AWARDS COUNCIL. supported will celebrate of advocates. in the political. mental health. s for outreach. There are. process is.

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Award for Outstand ding Organizational Leadership in Advocacy THE NATIONAL COUNCIL S ADVOCACY LEADERSHIP AWARDS The National Council is pleased to launch our inaugural Advocacy Leadership Awards

The 2013 Advocacy Leadership Awards will celebrate the accomplishments of advocates in the community behavioral health field from across the nation, highlighting their successes and the myriad ways

The Advocacy Leadership Awards will recognize individuals and organizations who are changing the face of behavioral healthcare, and who aree leading the charge to expand access to services and

BACKGROUND ON THE NATIONAL COUNCIL The National Council for Behavioral Health is the premier association for community mental health and addiction provider organizations in the United States, and is

The National Council represents 2,000 organizations across the spectrum of the behavioral healthcaree industry community mental health centers, substance use treatment organizations, managed care

1 Award for Outstand ding Organizational Leadership in Advocacy THE NATIONAL COUNCIL S ADVOCACY LEADERSHIP AWARDS The National Council is pleased to launch our inaugural Advocacy Leadership Awards Program, supported by Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, to recognize outstanding policy and advocacy achievements in expanding access to behavioral healthcare. The 2013 Advocacy Leadership Awards will celebrate the accomplishments of advocates in the community behavioral health field from across the nation, highlighting their successes and the myriad ways they influence public policy at the national, state, and local levels. The Advocacy Leadership Awards will recognize individuals and organizations who are changing the face of behavioral healthcare, and who aree leading the charge to expand access to services and supports for individuals living with mental illness and substance use conditions. BACKGROUND ON THE NATIONAL COUNCIL The National Council for Behavioral Health is the premier association for community mental health and addiction provider organizations in the United States, and is a prominent player in the political arena, both at the national level, and through our network of 50 state and regional associations. The National Council represents 2,000 organizations across the spectrum of the behavioral healthcaree industry community mental health centers, substance use treatment organizations, managed care companies, state and county agencies, children and adolescent providers and more. National Council members employ approximately 500,000 staff and annually treat 8 million adults, children and families, creating unprecedented opportunities s for outreach and education, advocacy and quality improvement, data collection and consultation. The National Council is focused on growing a strong, informed grassroots advocacy movement. INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING AN ONLINE APPLICATION There are three different categories within the Advocacy Leadership Awards. Review the requirements carefully before making your selection. Applications may only be submitted online at /events-and-training/hill-day/awards/. The online application process is user-friendly and technical assistance is available to all participants. There are five sectionss to your Advocacy Leadership Awardss application. All sections must be complete before you are able to submit your application. Once you have completed your online submission, you will receive a confirmation . If you do not receive a confirmation , there 1

2 may be an issue with your final submission; please do not hesitate to contact the National Council to confirm receipt. Online application technical assistance is available by contacting: Kara Sweeney (202) ext. 223 Honorees will be notified by August 16th, Winners of the 2013 Advocacy Leadership Awards will receive: A $5,000 grant, to be provided to the non-profit organization off the honoree s choice. Award monies will be distributed directly from the National Council to the non-profit organization. A trophy, inscribed with the honoree s name and category. The National Council will cover travel expenses for all honorees to the 2013 Hill Day Awards Reception on September, 16th in Washington, DC. Advocacy Leadership Awardees will be highlighted in National Council communications AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP IN ADVOCACY The award for Outstanding Organizational Leadership in Advocacy honors a behavioral healthcare organization that has demonstrated exemplary efforts and results in advocating for behavioral health policy that increases access to mental health and substancee use services. (Note that achieving an actual change to the federal, state or local policy issue is not the only benchmark for success; other achievements might include raising public awareness, building a powerful grassroots coalition, or other outcomes.) ELIGIBILITY Non-profit organizations that provide behavioral healthcaree services or advocate for increased access to behavioral healthcare services, and have engaged in outstanding work in behavioral health policy and advocacy, are encouraged to apply for this award. Elected officials and individual advocates are not eligible to receive this award; please return to the awards website for details on how to apply for the Exceptional Individual Achievement Award and the Award for Visionary Leadership in Behavioral Health by an Elected Official. This award recognizes policy and advocacy efforts that havee taken place over the last year. 2

3 APPLICATION ELEMENTS Following is a list of the questions that will be asked duringg the online application process. Applications must be filled out online; the National Council cannot accept paper applications. Section 1: Demographics The information in this section relates to the award nominee. 1. Organization: organization name, address, , phone 2. Person completing the application: name, title, , phone 3. Affiliation(s): nominee is a member of: National Council, NAMI, MHA, DBSA, USPRA, ABHW, or none Section 2: Short Answer (150 words max. each) Provide short answers to the questions below. More detailed information may be provided in the essay section of your application. 1. What policy issue or need was the focus of your advocacy work? (Can be state, federal, or local issue; please concisely describe why the policy presented a problem or why the policy was a positive change.) 2. During what time frame did your activities take place? 3. If your policy position weree to be adopted, how would providers, consumers, family members, or the broader community benefit from expanded access to or availability of behavioral healthcare? 4. Provide a brief summary of the advocacy efforts youu engaged in to build support for your position. 5. What was the outcome of your advocacy efforts? (Note that achieving an actual change to the federal, state or local policy issue is not the only benchmark for success; other achievements might include raising public awareness, building a powerful grassroots coalition, or other outcomes.) Section 3: Essay Questions (500 words max.) This is the largest part of your submission, and your opportunity to tell your story. 3

4 1. Please tell us why you are the best choice for the Award for Outstanding Organizational Leadership in Advocacy. This section should explainn how your organization s efforts were exceptional or innovative. Consider including a description of your major accomplishments in your work around the selected policy issue, their impact on the community, your successes in engaging other groups/individuals, and your plans for building on this success with future policy initiatives. Section 4: Optional Attachment Applicants are limited to one attachment of no more than 3 pages. The attachment must be a pdf document. Examples of attachments could include a statement of support from a community leader or a person affected by the policy change you promoted; examples of advocacy materials you used; or other relevant materials. This is not required for a complete application. Section 5: Consent/Submit A consent and releasee statement must be signed as part of the online application in order to complete your entry for any of the three Advocacy Leadership Awards. This statement recognizes your participation in the Advocacy Leadership Awards program, acknowledges your responsibilities if you are selected as an honoree, and allows the National Council to utilize these materials and any others collected if you are chosen as an honoree, in our Hill Day program or other promotional materials.. By checking the box in the online application, youu confirm the following: 1. I participated voluntarily in the Advocacy Leadershipp Awards. 2. I permit the National Council for Behavioral Health to contact me regarding my status as an applicant of the above referenced program and with regard to any subsequent issues/questions that may arise related to my statuss of said program. 3. If I am chosen as a recipient of an Advocacy Leadership Award, I am open to working with the National Council in planning my attendance/participating at the Awards event, September 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. 4. If I am chosen as a recipient of an Advocacy Leadership Award, I understandd media materials highlighting why I and/or my program received an award may be distributedd to the general public; specifically to television stations, radio stations and daily/ /monthly/weekly newspapers across the country. 5. Further, by signing this form, I agree that the National Council and/or Sunovion may contact me for purposes of providing me basic training on interacting with various types of media, or to ask my permission for other uses of my personall images or for my participation in other types of projects. 4

5 6. If I am chosen as a recipient of an Advocacy Leadership Award, I am permitting the National Council and/or Sunovion to interview, photograph, film, or videotape me, and/or have my voice recorded. 7. If I am chosen as a recipient of an Advocacy Leadership Award, I give my permission to the National Council and/or Sunovion to utilize my name, likeness, voice and biographical material in any lawful manner that it may make of the copy/images of me (photos/website), or in any work that is derived from the copy/images (public relations or sales/training initiatives), in whole or in part, in any manner and media, with no limitation on time, placement or location. 8. I give permission to the National Council and/or Sunovion to crop or edit copy/images, or use them in any other lawful uses in any way that itt may determine in its sole discretion. 9. I waive all rights I may have to claims for payment or royalties in connectionn with any exhibition, televising, internet posting, or other publication of my personal images, irrespective of whether a fee for its use is charged by any third party. 10. In the event that I change my mind about future contact with the program, the National Council and/or Sunovion, I will advise in writing andd submit, as noted, to: Advocacy Leadership Awards, National Council for Behavioral Health, K Street NW, Suite 400, Washington DC 20006; ext Within ten (10) days of receipt of such notice, the National Council and/or Sunovion agree that wee will take reasonable steps to stop any further contact with you. 11. I understand that taking the above noted step will immediately disqualify me as a potential recipient of any monies/winning status granted by the programs. 12. I understand that signing this form does NOT ensure that I will receive funding or be chosen as a recipient of the programs, simply that I am open to be contacted regarding my status. RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Build your application in a word document prior to completing your submission online, in order to avoid any issues or interruptions that may result with the online submission process. We do not want you to lose your work! You will bee able to cut and paste into the online application. 2. The online application DOES allow you to save yourr work and return to complete your application later, so take your time. Submit your best application. 3. Be brief. Less is more. 4. Tell a story. Include short vignettes or quotes, but only if it addss to the overall summary/content. 5

6 5. Whatever the focus of your application, don t just tell us about the good work you ve done. Show us. Use data, metrics, or numbers to show thee impact you or your organization have had. 6. Grammar. Make sure you spend time editing your submission verb tense, punctuation, spelling, etc. It matters. If you are uncertain of your own grammatical capabilities, have someone look over your application prior to completing your submission. 7. We strongly encourage you to keep a copy of all submitted materials. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS We ve done our best to answer some of your questions, but you may have more! Please feel freee to contact us if you have other questions. 1. Can I submit multiple entries? A person or organization may be nominated for only ONE category within the Advocacy Leadership Awards. Multiple individual entries may be submitted from the same organization. 2. Do I have to be a National Council Member to apply? No. Applicants for the Advocacy Leadership Awards do not have to be National Council members. 3. How long ago can my policy or advocacy achievement have occurred? The Advocacy Leadership Awards are meant to highlight advocacyy efforts and achievements during the past year. 4. Once I ve started my entry, can I return and finishh it later? Yes. Your username and password will allow you to return to your submission and finish it at a later time. 5. Why isn t my username/password working? Your username and password are created when you start your online application. This login information is not the same as your National Council Member Login. If the usernamee or passwordd you created when registering for the awards is not working, contact: Kara Sweeney (202) ext How do I submit an entry for another person anonymously? I want it to be a surprise. When you create your login and begin your application, give uss your contact information. No one else will be contacted regarding your submission. Completee the application as fully as possible. Regarding the consent form, sign your own name. Should your nominee win an award, we will contact you first to arrange informingg them of the award. 7. When will winners be selected? Honorees will be notified by August 16th,

7 8. Can I submit an application if I or my organization has received a National Council Award of Excellence? Yes. Don t seee your question? Contactt the National Council forr additional support. Kara Sweeney (202) ext. 223 KaraS@thenationalcouncil.org 7

Washington County Public Health Achievement Awards

Washington County Public Health Achievement Awards Awards Overview and Nomination Instructions The Washington County Board of Commissioners and the Washington County Department of Public Health and Environment