309 W. Millbrook Rd. Suite 121, Raleigh, NC 27609*919/788-0801
Heard in the Halls is an E-mail 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 an E-mail to heard@naminc.org with only one word “subscribe” (no quotes) in the subject header. Because of the variety of E-mail servers and to keep the size small, Heard is now sent only in plain text. An easier to read formatted version, along with previous issues of Heard in the Halls, can be viewed at our web site www.naminc.org/Heard/heard_start.htm
05-17-2004
House and Senate to cut 91 million from DHHS
The House Appropriations committee on HHS has been directed to cut an additional 91 million dollars from the Governors proposed budget. The Governors budget did little to expand options for people waiting for services from the MHDDSA system Only 8.5 million dollars was added to the MHDDSA trust fund with no other expansion.
In one scenario MHDDSA funds would be cut by over 5 million dollars! All others options being considered have no new expansion funds!
Coalition members should Contact House leaders and ask for...
No cuts to MHDDSA programs
Support for Coalition Budget Proposals
Support Inflation Increases for Community Programs
The process is moving fast so call to legislators THIS week is very important!!!
The appropriations sub-committee is expected to finish its work by Friday. They will meet twice each day 8:30 and 1:30. [Monday is only 1:30] Any coalition members who can attend should in order to show support for our priorities.
On Tuesday our legislative committee along with any other members [all are welcome] will pass out Coalition information to all house and senate members. We meet at 8:15 in the legislative snack bar.
Following is a list of House and Senate Appropriation leaders. Please contact YOUR representative if listed, and any others you have time to contact.
Below that is a summary of the Coalition 2001 legislative funding request for 2004.
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Senate Subcommittee – Health and Human Services Appropriations: Co-Chairs: Purcell, Reeves; Vice Chair: Malone; Ranking Minority Member: Forrester; Members: Blake, Kerr, Pittenger
House Subcommittee – Health and Human Services Appropriations: Chairs: Barnhart, Nye; Vice Chair: Farmer-Butterfield; Members: Allred, Blust, Bowie, Church, England, Insko, Stam
Senate Appropriations Co-Chairs: Garrou, Dalton, Hagan
House Appropriations Chairs: Baker, Clary, Crawford, Earle, Grady, Owens, Sherrill, Wright
House Speakers: James Black, Richard Morgan
Senate Pro Tempore: Marc Basnight
Switchboard Number: 919-733-4111
Web Site: www.ncga.state.nc.us/homePage.pl
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COALITION 2001: BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE
The North Carolina General Assembly has passed legislation to reform the public MH/DD/SA system. Reform is moving forward and communities across the state are in various stages of the reform process. The support of the General Assembly is essential for these efforts to succeed. The Coalition 2001 budget request includes funds for on-going services and one-time money for the MH/DD/SAS Trust Fund. In addition, the Coalition believes that a mechanism to provide on-going inflationary increases for state funds and Medicaid dollars is essential for reform to succeed.
Services and Supports for Our Citizens – Continuous Funding Needed $38,250,000
Between 1990 and 2002 the number of individuals who received some services through the community programs jumped from 161,378 to approximately 318,000, an increase of nearly 100%. Yet thousands of North Carolinians are still waiting for services. On-going funding is essential for community-based services to be developed. Current levels of state dollars must increase substantially if services are to be offered to those who are waiting for help. Coalition 2001 requests $38,250,000 million in state funds for community services.
Residential Service Assistance $3,750,000
Rental Assistance $3,000,000
HUD Residential Operating $750,000
Waiting List Reduction/Community Capacity Building $30,000,000
Training and Workforce Development $3,000,000
Tracking and Outcome Monitoring $1,500,000
The Trust Fund is the catalyst for reform of the mh/dd/sas system. with on-time dollars being used to develop community-based services. Trust Fund dollars are at the heart of mental health reform - it is the venture capital for the system.
Residential Development $5,000,000
Waiting List Reduction/Service Start-up bridge funding $12,000,000
Crisis and other start-up areas for developing community capacity
Training and Workforce Development $2,500,000
Consumer and outcome tracking $500,000
Each year when the state does its budget, state-funded programs receive automatic inflationary increases. This has not happened in dollars for community-based services in more than ten (10) years. Yet, these programs and providers have faced yearly increases in salary, insurance, gas for transportation of clients, etc, just like state programs do. Coalition 2001 strongly endorses automatic inflationary increases in state and Medicaid dollars with the adoption of a policy that provides for this on a yearly basis.