N E W S A D V I S O R Y
Senator Tkaczyk, M/A Gunther Measure to Strengthen Mental Health Network
WHAT:
With community mental health needs at an all-time high and funding for those programs diverted by the State legislature for ten of the last 20 years, State Senator Cecilia Tkaczyk (Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Mental Health) and Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, (Chair of the Assembly Mental Health Committee) have introduced legislation that would restore adequate funding for community-based service providers.
The Tkaczyk/Gunther “Communities of Excellence Mental Health Reinvestment Act” would take a portion of the money saved from the planned downsizing of the State’s psychiatric hospital system, reinvesting it into community-based mental health services.
WHO:
• Assembly Mental Health Committee Chair Aileen Gunther
• Senate Mental Health Committee Ranking Member Cecilia Tkaczyk
• Glenn Liebman, CEO Mental Health Association in New York State
• Maura Kelley, Director of Mental Health Peer Connection, in Buffalo, NY, and Co-
President of New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (NYAPRS)
• Paige Pierce, executive director of Families Together in NYS
• Carla Rabinowitz, Community Access in NYC and co-chair of NYAPRS Public Policy Committee
WHEN: Thursday, June 13, 2013 at 1 pm (or the end of the Session, whichever is later)
WHERE: LCA Room (LOB 130)
BACKGROUND:
Based upon the landmark “Community Mental Health Reinvestment Act”, adopted in 1993, the Tkaczyk/Gunther measure will work hand-in-hand with the NYS Office of Mental Health’s plan to close or consolidate unused or under-utilized bricks and mortar psychiatric hospital facilities. The “Communities of Excellence Mental Health Reinvestment Act” would ensure the transition to regional hospital centers is accompanied by an appropriate plan, with proper funding, to provide the necessary community-based services.