California Association of Social Rehabilitation Agencies

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1 Spring 2017 California Association of Social Rehabilitation Agencies CASRA is dedicated to improving services and social conditions for people with psychiatric disabilities promoting their wellness, recovery and rights. Spring 2017 Recovery through Economic Empowerment and Community Connections Upcoming Events May 24 June November 2 Mental Health Matters Day: State Capitol, Sacramento 40 th Wellness and Recovery Summit: PRA Annual Conference, Atlanta CASRA Fall Conference, Pasadena Welcome to CASRA CASRA is an association of not-for-profit agencies that serve Californians that turn to the public mental health system for help. Since 1969, CASRA and its member organizations have been dedicated to improving services and social conditions for people with psychiatric disabilities by promoting their wellness, recovery and civil rights. Services are based upon the philosophy and principles of social rehabilitation, a person and culture-centered approach that fosters relationships which promote wellness and a positive sense of self. Our goal is to transform the public mental health system by promoting the development of community-based systems of services which are based on the promise of growth and recovery and to support the work of community-based organizations who strive to implement this vision in their local communities. A diagnosis is not a destiny. Want to stay in touch? Send your contact information to: casra@casra.org. pg. 1

2 Preserving our moral values in healthcare reform April 6, 2017 by Ron Manderscheid, PhD, Executive Director, NACGHDD and NARMH Almost a fortnight ago, brief, blissful respite from our national healthcare struggles seemed to be upon us. The White House and the House GOP leadership had capitulated and agreed that the disastrous American Health Care Act (AHCA) could not even garner enough Republican votes to pass the House. Early on a Friday evening, this was wonderful news for all Americans, including those with behavioral health and ID/DD conditions. Now, like a sphinx rising from its own ashes, an even more draconian version of the AHCA is being crafted by the White House and the House GOP. As before, the White House is negotiating with moderate Republican House members and with the ultra-right American Freedom Caucus. Disingenuously, the White House appears to be telling these two groups somewhat different things. Stated in overly simple terms, the White House is trying a sleight of hand to reduce insurance premiums for those who are young and healthy at the expense of other lessadvantaged groups. The areas of skirmish this week are community ratings, guaranteed issue, and essential health benefits. Community ratings Community ratings were put in place by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to prevent any groups from becoming disadvantaged in their health insurance premiums. If community ratings were removed, then persons with disabilities, persons who are older, or even males could be forced to pay much higher insurance premiums because they are at risk of higher healthcare costs. Guaranteed issue The ACA rule requires insurance companies to insure everyone. Clearly, everyone deserves this protection, and it must be retained. Further, attempting to move persons with disabilities to high risk pools, where they will be at great risk for much higher insurance premiums, even if subsidy funds are provided, should not be construed as a meaningful substitute for guaranteed issue. Essential Health Benefits The third topic under discussion is removing essential from the ACA essential health benefits, and giving states the option to include or exclude specific benefits. If developed, this proposal could put the mental health and substance use benefit at risk, and also potentially endanger efforts to guarantee parity of these benefits. The current ACA essential health benefit helps to assure that people in different state and different locales in the U.S. have access to a similar package of good insurance benefits. This is a very important protection that should not be removed. Again, the young and healthy would benefit at the expense of other key groups. 2

3 Since 1989, CASRA has been affiliated with the national psychiatric rehabilitation organization: Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (PRA) formerly USPRA. In February, we were the featured chapter. CASRA Featured in PRA/PRF Newsletter: Check It Out CASRA member agencies represent $600,000,000 of services to youth, adults and older adults serving over 100,000 individual and families. Spring Conference As part of our on-going Employment Initiative, our spring conference, Recovery through Economic Empowerment and Community Connection, will feature Mark Salzer, PhD, Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion, as keynote speaker. We are pleased to announce that Dinah Cohen of EARN will provide workshops on engaging the business community and strategies to enhance job retention and career development. Hearing Voices Training CASRA was selected by the Western Mass Recovery Learning Community as one of five sites nationwide to receive their Hearing Voices group facilitator training. This training provided a nonpathologizing accepting way of supporting people who experience special messages. CASRA continues to support this work and was pleased to have Dina Tyler, co-founder of the Bay Area Hearing Voices Network to provide the keynote address at both the fall and spring conferences in Peer Support Certification Unlike most states in the country, CA does not have a certification or officially designated role for Peer Support Specialists. For over 30 years, CASRA and its member agencies have supported the employment of people with lived experience both in designated peer support roles as well as in all positions. We were pleased to co-sponsor legislation with the CA Association of Mental Health Peer Run Organizations (CAMHPRO) to develop a statewide certification. Unfortunately, the bill was not passed but we have not given up on the goal. Wellness/Recovery Policy There is an increasing disconnect between the wellness/recovery orientation of the original Medicaid Rehabilitation option concept and implementation of specialty mental health services in the 58 CA counties. We are asserting that rehabilitation services should be provided by rehabilitation professionals both licensed and nonlicensed. Resources Available Visit for free downloads of many resources. 3

4 CASRA TRAININGS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP! Each CASRA agency is entitled to at least four hours of on-site training per years. Here are some of our most requested topics: Introduction to Psychosocial Rehabilitation PSR Principles in Practice Engaging Clients in Recovery: Overcoming Barriers to Change Barriers to Recovery: Stigma and Discrimination Crisis De-Escalation Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Skills Strengths-Based Supervision Boundaries and Ethics Increasing Positive Emotions Preventing Compassion Fatigue Shared-Decision Making Advance Directives Meaningful Roles for Peer Providers in Integrated Healthcare We can also help you develop an annual training program that includes access to the CASRA online courses. A great resource for staff, board and community. For more information, please contact: Debra Brasher, MS, CPRP Director of Education and Training debra@casra.org CREDENTIALING AND ACCREDITATION IN RECOVERY-ORIENTED PRACTICE PSR is a unique set of community services including rehabilitation, service coordination, residential treatment, crisis services, social services, housing, vocational rehabilitation and substance abuse treatment. Outcome research consistently demonstrates the success and cost effectiveness of these approaches which maximize self-sufficiency, enhance quality of life and minimize the need for hospitalization. Because these services have not had counterparts in the private sector, accreditation and/or licensing has been addressed through the certification of agency by a state authority. Despite the lack of need in the public sector for national accreditation, a growing number of agencies are seeking such accreditation in order to do business with the private provider/insurer sectors. PSR practitioners (known as mental health rehabilitation specialists in CA), are professionals with a unique array of skills, attitudes and abilities. They are not generally licensed because no licensing structure exists which is relevant to the field. A rich tradition of agency based in-service training and mentoring is pervasive throughout the field to compensate for the lack of formal university training programs in PSR. In 1996, the International Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Agencies (IAPSRS) introduced the National Registry for PSR Practitioners. It has subsequently evolved into a national test-base credential acknowledged in about 20 states the Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner (CPRP). For more information on the CPRP credential, visit 4

5 The Temple University Collaborative on COMMUNITY INCLUSION Individuals with psychiatric disabilities, once confined for year-after-year to life in institutional or other primarily custodial settings, are now part of community life in rural, suburban and urban America. For many, living in the community has been an enormous benefit, offering them the opportunity to resume old patterns or establish new roles for themselves beyond their disability. For others, however, living in the community has meant only a change in address rather than the chance to develop a sense of genuine participation and integration in the day-to-day life around them. The Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion of Individual with Psychiatric Disabilities seeks to identify the policies, programs, and practices that promote this broader sense of connection to and satisfying engagement with community life. Community inclusion results from efforts on two broad fronts: first, the activities of consumers and practitioners together to insure that each individual has every opportunity to participate in community life, and to be valued for his or her uniqueness and abilities, like everyone else; and, second, the affirmative actions of community members as individuals and in the organizations and associations that are part of any vibrant community life to welcome those with psychiatric disabilities into the complex web of day-to-day living. On their website, you can find discussions about several of the issues that have helped to shape the community inclusion approach: the Americans with Disability Act and the Olmstead Decision have created a legal framework for community inclusion; the mental health consumer movement s advocacy on behalf of self-determination and the need for peer support have had a dramatic impact on consumer lives in the community. Community inclusion seeks opportunities for individuals with psychiatric disabilities to participate in all aspects of life in the community, and each life domain poses special challenges and offers special rewards. On the website you can look at the following issues civic engagement, education, employment, friendships, health and wellness, housing, family roles, recreation and leisure, religion and spirituality, or transportation. New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (NYAPRS) COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CASRA has the goal of promoting the employment, economic self-sufficiency, and social inclusion of individuals with psychiatric disabilities. More than 80% are unemployed, almost 40% live in poverty, and a large number live socially excluded from fulfilling jobs and careers, decent and safe housing, and meaningful community relationships. Indeed, many of the problems in our communities have more to do with our economic and social exclusion than our diagnoses. Therefore, helping our communities overcome unemployment, poverty and social exclusion must be a priority. NYAPRS, with the assistance of the New York Office of Mental Health, has produced an Employment and Economic Self-Sufficiency Tool Kit. Click here for links to the toolkits. For more information, contact Len Statham at lens@nyaprs.org. MYTH: It s best for a person with psychiatric disabilities to not work. FACT: Many studies demonstrate that being unemployed has a harmful effect on our physical and mental health. MYTH: If I go back to work, I am going to lose my Medicare and Medicaid FACT: If we are eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, there are many ways that we can keep them. Look for Len s workshops and plenary at the CASRA spring conference! 5

6 You say good-bye and I say hello Good-Bye We regretfully say good-bye to Lucinda Dei Rossi who has left her position as CASRA Public Policy Coordinator to go to work with San Mateo County to help implement their Whole Health pilot program. Lucinda first became involved with CASRA as Executive Director of Caminar in As co-owner of the consulting firm, Inspired at Work, Lucinda along with her partner Debra Brasher, contracted with CASRA on multiple projects including Meaningful Roles for Peer Providers in Integrated Healthcare Settings: A Guide. Her analytic, communication and organizational skills were matched by her commitment and passion for our work. She will be missed. But Lucinda, I know where you live! Hello Terry Rubin-Ortiz joins CASRA as our Continuing Education Coordinator. Terry most recently retired from Bonita House where she served as Clinical Director (among many other hats) since 1992 before retiring in Danny Marquez has joined CASRA as our Employment Initiative Consultant. Danny served as Director of Crossroads Diversified Services for over 30 years and is also a long-time CASRA supporter. And Our Most Recent Addition Please join me in welcoming Heidi Strunk who has accepted the position of CASRA Public Policy Coordinator as of May 1 st. Heidi comes to us from her position as Advocacy Coordinator for the CA Association of Mental Health Peer Run Organizations (CAMHPRO) where her analytic, communication and interpersonal skills made her an outstanding advocate for the civil rights agenda of CAMHPRO. Heidi worked closely with Lucinda and, in fact, CAMHPRO and CASRA are close allies. Heidi is based in Sacramento. 6

7 lorem ipsum dolor date Late Breaking News MEANINGFUL ROLES FOR PEER PROVIDERS IN INTEGRATED HEALTHCARE: A GUIDE The toolkit provides information, helpful tips and examples of how integrated care settings can best hire, train, integrate and retain Health-Trained Peer Support Specialists onto multi-disciplinary teams for the benefit of individuals who have co-occurring behavioral health and physical healthcare issues. Funded by the CA Mental Health Services Authority (CalMHSA), the toolkit is an expansion of work done by the Integrated Behavioral Health Project (IBHP). The entire Guide is a free download at SUPERIOR REGION PEER PROVIDER TRAINING Last summer, we completed the first phase of the Superior Region Peer Provider Training project. The project began with 32 participants from 10 Superior counties. At the end of the 13 month program, 25 individuals completed the program by the end of July, receiving Certificates of Achievement for 99.5 hours of coursework. This is a 78% graduation rate! Participants in the training program expressed feeling a strong sense of community with each other as peers, appreciation of the knowledge and skills gained and a deep commitment to use the information in working with people on the job. The second phase is a Train-the-Trainer project where graduates will learn how to teach the core curriculum. CASRA Member Agencies Asian Pacific Counseling & Treatment Centers Baker Places Bay Area Community Services Berkeley Place Bonita House Buckelew Programs Caminar Community Connection Community Solutions Conard House Consumer s Self-Help Contra Costa Clubhouse Crescend Health Crossroads Diversified Services Didi Hirsch CMH Center El Hogar Human Resource Consultants Interim, Inc. Mental Health America LA Momentum for Mental Health Northern Valley Catholic Social Services Pacific Clinics Peers Envisioning and Engaging Recovery Services Progress Foundation Project Return Peer Support Network Rubicon Programs San Fernando Valley CMHC TLCS Transitions-MHA Turning Point Community Programs Turning Point Foundation Turning Point of Central CA Hope House Yolo Community Care Continuum Betty Dahlquist, MSW, CPRP Executive Director Debra Brasher, MS, CPRP Director of Education and Training