DAY 1 – April 18, 2023
Opening Plenary: Creating a National Agenda for Recovery
Felecia Pullen, CEO, Pillars Inc.; Taina Laing, CEO, Baltic Street AEH
Moderator: Elizabeth Burden
Late last year, SAMHSA convened a group of key national stakeholders to participate in a Recovery Now! Summit aimed at the development of a national recovery agenda. Join our expert panel in exploring a vision and a set of recommendations that will advance some of the key themes that were identified, including
strategies to promote recovery-ready and recovery-rich communities, prepare the workforce and workplace for integrating peers in diverse settings, address disparities and advance equity and inclusion.
Leading the Way Towards Mental Health, Substance Use and Health Care Integration
Lindsay Ragona, Project Director, CCBHC CN Guidance and Counseling Services; Rebecca Linn-Walton, Clinical Officer, S:US; Kristen Miguel, CCBHC Service Director, Helio Health
Moderator: Renee Boak
This panel discussion will focus on increasing the understanding of the CCBHC model, highlighting strategies and practices that support implementation and continuous quality improvement efforts. Panelists will share their experiences and offer recommendations and best practices for wrapping services around someone with complex care needs.
The Power of Reverse Mentoring: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Tools for Success
Barbara Marlanetti DesRosiers, Chief Human Resource Officer; Jason Kuby, Chief Financial Officer; Kesha Carter, Chief Diversity Officer; Lisa Earle, Director of School-Based Operations; Tashia Thomas-Neal, Director of Equity and Inclusion on behalf of Onondaga County of Children and Family Services
Moderator: Lenora Reid-Rose, Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives, Partnerships and Community Connectedness, Coordinated Care Services Inc.
In reverse mentoring, colleagues “pair up” – regardless of seniority – to learn from one another. This can benefit both parties’ careers in several ways: sharing specific expertise such as technology or leadership skills and bridging generational and hierarchical gaps to improve communication. We will discuss how people of color can mentor white senior leaders as a primary way to infuse Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts into an organization. We will share how one organization, Coordinated Care Services, Inc., is implementing a reverse mentoring program, how the program challenges power dynamics and promotes equity by giving traditionally marginalized individuals a chance to share their perspectives and insights with those in higher positions of power.
Envisioning the Future
PowerPoint
Ann Sullivan, M.D., Commissioner, and Emil Slane, Deputy Commissioner and Chief Fiscal Officer, NYS Office of Mental Health; Chinazo Cunningham, M.D., Commissioner, NYS Office of Addiction Services and Supports
New York is in the midst of a historic period of transformation that includes major budget initiatives, fundamental service redesign, and an anticipation of a new Medicaid 1115 Waiver. Commissioners will provide a vision for the future, and the Chief Disability officer will provide an update on the process to develop an Olmstead Plan.
Newly Enhanced Models that Promote Health and Social Integration
Mary Crowley, Executive Vice-President and Aida Mejia, Member, Fountain House; Patrick Hendry, Vice President of Peer Services, firsthand; Steve Miccio, CEO and Chris Rivera, Director, Mobile Crisis Stabilization Team, People USA
Moderator, Harvey Rosenthal, CEO, NYAPRS
In recent years, Fountain House has expanded its clubhouse model to more broadly address health, homelessness, and criminal justice related challenges, publicly funded peer agencies have created an entire continuum of crisis and criminal justice diversion models, and for-profit peer agencies are attracting significant investments to fund their highly effective engagement and support model. Come hear what these agencies are doing and where they’re going in this very freewheeling discussion.
New York’s 1115 Waiver: What’s Next?
Trisha Schell-Guy, Director of the Division of Program Development and Management, NYS Department of Health; Lauren Tobias, Senior Advisor, Brown & Weinraub
Trisha Schell-Guy and Lauren Tobias will discuss the latest updates on the progress for the NYS 1115 Health Equity Demonstration Waiver. This will include a conversation on the role of Social Determinant of Health Networks (SDHNs) and how they can improve access to mental health services and supports, including the support of peers. They will also discuss waiver timing and any updates that may be available on the NYS Budget.
Leader and Organizational Resilience: Building a Culture of Compassion
Elizabeth Burden, Senior Advisor, Practice Improvement & Consulting, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
The wellness of our organizations and workforce influences both the quality of services provided as well as its impact on the community. Enhancing trauma-informed, resilience-oriented, equity-focused systems will create cultures of compassion which support resilience and wellness in leadership, workforce, and the overall organization. Join us for a discussion on how to create cultures of compassion, resilience, and wellness.
Equity Grounded Leadership in Action: A Co-Produced Approach to Behavioral Health Systems Transformation
PowerPoint
Crystal Brandow, Principal, CLB Strategies, LLC; Juliet C. Dorris-Williams, Executive Director, The P.E.E.R. Center of Columbus; Vernick Smith, Independent Consultant and Founder of Motivating Students Victoriously LLC
Moderators: Aly Feye, Director of Operations and Holly Salazar, CEO, The College for Behavioral Health Leadership
Leaders must embody equity as an operating principle – as a mindset to transform behavioral health systems. But what does this mean, and how is it operationalized for leaders? With so many major system-level changes in progress across the country, leaders must be prepared to take action; to disrupt the status quo by addressing the pervasive inequities that continue to plague communities across the country. Equity-grounded leadership, guided by five principles of change, is a co-produced approach to leadership development. It is designed to shift the focus of leaders to intersectionality, equity and anti-racism for behavioral health systems transformation.
Integrating Peers into Diverse Settings
Liz Breier, Director, Bureau of Regional Advocacy and Peer Support Services for Adults and Youth, the Office of Advocacy and Peer Support Services, NYS Office of Mental Health; Dr. Jonathan Edwards, Program Consultant, Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Use Prevention, Care and Treatment, NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene
This interactive session will detail what peer support is and what it is not, the benefits of peer support in diverse settings as well as explore myths and facts related to peer support service delivery. This session will also examine supervision and the role of the supervisor in maintaining fidelity to the peer support model and reducing peer drift.
DAY 2 – April 19, 2023
Keynote: Making History: Peer-Led One-Stop Crisis Residential Continuum
PowerPoint
Shannon Higbee, Chief Executive Officer, Recovery Options Made Easy
This past week Recovery Options, with Buffalo area partners, launched an historic peer-led crisis continuum, including crisis respite and living room programs, with clinical support. The presenter will share details of the two-year process that culminated in last week’s ribbon cutting ceremony. The presenter will also describe a menu of options for CCBHCs to outsource peer services.
Peer Engagement, Diversion and Discharge Innovations
Ruthanne Becker, Senior Vice President, Mental Health Association of Westchester, Inc; Taina Laing, CEO, Baltic Street AEH; Angelia Smith-Wilson, Executive Director, FOR-NY; Maria Kavouras, Assistant Executive Director, People USA
This panel will explore a continuum of peer service models that provide successful engagement approaches, alternatives to the use of emergency departments and hospitalizations and outpatient commitment orders. It will also identify best practice hospital discharge plans that support people to successfully transition to their communities and reduce recidivism.
Our speakers will provide a special focus on the INSET model that has been adopted in this year’s Executive Budget, nationally acclaimed North Carolina-based FIRST Court and new Peer Respite House, NYC-based state and community Hospital Peer Bridger Programs and statewide Recovery Community Organizations.
The Leadership Challenge: Supporting Teams to Thrive
PowerPoint
Edye Schwartz, Principal, Edye Schwartz Consulting, LLC
A high priority for our executive teams is how to recruit and retain a workforce that thrives and is devoted to providing the services people need in their recovery journey. The answer is in creating an inspiring organizational culture that nurtures and rewards staff who are 100% committed, engaged, and love what they do. Leadership is at the heart of creating and maintaining a culture that nurtures these ideas partly by helping staff see how their work creates impact and adds value. Leaders keep employees engaged by being genuine and sharing a clear mission and vision that ties back to the actual work. Join us as we discuss how you can create an environment of empowerment, keep open lines of communication, help staff find their “why” and assure that staff really love what they do, where they do it, and who they do it with.
Visions for the Future of Adult Services in NYS: Transformation in Action
Katie Merrill, Director, Rehabilitation Services Unit; Nicole Haggerty, Deputy Director, Adult Community Care Group, Division of Adult Services; Liz Breier, Director, Bureau of Regional Advocacy and Peer Support Services, NYS Office of Mental Health; Meg Baier, Director of Healthcare Innovation and Yvette Kelly, Director of Children Services & Healthcare Innovation, NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research; Danielle Olsen, Director of Bureau of Practice Innovation and Care Management and Brenda Harris-Collins, Assistant Director, NYS Office of Addiction Services and Support
Moderator: Daniella Labate-Covelli, Director of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Initiatives, NYAPRS
The New York State Office of Mental Health and the Office of Addiction Services and Supports are making significant investments that will result in the transformation of services across the mental health and substance use provider continuum. This session will provide information on how adult services will fit together to optimize the support of someone on their recovery journey as well as the TA resources OMH offers to support providers in these ongoing transformations.
Panel: Reimagining Systems to Optimize Whole-Person Care Everywhere
PowerPoint
Dr. Peter Cornish, Founder, Faculty and Senior Advisor, and Catie Greene, Faculty and DEI Consultant, Stepped Care Solutions
Moderator: Holly Salazar, CEO, College for Behavioral Health Leadership
Imagine a model of care resting on a set of principles that, when adopted to the fullest, could diplomatically disrupt systems and shift paradigms, change organizational structures, create fresh and inclusive workplace cultures, and transform the care experience for every person and community. Stepped Care 2.0 is a model that allows us to adopt a mindset of synergy, instead of scarcity. It disrupts the status quo and shifts systems; organizations and the way people work together and value one another with the ultimate goal of optimizing whole person care everywhere