NJAMHAA News Spring 2021

[continued on page 4] N JAMHAA was established in 1951 as the New Jersey Association of Mental Hygiene Clinics and remained a small organization for quite some time. It originally had seven clinics as members and had grown to a membership of 70 by 1981. “The organization functioned as an arm of the Department of Institutions and Agencies [I&A; predecessor to the Department of Human Services] until 1952 when it gave priority to the purpose of serving the needs of private, as well as public clinics and began working toward improving mental health care standards. That year, the association advised the I&A Commissioner of the need for adequate facilities for the emotionally disturbed and advocated for a comprehensive and preventative program through good mental health education,” according to the association’s 30 th anniversary newsletter. In 1955, the Association and the Department of I&A worked with other groups in “laying the groundwork for the Community Mental Health Services Act of 1957”. In 1969, the association was renamed the New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies and in 1976, the first part-time Executive Director, Domenick A. Colangelo, ACSW, was hired. NJAMHAA had its first full-time CEO – Len Altamura, DSW, LCSW– in 1990, grew to five staff members and acquired its first office space. Dr. Altamura stayed in this role until April 30, 1995, and the current President and CEO, Debra L. Wentz, PhD, took the helm the following day. She is NJAMHAA’s first internal advocate; the association hired outside lobbyists before she came on board. This change led to greatly increased visibility with government leaders, expanded partnerships and a unified voice among members – which is quite an achievement, especially considering the enormous diversity of members. Providers range from small niche agencies that have one or two programs serving a few specific populations to very large organizations offering a full or nearly comprehensive spectrum of services for individuals of all ages with a broad range of needs. “One of the things I ammost proud of is that I changed NJAMHAA’s culture so that we always have top of mind the end beneficiaries of services and supports. This drives everything. The human dimension and those our members serve are always present in everything the association does,” Dr. Wentz said. “I brought NJAMHAA closer to peers because of the relationships I formed with the individuals served by the system and their families,” she added. NJAMHAA NEWS Your Voice in Behavioral Health since 1951 Spring 2021 In this Issue Councils Broaden Partnerships to Industries Supporting Service Providers 12 This issue sponsored by: NJAMHAA and its Members Gain Immense Value from Practice Groups 8 Ammon Labs ccurate Reliable Testing Since 1998 NJAMHAA Celebrates 70 Years of Transforming Lives and Health Systems IT Project Constantly Evolves to Meet Members’ Needs 16