NNews December 2023

3 No problem ismore pervasive throughout the country than the workforce shortage in the healthcare sector. In particular, mental healthcare, substance use and intellectual/developmental disabilities services are impacted by this dire circumstance as they have been chronically underfunded for decades. This situation has reached crisis proportions as a result of the pandemic and the exponentially increased numbers of people needing services. And runaway inflation has exacerbated the problem. The workforce shortage is evident not only in all behavioral healthcare organizations, but also state government. Delays in processing license applications for facilities, programs and workers prevent access to treatment and support services as organizations cannot operate without staff. Withmany workers leaving the field due to burnout or higher compensation elsewhere, the remaining individuals have been taking on larger caseloads and it is wearing themdown. Having a smaller workforce also means there are fewer people to bill for services that are delivered, which results in even less consistent revenue for organizations. New initiatives, although positive, result in staff in the foundational services migrating to positions that are paying higher compensation, leaving gaps and causing waiting lists to grow. Even the most welcome recent increases in the State Budget do not cover the full cost of care due to both inflation and the many years with no new funds. While NJAMHAA has always been a strong advocate for funding, we will be urging the state and federal governments to include muchmore than we have ever called for in the past in their budgets to fully pay for the cost of care. Our new campaign, Diverse Faces: All AreWorthy of Full Investment , will specify our budgetary requests and illustrate the value of this necessary funding by featuring From the Desk of Debra L. Wentz, PhD, President and CEO our heroic workforce and children, youth and adults who have benefited from this support. To ensure that we accomplish our goals, we need all NJAMHAAmembers to participate in advocacy. This can and must start now, and then be ramped up even more when the new campaignmaterials are available. I urge all members to participate in NJAMHAA’s Partners in Advocacy programand respond to our legislative action alerts. For details, please visit www.njamhaa.org/partners-in-advocacy or contact Mary Abrams, MPP, Senior Health Policy Analyst, at mabrams@njamhaa.org. Together, we can and will make services, including those that address social determinants of health, available to all who need them because they deserve equity in health care and life. Sincerely, Debra L. Wentz, PhD President and CEO