Advocacy E-News November 26, 2018
November 26, 2018
NJ DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TO HOLD PUBLIC BUDGET LISTENING SESSION
The New Jersey Department of Human Services (DHS) will hold a NJ budget listening session. The session will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the DHS Central Office’s 1st floor conference room. The DHS offices are located at 222 S Warren St in Trenton. In person testimony, emails and snail mail are encouraged. If you and/or your organization have suggestions and/or input about the DHS budget, its programs and/or the populations it serves, this is an opportunity to have your voice heard.
For more information call (609) 292-3703 or email Nancy.Worrell@ dhs.state.nj.us
ADMINISTRATION TAKES ACTION TO GET MORE NEW JERSEYANS COVERED DURING OPEN ENROLLMENT
As part of the Murphy Administration’s campaign to get more New Jerseyans insured during the Affordable Care Act’s limited open enrollment period ending December 15, State departments and agencies today took action to promote and encourage enrollment in health coverage during the six-week window. State departments and agencies that interact with the public are distributing information and materials and directing residents to coverage options and to free enrollment assistance through a new state website, GetCovered.NJ.gov or call 877-9-NAVIG8 (877-962-8448) to talk about health insurance options.
MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED EARLIER IN LIFE, ADVOCATES SAY
Aruna Rao, associate director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of New Jersey, said there is a concern that many kids and families are not seeking support or information.
She said many times the mental health system responds after the crisis or suicide. Rao said the gains of responding early are tremendous: Rather than a lifetime of a serious mental illness, responding when a person is young enough can lead to a more fulfilling life.
At NAMI’s annual conference on Saturday Dec. 1st at the Imperia in the Somerset section of Franklin, the focus will be on youth mental health.
THE SAD STORY OF TARA MURPHY, ‘UNFORTUNATE’ ANCORA PATIENT
No one will be held responsible for Tara Murphy’s drastic weight loss, her multiple injuries — broken teeth, cuts, scratches and bruises — or her bouts of pneumonia, or her failure to improve.
A settlement check, funded by New Jersey taxpayers, is in the bank. And with it, all of the state workers and institutions accused of wrongdoing in her civil rights lawsuit have been released from further demands, claims, damages or future lawsuits.
HERE’S WHAT NEW JERSEY IS DOING TO FIX ITS PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITALS
In August, the New Jersey Department of Health released the results of an outside evaluation of its psychiatric hospitals. Health Commissioner Dr. Shereef Elnahal also announced reforms, new hires and spending already underway. The state reported a 30 percent reduction in violent assaults to patients and staff in the first quarter of the year, compared with the first quarter of 2017.
FIND YOUR LOCAL NAMI
