NJAMHAA-FY21-annual-report

7 The Possibilities Are Endless When We All Raise our Voices Together! One of the most disheartening cuts that had been proposed in the Governor’s Proposed FY2021 Revised Budget was to the School Based Youth Services Program (SBYSP), a program NJAMHAA had been advocating to be expanded. On August 26th, almost immediately after the release of the Governor’s proposed budget, NJAMHAA invited members and non-members to a Zoom meeting to discuss the budget cut – 200 individuals participated on that call. The very next day, a Saturday, NJAMHAA distributed a comprehensive, detailed advocacy action plan to more than 800 stakeholders – all NJAMHAA members, non- members on the call, and others from lists shared by call participants. The plan included template letters, media and legislator contacts, reports and data on SBYSPs, a template resolution for local Boards and more. This information was then shared with the networks of those receiving it and the grassroots advocacy took off. In the weeks that followed, NJAMHAA fielded inquiries for advice, information and interviews from across the state, while writing every legislator and the Governor’s office, submitting op-eds and hosting forums. Very quickly, the uproar across the state from providers, students, family members, teachers, principals, administrators, local governments and others was beyond any New Jersey grassroots campaign in recent history. Many state legislators wrote their own pieces in support and even spoke at a student rally in Trenton. Our voices were heard immediately. In fact, only two days after distributing our advocacy plan, the outcry had reached the leadership of the Department of Children and Families (DCF). The following week, NJAMHAA hosted Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin in the first of our Legislative Forum Series to discuss mental health and substance use issues and what was needed in the FY2021 budget. The second forum in the series was held just weeks later with Assemblyman Daniel Benson, a key ally on behavioral health issues. It should be noted that our success in getting SBYSP funding reinstated necessitated increased state support to achieve full restoration because the funding previously supporting this program included several million dollars of federal funding that had already been re-allocated. This was a significant achievement given that the budget negotiations revolved around large deficit projections for the state. Other funding we successfully saw restored included many other DCF programs including the Substance Use Disorder Services Initiative and Child Collaborative Mental Health Pilot. Charity Care and Graduate Medical Education, and the $45 million investment in CSOC rates were fully retained – all in the face of a then estimated multi-billion dollar shortfall that the state filled with borrowed funds! Walking a Tightrope Maintaining a Behavioral Health Balance 1 “NJAMHAA’s advocacy efforts help us to preserve precious resources as we confront multiple challenges in health care today.” – Lynne Chandler, LCSW Administrative Director, Behavioral Health Centers Saint Clare’s Hospital