NNews January 2025

3 January 2025 Dear NJAMHAANews Readers, This year is destined to be quite eventful with the carve-in of more behavioral healthcare services into Medicaid managed care having started on January 1st and the new Trump Administration officially in place now. As NJAMHAA works continuously to help ensure members’ ability to thrive throughout these significant changes and serve the increasing number of individuals in need, we are also constantly looking ahead to help you prepare as much as possible for additional changes that are anticipated later this year and farther in the future. Our goals and outlook naturally inspired the theme of our Spring Conference, Looking Beyond the Horizon in Behavioral Health , which will take place April 8-9, 2025, at the APA Hotel Woodbridge in Iselin, NJ. I hope to see all of you there so you can benefit from the expertise of our presenters from national and state entities, as well as member organizations. Please see highlights of the conference on page 33 and visit the Events section of our website to register and ensure you do not miss out on this important event. FROM THE DESK OF Debra L. Wentz, PhD, President and CEO, New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies Inc. Debra L. Wentz, PhD President and CEO Coming up very soon on February 25 th is Governor Phil Murphy’s FY2026 State Budget address. While I always urge all members to advocate, I need to reinforce this even more as the budget is expected to be tight due to lower state revenues and other priorities by the Administration this year. Themore the Governor and State Legislators hear fromproviders and the individuals they serve, the greater the posibility for the budget to increase funding to strengthen the behavioral healthcare workforce and, therefore, ensure access to the life-saving services that all of you provide. Please view the Untold Stories campaign on our website and use it in your own advocacy with local legislators and share it on your websites and social media pages. Your voices in advocacy are just as valuable and needed as the services you provide. NJAMHAA’s conferences, practice groups and councils (see details on page 35) present numerous opportunities for us to work together to fortify the state’s behavioral healthcare system. Inmy nearly 30 years withNJAMHAA, I have always experienced tremendous rewards fromworkingwith all of you, and I look forward to even stronger and more impactful partnerships throughout the year. Sincerely,