical assistance, including research and communication with contacts in the state and federal governments to answer members’ questions about legislation, policies and regulations to ensure their compliance. NJAMHAA’s Information Technology (IT) Project team offers support with IT specific issues, such as network installations and reconfigurations; electronic health record systems; and guidance to ensure compliance with confidentiality rules. NJAMHAA continues to evolve with the times by offering more online trainings, as necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, starting in March 2020. NJAMHAA was recently selected to serve as a subcontractor for JBS International, which received a grant from the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services to provide a series of evidence- based practices trainings for 300 staff at five New Jersey substance use treatment provider organizations. NJAMHAA hosted the kickoff meeting for JBS, NJAMHAA staff (including 1.5 new full-time employees dedicated to the grant) and staff of the two other subcontractors, OMNI Institute and Wandersman Center, in February and will host the project end meeting in September. NJAMHAA staff continue to fill a key role in providing significant input and administrative support to the implementation phase, which was slowed due to the pandemic. The pandemic has also shifted NJAMHAA’s role in this project, to which new staff easily adapted. The trainings, which will be on motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral therapy, will all be online and will conclude in July. Known for the high caliber of the content of its train- ing and conferences, NJAMHAA presented these in-person conferences and workshops in FY2020 before the pandemic struck: Conferences • Seventh Annual National Suicide Prevention Day Conference, Story Tell- ers: It’s Never too Early to Talk to Children about Mental Health, developed in collabo- ration with Attitudes In Reverse ® , a member of NJAMHAA’s Integrated Healthcare Council, and co-sponsored by Hackensack Meridian Health - Carrier Clinic, a NJAMHAA member, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention – New Jersey Chapter, September 23, 2019 • Fall Behavioral Healthcare Conference, Winning Innovations in Health Care, October 17, 2019, which, for the first time, offered continuing edu- cation credits for licensed and certified alcohol and drug counselors, marriage and family ther- apists, psychologists, nurses and physicians, in addition to social worker credits. Joshua Sharf- stein, MD, Vice Dean, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Practice, delivered the keynote presentation, The Opioid Epidemic from a Public Health Perspective, and the plenary featured Chuck Ingoglia, MSW, President & CEO, National Council for Behavioral Health, who pro- vided updates from Washington. REGISTRATION DETAILS Ammon Labs Accurate Reliable Testing Since 1998 NEW JERSEY ASSOCIATION OF MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION AGENCIES, INC. SPONSORED BY: OCTOBER 29-30, 2020