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Member Newsletter
July 2020
Minority Mental Health Awareness Month
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A Message from Our Executive Director
2020 has certainly not been the year that any of us were expecting. For the staff here at CBHA, we had just come off a challenging but successful year in 2019. We worked hard addressing the policy and regulatory challenges facing our members and had pulled off our very first statewide conference, BHCalCon 2019, that received very favorable reviews. We had big plans for 2020, starting with our annual Advocacy Day in January, our Spring Policy Forum in late Spring, and BHCalCon 2020. Both myself and our Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs, Le Ondra Clark Harvey, had been invited to speak at NatCon 2020 to be held in Austin, Texas, which was great for increasing the visibility of CBHA at a national level. And our Director of Operations and Programs, Sara Kahoalii, had plans to increase the programming and educational content we offer to our members. Then Covid-19 hit and everything in our normal day to day routines came to a screeching halt. As hard as it was on us, it was even harder on our member agencies. All of a sudden, each of you had to deal with drastic programmatic and financial challenges. All of you had to move very quickly to a telehealth approach. Clients for the most part could no longer come in to access services and care, and staff who were used to working together in offices had to adapt to working from home for the most part. Parents with children had to adapt to taking care of them while also trying to work. We all quickly adapted to a life of Zoom meetings back to back, and learned how draining that could be as compared to in-person meetings. But for the most part, we all adapted.
The pandemic also raised huge challenges at a regulatory level for our members. On top of the pandemic, and the challenges it raised, we also had to deal with the financial challenges due to the collapse of the economy because of the shelter in place orders that went into effect in our state and across the country. We went from a state budget looking at a very healthy surplus to a projected budget deficit of $54 billion in just a few months. This is where I am so proud of our staff for rising to the challenge. In partnership with the National Council for Behavioral Health, we were able to keep our members informed of happenings and changes at the federal level. At the state level we worked closely with DHCS, Governor Newsom’s administration, CBHDA, the CA Alliance, and other partners to address the many challenges that arose on almost a daily level.
We started our Virtual Town Halls, held every Friday. They started out scheduled for an hour, but quickly grew to 1.5 hours and sometimes have lasted 2 plus hours. The great thing about this is that staff had worked hard for some time to increase member engagement, both with CBHA and between members, and that’s what grew out of the Town Hall meetings. We’ve been fortunate to feature amazing speakers and leaders both at a federal level and at a state level, as well as industry leaders and leaders from our partner associations and groups that we work with. The comments and feedback from our member agencies have been very positive. I share all of this as a way to point out the value of a statewide association like CBHA. That’s why it is so important for agencies that are engaged in providing behavioral health services in our state to be engaged not just at the local level, but also at the state and federal level. We will continue to work hard on behalf of our members to help them get through this crisis and be their representative at the state and national level. This is where we need help from our member agencies. If you work with an agency that provides behavioral health services in our state and isn’t yet a member, I encourage you to reach out to introduce us. Our strength is in numbers, and we have a challenging road ahead and need behavioral health warriors beside us. Even though the Covid-19 crisis put the Cal-AIM proposal on hold, there are big changes coming our way in the future that will touch on every aspect of the behavioral health care system in our state. So thank you for your support and please stay engaged!
I hope to see you during our Town Hall calls, and in the meantime, stay safe and healthy, and remember that self-care is so very important during this time and beyond.
In support and appreciation,
Paul Curtis
Executive Director
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CBHA Members' Virtual Town Hall July 24th at 11 AM
We hope you can join us for our Virtual Town Hall call today to hear the most recent developments on state legislation, policy and programs. We'll have a few of our member agencies, along with Randall Hagar from the California Psychiatric Association, speak on an issue that our member agencies are facing at an ever-increasing rate:
Addressing Behavioral Health Staff Burnout During the Pandemic. Join us to hear solutions and strategies for supporting your staff through this challenging time.
During next week's Virtual Town Hall call, Alex Briscoe from the California Children’s Trust will lead us in a discussion about the areas we can engage in targeted advocacy around.
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Potential Grant Opportunity for CBHA Agencies that Serve Immigrant Populations
We just learned about another potential grant opportunity that would enable us to secure funds for our member agencies. To further explore this,
we need to know if any of our members provide services to immigrant populations.
If your agency provides services to immigrant populations,
please let us know by COB Monday July 27th
so that we can complete the application and submit by early next week. Please reply to this email and include the types of services you provide. Thank you, CBHA Staff
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New Brief from the Learning Policy Institute
They will be presenting this research as part of a virtual webinar on community schools hosted by Policy Analysis for California Education
next Tuesday (July 28), from 1-2 pm (PCT).
If you’re interested in joining, access the event information
here.
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Reports on COVID-19, Schools, and Mental Health
The Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission’s (MHSOAC) Subcommittee on Schools and Mental Health released a draft of TWO (2) reports that they are seeking input on:
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DHCS: Proposed 12 Month Extension Request to the MEDI-CAL 2020 Section 1115 Waiver
California is seeking a 12-month extension of the federal waiver under which a majority of the State’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, now operates.
See more info in the full message linked below.
Also, in coordination with the Medi-Cal 2020 12-month extension request, DHCS intends to submit a 12-month extension request for the existing
1915(b) Specialty Mental Health Services Waiver
to align the terms of the waivers. DHCS will host public hearings via webinar to solicit public comments.
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DHCS: COVID Updates, Information Notices, and Announcements
Please find below our announcements and descriptions of new information notices.
COVID-19 Updates - To be posted soon – drafts with tracked changes attached; both are updated with new FAQs.
BH Information Notices (BHINs):
The attached BHIN will be posted soon.
Announcements -
- Medicaid Funding Distribution Update...
- Minority Mental Health Awareness Month...
- Telehealth funding opportunity for behavioral health providers...
- .... See ALL announcements and deadlines in FULL MESSAGE
- Enrolling as a Specialty Mental Health and Drug Medi-Cal Provider
- An Overview of the Requirements to be Enrolled, Licensed, and Certified July 8, 2020
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National Minority Mental Health Month - Resources
"Once my loved ones accepted the diagnosis, healing began for the entire family, but it took too long. It took years. Can't we, as a nation, begin to speed up that process? We need a national campaign to destigmatize mental illness, especially one targeted toward African Americans...It's not shameful to have a mental illness. Get treatment. Recovery is possible." –
Bebe Moore Campbell, 2005
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CCAPP California Mental Health Credentials
CCAPP Credentialing offers a continuum of certifications for California's addiction and behavioral health workforce.
Any qustions about these credentials email Pamela at status@ccapp.us.
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A SAMHSA Sponsored Webinar: Improving Access to Care through the Power of Telemedicine
A SAMHSA sponsored webinar developed under contract by the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) and presented by Mental Health America (MHA) and the National Council for Behavioral Health will take place
Tuesday, July 28, 2020 at 2 p.m. Eastern Time called Improving Access to Care through the Power of Telemedicine.
See the description, speakers and further details in this
Full Message.
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Have You Completed the ACEs Aware Training?
As a reminder, eligible Medi-Cal providers must self-attest to completing the certified ACE training to receive payment for ACE screenings conducted after July 1, 2020.
Don't Forget to Self-Attest
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Register Today for Free Virtual Youth Conference
TAY DAYS @ THE CAPITAL
No More Silence, Reclaim Your Voice
Wednesday, August 5, 2020 | 4:00 - 7:00 PM PDT
Thursday, August 6, 2020 | 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM PDT
Brought to you by: California Youth Empowerment Network (CAYEN) CAYEN is a program of Mental Health America of California
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Virtual Conversation - 5 Slides: Mental Health Access and the Safety Net
Alex Briscoe, CCT’s founding principal, joins
Michelle Doty Cabrera, Executive Director, County Behavioral Health Directors, and
David Bond, Director of Behavioral Health, Blue Shield Promise Health Plan for a discussion on the importance of access to mental health services and the connection to the safety net that serves those in highest need in California.
July 29, 12pm - 12:55pm PT
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Panel Discussion in Honor of Minority Mental Health Awareness Month
In honor of
Minority Mental Health Awareness Month
, the
American Counseling Association
has partnered with Motivo to offer free Panel Discussions. You'll earn one Continuing Education Unit (provided by ACA), however you must attend the live panel to receive the CEU. Click on the link below to register for the last panel.
Click the following links to view the recordings of past discussions:
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Sign in to the Members section of the website for access to additional resources.
Membership Renewal:
Log-in to your agency's primary account to update your member information, which then generates an invoice for your 2020-2021 membership dues.
COVID19 Resources and tools are posted on our website under the Resources link and in the members portal under the Community Forums.
CBHA CAREER CENTER Check out the career center to view or post a position - members receive a discount!
Community Forums - Find discussion topics, resources and Town Hall call recordings, such as the recording and resources below.
Town Hall Call June 19, 2020
On “
Juneteenth
” we dedicated our Virtual Town Hall conversation to highlighting the contributions of Black people to our country and exploring the ways that agencies can engage in constructive dialogue about race.
Webinar Series Recordings
When you log-in to the members portal, you can also find past webinar recordings, such as the one we partnered with Genoa Telepsychiatry to present linked below.
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We partnered with Genoa for this webinar dedicated to discussing the power of telehealth in California during COVID-19 and beyond.During the COVID-19 crisis, telepsychiatry has emerged as a powerful tool for increasing access to care. In this vein, the federal government and states have swiftly implemented regulatory changes to meet urgent needs during this public health crisis. We know that the ongoing changes can be overwhelming, and raise a lot of questions about what the future of care delivery will look like. We will cover how telepsychiatry continues to improve patient outcomes, augment programs to serve clinic needs, and improve access to care beyond this ‘new normal’.
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CBHA
Affinity Partners
offer approved services that benefit our members while supporting our advocacy efforts.
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We appreciate our
Business Associates
for their partnerships that both provide our members exceptional services and sponsor our advocacy efforts.
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We're social. Connect with us!
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