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Published by NAMI North Carolina
North Carolina’s Voice on Mental Illness Volume 10, Number 1, Feb/Mar 2002 NAMI North Carolina Hires New Executive Director The Board of Directors of NAMI North Carolina has selected its new executive director, Kay Flaminio. Kay, who began working in mid-January, brings a tremendous amount of experience to NAMI North Carolina. She has been involved in nonprofit management and fundraising for seventeen years, most recently as director of development at the Duke School for Children in Durham. Before coming to Duke School, Kay was with the American Social Health Association in Research Triangle Park, and Planned Parenthood Association of the Mohawk Valley and the Oneida County Office for the Aging, both located in Utica, NY. Kay has expertise in development,
strategic and financial planning, advocacy, program management, and public
relations. She also brings a high level of energy and enthusiasm to the
work of NAMI North Carolina. She has had life-changing personal experience
with the mental illness of a loved one and expresses a strong desire to
get back to working with an organization that provides direct services to
people in need. Working in a leadership We know each NAMI member and affiliate will welcome Kay and work with her to help our organization thrive in the coming months and years. Cronkite to be Featured at Spring Conference Kathy Cronkite, daughter of broadcaster Walter Cronkite, is the featured speaker at NAMI North Carolina’s spring conference on April 5-6. Having suffered with depression herself, Cronkite offers hope and attacks the stigma associated with the disorder. The conference, titled Research to Best Practices: Bridging the Gap, will be held at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Research Triangle Park and is shaping up to be an exciting event! Stimulating plenary speakers and a wealth of informative workshops have been planned for the benefit of NAMI families and professionals. Dr. Richard Visingardi, the new director of the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services (MH/DD/SAS), will present his vision for the future. Also on the agenda is Dr. Paul Gorman, who heads the New Hampshire-Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center, which conducts and disseminates data on evidenced-based practices for the treatment of mental illness and addiction. A conference brochure outlining the agenda is included for your use with this issue of Clippings. We encourage you to register early! NAMI Files Suit NAMI North Carolina filed suit in Superior Court February 1 against the Department of Health and Human Services alleging failure to protect people with disabilities who are restrained and secluded in state and community facilities. Specifically, the suit claims that the state has failed to implement House Bill 1520 passed during the 1999-2000 Session of the General Assembly to regulate the use of seclusion and restraint techniques. The Commission for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services adopted a package of implementing rules in September 2001. The Department of Health and Human Services has refused to submit that package of rules for final approval. The rules passed by the commission would have required all facilities to meet basic training standards as well as require staff competence in the proper use of and alternatives to seclusion and restraint. The state has declined to file the approved rules because they claim it claims to be unable to identify funds to implement the rules. Privileged to be Working with Dedicated Advocates by Kay Flaminio Welcome to this special edition of Clippings combined with the program for our spring conference. I arrived at my new position as executive director just a few short weeks ago and already feel privileged to be working with such dedicated advocates at the local, state and national levels. People I have met so far have a level of depth and richness brought about by their personal and professional experiences with mental illness, and I am so grateful to be working with them. So far I have been getting to know the members of our board and staff and now I am looking forward to this year's spring conference so I can begin working with those of you at the grass roots level. Walter Cronkite's daughter, Kathy Cronkite, will be one of our main speakers, and we have wonderful workshops planned around the topic of best practices scheduled for both days. If you have not yet made your annual gift to NAMI North Carolina, won't you please do so in the very near future? Our members are our most important resource in terms of our ability to advocate at the state and national levels, and gifts from individuals are our most reliable source of funding. Most important, they are what keep us independent. Because we are an advocacy organization and need to represent families and consumers completely independent of any financial considerations, it is critically important for us not to be dependent on funding sources that could influence our advocacy agenda. Won't you please do your part in helping us continue to be the strongest ally for consumers and families as we enter this new era of mental health reform? Your partnership means so much to us. I'll see you at our spring conference! NAMI Leadership Conference by Ken Farrington I just returned from NAMI National’s leadership conference where presidents, executive directors, and consumer council representatives from each state NAMI met to engage each other in three days of intense and productive collaboration. Attending for North Carolina were our new executive director Kay Flaminio, our consumer council representative Pat McGinnis and myself. In addition, our state was represented on the NAMI National Board by Eileen Silber, and Dottie Harrison on NAMI National’s Veterans Affairs Committee. NAMI National presented its long-term vision and goals for NAMI with a new five-year plan. There were several areas of focus: membership, budget, state organizations and affiliates, policy, and priority constituents to create diversity in its outreach. Fundraising initiatives involving at least three pilot projects will be coordinated with local, state and national cooperation. A profile will be developed on each state’s capabilities and needs. National will develop ways to provide insurance and benefit plans for all state organizations through national and state collaboration. NAMI National wants to partner more closely with its state organizations and their affiliates to expand its campaign to end discrimination. NAMI National also wants to have a more unified organization, making use of technology, which enhances communication, and mobilizes its resources quickly into all areas. I think we can expect some real changes to emerge, which will benefit all NAMI members in the not too distant future. Discussed in Orlando was the NAMI State Presidents’ Council formed for the purpose of providing a networking of states’ presidents, resource sharing and to assist the national board in developing policy. For me, this conference was a real eye opener. I gained much knowledge about NAMI National and established real friendships while networking with presidents from other states. I gained insight about how NAMI North Carolina ranks in comparison with other states. I can tell you now that NAMI North Carolina should be proud of its many accomplishments, but we will not rest on past achievements. NAMI North Carolina will move forward as a leader to make real changes for the benefit of those whom we represent, both consumers and families. Oversight Committee Begins Work The Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on MH/DD/SA met on January 10th to set its agenda for the coming year. The committee, charged with overseeing reform of the public MH/DD/SA system, will focus on two main issues: 1) equalization of funding and 2) the MH/DD/SA rule making commission. The oversight committee is co-chaired by Rep. Verla Insko and Sen. Steve Metcalf and is comprised of legislators from both the North Carolina House and Senate. Workgroups will be formed to focus on the two issues, and public comment and input will be encouraged during their meetings. The workgroup on funding will study how to equalize funding across area programs and disabilities. The workgroup on the rule making commission will study how to clarify roles, responsibility, and authority to implement legislation and policy. Because of the amount of work to do, the committee and/or its workgroups will be meeting twice a month. The oversight committee will make recommendations to the North Carolina General Assembly when it reconvenes for its "short session" in May 2002. The oversight committee also is charged with monitoring the implementation of the mental health reform legislation, including the development and implementation of a state plan for reform. Secretary of DHHS, Carmen Hooker Odom, presented the state plan to members at their recent meeting. Legislators asked numerous questions regarding funding, the role of area programs as service providers, and whether centralized review of services (utilization management) would improve or detract from services. Members also raised concerns about whether the state had adequately developed its own "business plan" to reform the current state bureaucracy. The questions reflected a depth of knowledge and understanding about the public mental health system. Legislators serving on the committee have become extremely knowledgeable and dedicated to improving the system of care. Secretary Hooker Odom committed to provide additional information to the committee at her next report in March, including a full report on how the system reform will be financed. While the commission’s work is just getting started, we have great hopes for what they will accomplish. The proposed meeting schedule follows: Feb. 7 Funding Workgroup, 10-12
noon; Commission Workgroup, 1-3 PM; Room 544 Meetings are subject to change. Please check the North Carolina General Assembly website to confirm. Want to hear what the Commission is up to? Sessions of the oversight committee can be heard over the internet. Log onto the North Carolina General Assembly site (www.ncga.state.nc.us). Check the meeting schedule above and click on the appropriate room in the "audio broadcasts" section.The oversight committee has its own web site with documents, its meeting agenda and soon, a frequently asked questions section. Check it out (www.ncga.state.nc.us/committeesonline/jointlegislativ_/default.htm). Visingardi is New MH/DD/SA Head Richard J. Visingardi has been appointed to head the state's Division of MH/DD/SA Services. In an article announcing Visingardi's appointment, the News & Observer stated,
Visingardi, who began working for the state on February 4, has a Ph.D. in social work and social science from Michigan State University and will appear at our spring conference. New VR Director Named George D. McCoy is the new director of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VR) for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. He began his new position on January 1. Prior to his appointment at VR, McCoy served as Director of the Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing within DHHS. He worked for 24 years at VR in a variety of roles prior to the DSDHH position. McCoy believes that his personal experiences as a consumer of services will enhance his professional ability to lead the VR program. "I am excited about this opportunity because I have dedicated all my career and much of my personal life to building, developing and supporting programs for people with disabilities," said McCoy. "The chance to direct the VR program is another step along that road. North Carolina has an outstanding VR program, and it will be an honor to be part of it again." Would You Be A Family-to-Family Coordinator? by David Bibb Your help is needed! We have current job openings for those of you with organizational skills. Come on out and help your fellow affiliate volunteers make the best use of their time! It is not at all necessary for you to have taught the Family-to-Family class to be a coordinator. In fact, you can’t really be teaching the course currently in order to do the job effectively. Teachers are trained in everything necessary to conduct the 12-week classes. The coordinator’s job is to prepare for the class several months beforehand. This work includes publicity, speaking with people who call to sign up for the class, getting the materials ready for teachers to use during the class, and so on. During and after the class, they communicate with other affiliate leaders about how to include these new people in the affairs of the affiliate. So if you have been helped by the classes like I have, won’t you consider taking the next step and volunteering to teach the course—or volunteer to coordinate the efforts of other teachers in your affiliate? Besides relying on volunteer teachers to offer the classes, we are now relying increasingly on the efforts of Family-to-Family coordinators to organize the overall effort for your affiliate. You don’t need to re-invent the wheel. You’ll have lots of resources to work with because we’ve been offering these classes since 1996 and we already know many things (imagine that!). With your help, your affiliate can take the next step and help the Family-to-Family Program really blossom. As you already know, both your affiliate and the state office are investing valuable resources in this program. You can help us make a home run. We are very proud to publicize our first six Family-to-Family coordinators! They are: John Rowe from Asheville; Florence Benson, Chapel Hill; Rene Piere, Durham; Kathy Coolidge, Greensboro; Sue Hadley, Raleigh; and Louise Whealton in Winston-Salem. Thank you all; we appreciate you so much! If you have taken the Family-to-Family class, won’t you contribute to making the future brighter for other families living with mental illness? We need coordinators for the other 26 of our 32 affiliates, which means we have a long way to go. Please call me or your affiliate president. We would like to hear from you. Your Chance to Vote Balloting material for the election of NAMI North Carolina board members and for voting on proposed bylaws changes will be sent to all current affiliate members at the end of February. Please review the material, then mark and return your ballot! Four Ethnic and Racial Minority Groups in America Disproportionate numbers of African Americans are represented in the most vulnerable segments of the population—people who are homeless, incarcerated, in the child welfare system, victims of trauma—all populations with increased risks for mental disorders. As many as 40 percent of Hispanic Americans report limited English-language proficiency. Because few mental health care providers themselves are Spanish-speaking, most Hispanic Americans have limited access to ethnically or linguistically similar providers. The suicide rate among American Indians/Alaska Natives is 50% higher than the national rate; rates of co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse (especially alcohol) are also higher among youth and adults in this group. Because few data have been collected, the full nature, extent, and sources of these disparities remains a matter of conjecture. Asian-Americans/Pacific Islanders who seek care for a mental illness often present with more severe illnesses than do other racial or ethnic groups. This, in part, suggests that stigma and shame are critical deterrents to service utilization. It is also possible that mental illnesses may be undiagnosed because they are expressed in symptoms of a physical nature. Source: Report of the Surgeon General, Mental Health: Culture, Race and Ethnicity (supplement to 1999 Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health) Coming Events April 4-6, 2002 April 5-6, 2002 April 17-19, 2002 |
