Advocacy E-News June 1, 2016
June 1, 2016
Housing Choice Vouchers Enrollment Begins on Monday June 13th at 9:00 a.m.
The NJ Department of Community Affairs (DCA), Division of Housing and Community Resources (DHCR) will be accepting pre-applications on line
for 10,100 Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV) in all twenty-one (21) New Jersey Counties.
For more information please click here
STATE DELAYS MOVE TO NEW MEDICAID PAYMENT MODEL FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
Some organizations that provide behavioral-health treatment for New Jersey’s poorest residents welcomed the state’s decision to slow the transition to a new government payment model, giving them time to better protect these vulnerable patients as the decades-old system evolves.
But others said they remain concerned that the state’s proposed Medicaid reimbursement rates for certain mental health and addiction services are still too low to cover the actual cost of treatments.
NO NEW FUNDING FOR PROGRAM THAT PAIRS PSYCHIATRISTS, PEDIATRICIANS
Two years ago the state launched a pilot program to help bridge this divide and physicians involved said it has already helped more than 600 children; it is now being built out to reach youngsters in eight counties in southern and central New Jersey.
Despite this initial success – and a growing level of funding from Gov. Chris Christie in the past – supporters were disappointed to learn there was no money included in the coming year’s budget for the Primary Care Child Psychiatry collaboration.
MAKING A 100-MILE MARCH TO HEIGHTEN AWARENESS OF MENTAL ILLNESS
One woman — pulling a coffin to symbolize those lost to suicide and addiction — is walking from Cape May to Trenton. Experts call it a hidden crisis: While at least one in every four New Jersey residents suffers from depression or another mental illness — problems that also can affect physical health — too many endure this condition alone, struggling to escape the historical stigma and get adequate, affordable treatment.