NJAMHAA FY2022 Annual Report

32 NJMHI Provides Additional Support for NJAMHAA Members Fiscal Year 2022 has been an active year of new proj - ect development for the New Jersey Mental Health In - stitute (NJMHI), which NJAMHAA established in 2000 to promote quality of and equitable access to mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) services through training, technical assistance, research, and policy development. NJMHI continued building on the concept and devel - oping the structure for a Center of Excellence (COE) on Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) and Mental Illness and SUD focused on achieving health equity for all with an emphasis on communities and people of color. The process began in the fall of 2020 by con - ducting focus groups with more than 40 individuals from NJAMHAA member agencies, who expressed unanimous support for this plan. The COE’s purpose will be to assist providers in working with their clients to address SDoH, which account for 80 percent of individuals’ health. SDoH include unstable, inade - quate and lack of housing; insufficient food and other necessities; and lack of health care, transportation, education and employment. The vision for the COE is to improve health, including mental and behavioral health; increase education, employment and social- ization; improve health literacy; and foster the adop - tion of behaviors that reduce health risks and reduce or eliminate behaviors associated with poor health for vulnerable and marginalized populations. Goals to achieve this vision have been identified in four ar - eas: education and training; supports, resources and technical assistance; networking and partnerships; and policy development. NJMHI is exploring funding opportunities to establish the COE. With its ongoing focus on strengthening the mental healthcare and substance use services field — es - pecially as the ongoing workforce crisis was exac - erbated by the pandemic — NJMHI has created a Leadership Academy for Behavioral Healthcare Professionals. Leaders in New Jersey’s behavioral healthcare field were invited to serve as mentors, and executives from other industries were asked to serve as coaches. Their contributions will not only guide mentees in their career development, but also help reinforce staff retention and strengthen New Jersey’s behavioral healthcare system. The program for the first cohort will begin in the fall of 2022. NJMHI also reestablished its Advisory Board to gain leaders’ expertise and advice for the COE and other initiatives. NJMHI is pleased that the following individ - uals have accepted invitations to serve on the Adviso- ry Board: • Kemi Alli, MD, Chief Executive Officer, Henry J. Austin Health Center • Governor Chris Christie, Managing Partner, Chris - tie Institute for Public Policy • Mary Jo Codey, Former First Lady, State of New Jersey, and Healthcare Activist • Ron Manderscheid, PhD, Former Executive Di - rector, National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors and National Association for Rural Mental Health • Governor James E. McGreevey, Chairman of the Board, New Jersey Reentry Corporation NJMHI is also continuing to explore additional initia - tives that will benefit NJAMHAA members and the individuals they serve.