CBHA Newsletter
April 1st, 2021
A Message from CBHA Leadership
Dear Colleagues,

Over the past few weeks, our country has endured multiple mass shootings, first in Atlanta, Georgia, and Boulder, Colorado. Last night, a mass shooting in Orange County, California, killed four people, including a 9-year-old boy. CBHA is committed to supporting community health, which includes combating all forms of violence and hatred. 

As we grapple with these tragedies and try to make sense of losses in our communities, the state of a perpetrator's mental health is often the focus of news reports. Lawmakers and the public want to be able to predict if and when a person will become violent. Yet, we must remember that most people with mental illness do not engage in acts of violence. We have linked an episode below, "Speaking of Psychology: Dispelling the myth of violence and mental illness," recorded by the American Psychology Association (APA), which discusses misconceptions surrounding mental illness and violent behavior and how basic prevention efforts could help stop future violent events. Also, please see the list of articles and resources below, which we hope can help in the aftermath of such tragic events.

Self-Care: 

Clinicians: 

In the aftermath of these tragedies, it's critical that we continue to advocate for our communities. CBHA continues to advocate on behalf of our members and the behavioral health community. CBHA is sponsoring the following legislative proposals:

AB 666 (Chiu) would address the shortage and lack of diversity of behavioral health workers by providing tuition assistance for students to study behavioral health related fields and allocating fee waivers for tests and certification expenses, along with increased language access to preparatory materials. Additionally, this bill would create a statewide needs assessment of the current state of the substance use disorder workforce. 

AB 686 (Arambula) would establish a clear process for stakeholders, including underserved communities like Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ+) individuals, to develop an updated methodology that can measure, improve, and evaluate behavioral health equity in the county behavioral health safety net.

SB 14 (Portantino) would require the California Department of Education to identify an evidence-based training program for a local educational agency to use to train classified and certificated school employees having direct contact with pupils about how to deal with behavioral health crises and make appropriate referrals.

The bill will also permit 10-12th grade students to receive training on the signs and symptoms of a behavioral health disorder. It will ensure that youth absences from school for a mental health issue or appointment will be an excused absence in the same fashion absences for physical health ailments or appointments are treated.

SB 293 (Limon) will increase access to Specialty Mental Health Services (SMHS) for children in the Medi-Cal program by standardizing the forms counties require contracting providers to complete under the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment SMHS benefit. The measure will directly increase the number of time providers have to treat children and adolescents with severe mental health needs, increasing access to these services at a critical time, at little cost to the state.

We appreciate your support on these legislative proposals. If you have any questions please reach out to Robb Layne at rlayne@cccbha.org. Thank you for being amazing partners in advocacy!

In Service,
Le Ondra Clark Harvey, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
Reflecting on Women's History Month
Last month, in honor of Women's History Month, CBHA highlighted five women whose accomplishments throughout the years have had a positive impact on our culture and society:

  • Vice President Kamala Harris, who in November became the first Woman Vice President, Black Vice President, & Indian Vice President.
  • Ruth Bader Ginsburg, often known as the "Notorious RBG," was nominated in 1993 to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton. 
  • Sonia Sotomayor, nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, became the first Latina Supreme Court Justice in U.S. History.
  • Patsy Mink won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1964, making her the first Asian-American woman to serve in U.S. Congress.
  • Maya Angelou, who wrote "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," and in In 2000, received the National Medal of Arts. In 2010, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.

CBHA is proud to uplift and honor the lives and contributions of these incredible women!
Congratulations Rob Bonta,
California's New Attorney General!
CBHA would like to congratulate Assemblymember Rob Bonta for being appointed the new Attorney General of California! If approved by the Legislature, Assemblymember Rob Bonta, 48, will be the state's first Filipino attorney general and second attorney general of Asian descent, following in the footsteps of Vice President Kamala Harris. In a time when anti-Asian discrimination is on the rise, California demonstrates its commitment to recognizing excellence among various diverse communities by promoting diverse leaders such as Attorney General Bonta, Secretary of State Weber, and Senator Padilla. 

CBHA is proud of the State of California and the strives we are making in appointing and electing leadership that truly represents the people we serve. CBHA will continue to advocate for all communities and work to address equity in this state and across the nation. Once again, congratulations Assemblymember Rob Bonta!
Join us virtually at NatCon21!
CBHA is a proud partner of our national affiliate, the National Council for Behavioral Health, and we would like to invite you to join us at NatCon21 live from May 3-5 an on-demand for the remainder of the month. If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we can expect the unexpected. With this in mind – and with attendee health and safety a top priority – National Council has decided to bring the NatCon experience to you virtually this year. By bringing NatCon21 to your digital doorstep, it will easier than ever to attend the biggest event in mental health and addictions care! Everything you need will be just a few clicks away.
 
As a NatCon21 attendee, you will get to:

·       Learn at your own pace – take advantage of our live and on-demand sessions.
·       Challenge your thinking – hear from hundreds of leaders in health care and beyond.
·       Raise your voice – contribute to timely discussions on topics that matter to you.
·       Invest in yourself – earn CEs and CMEs from the comfort of your couch.
·       Maximize your impact ­– discover new tools in our virtual Solutions Pavilion.
·       Expand your networkconnect with 6,000+ health care colleagues online.

Register Today!
 
·       To register, please visit our online registration website, online here.
·       This year, due to the pandemic and the virtual nature of the conference, we have discounted registration rates 30% from traditional NatCon pricing. You will not need to enter a code to receive this automatic discount!
 
Registering 3 or more attendees? Receive a $50 discount on your third and subsequent registrations!
 
This year our group registration site will allow one of your team members to register all your organization’s attendees and check out with one combined invoice.
To access the group registration:

·       Select the blue "Register a Group" button on the attendee registration site.
·       Enter your information as the main contact for the group, and begin to register your attendees
·       Once you have registered two individuals at the full conference rate, a $50 discounted full conference rate will appear for your subsequent attendees. You will need to select the discounted rate as you continue to register your third and additional attendees.
 
If you have any questions about registration, please email Conference@TheNationalCouncil.org for assistance.
 
Learn more about our program. We hope to see you in May!
We appreciate UST, long-time Affinity Member, for their partnerships that both provide our members exceptional services and sponsor our advocacy efforts.
We appreciate our Business Associates for their partnerships that both provide our members exceptional services and sponsor our advocacy efforts.