Heard in the Halls is an email service of NAMI North Carolina to provide updates on state legislative and policy issues. Heard in the Halls is produced for community advocates at least monthly and more frequently during sessions of the General Assembly. To be added to the Heard in the Halls list send a message to heard@naminc.org with just "subscribe" (no quotes) in the subject header. Because of the variety of e-mail servers, Heard in the Halls is sent in plain text and as a formatted attachment. Previous issues of Heard in the Halls can be viewed a www.naminc.org

Committee to Consider Special Assistance Bill

The House Health Committee will consider H 170 next week. NAMI North Carolina and other organizations have worked with the Rep. Verla Insko, the bill’s sponsor, to develop a committee substitute that addresses concerns in the original bill. If passed, this bill will provide a new option for housing support for many individuals with mental illness. Contact members of the House Health Committee now to:

Click on a name below to send an email and get other contact information:

The Committee Substitute takes a demonstration project that has been studied and successfully piloted and expands it to a statewide, ongoing program. Building on the experience of the demonstration project it:

• Allows individuals who qualify for State/County Special Assistance to use a portion of that payment (no more than 50% of what a licensed facility would receive) in order to remain at home

• Participants must qualify for adult care home level of care as recommended by a physician. In addition, they must have a functional assessment completed by a trained, DSS social worker to determine that they are capable of remaining at home

• Participants income must also be at a level that qualifies them for Medicaid (currently $739/month or less), which is 100% of the federal poverty level

• DSS case managers develop, approve, and monitor a personal care plan that includes how special assistance funds will be used to support a person to remain at home

Choice: Elderly and disabled persons ought to have a choice of where to live. North Carolina is one of only 12 states in the country that require individuals to move into a licensed facility, such as an adult care home, in order to receive Special Assistance payments. Many elderly and disabled individuals want to remain at home and, with a small amount of assistance, are capable of doing so.

Olmstead Decision: The state's current policy on Special Assistance encourages institutionalization, which is in conflict with the recent US Supreme Court Olmstead decision and creates the potential for lawsuits.

It will save money: The demonstration project clearly shows that with a small amount of support individuals are able to remain at home. The average Special Assistance payment to individuals in the demonstration project was $184/month compared with $426/month to those in adult care homes. This resulted in a savings of $2.8 million over what would have been spent had those individuals gone into an adult home. At the same time the demonstration project showed that the quality of life for these individuals was improved.

Local Support: Counties have the option of whether they want to take advantage of this option. The bill does not create a new class of eligible people. Individuals must still meet state qualifications to receive Special Assistance. Anyone applying for Special Assistance must go through the same eligibility determination process. Counties will have cost savings, since the average annual Special Assistance payment to a qualified individual at home is $2,900 less than the average annual payment to those in adult care homes.

For more information on this issue go to:

http://www.naminc.org/PPAgenda/PPA_home.htm

Coalition 2001 Rally day will be held Tuesday, May 6^th from 8:15-1:00. Hold the date and plan to attend. We need to fill the halls of the legislature!