2010 Updates

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April 2010

Posted 04/15/10

Posted 04/15/10

Great News!

Thanks to your efforts and the efforts of all the other MCAS partners the House Ways and Means committee budget, which came out yesterday, actually level funds all the Substance Abuse line items to last years level. Unlike the Governors budget it contains no cuts! In addition it creates a "Substance Abuse Public Health Trust Fund" into which will go revenues form the alcohol tax dedicated to funding substance abuse treatment programs. These are major victories! Especially given that they cut over 1 Billion dollars in other areas.

Now of course the fight is not over, this is just the first step in the process. The House has to vote for it and then it goes to the Senate and maybe Conference committee and to the Governor. But it is an incredible statement of support for what we do and a great place from which to start.
What we need to do now is please contact your legislator by e-mail, phone, or in person, thank them and let them know how much we appreciate their support. Ask them to continue to support this when it comes to the House floor. We can't let up now. We will be working to get the Senate to agree with this as well. And we will be asking you to contact your Senator and the Governors office when the time comes to do so.
In the meanwhile take a moment to celebrate.

Thanks

Robert L. Monahan PhD, LADAC I
Executive Director
South Shore Recovery Home
President
Recovery Homes Collaborative

Posted 04/06/10

Posted 04/06/10

Hello Everyone,

For Your Information

CORI

Posted 04/05/10

March 2010

Posted 03/23/10

Hello All

At our last few RHC meetings we discussed ways to insure that the legislature is aware of what it is that the Recovery Homes Collaborative does and how our services impact their constituents. Many of them are unaware that we serve the people in their districts. They think that, because there is no Recovery Home in their district that we have no connection to them. In order to inform them of how we serve them and their constituents we thought it would be useful if we sent them a letter from the RHC, specifically from the House the client is accepted into, letting them know that we have accepted, and are providing services to, one of the constituents from their district. In this way we will bring the RHC and all that we do to their attention as well as letting them know that we impact the people they serve in a very direct way.

Attached is a copy of the letter we have drafted. Please note that it in no way identifies the client. Please feel free to make any comments or suggestions you feel may be constructive.

Bob Monahan PhD, LADAC I
Executive Director
South Shore Recovery Home
President
Recovery Homes Collaborative
 

Posted 03/19/10

Just wanted to let you know that Ben Cluff will be informing residential programs today that we are re-allocating approximately $1.5m backto most residential programs.  RMs will be contacting programs next week to discuss their individual amendments.

Posted 03/10/10

Posted 03/10/10

Posted 03/09/10

February 2010

Posted 02/12/10

Hello Everyone

I just wanted to send a quick note to thank all of you for contributing to what was a very successful Legislative Breakfast at the State House yesterday. We had a great showing with twice as many Representatives and Senators as last year either attended or sent their aides, members of the Governors Commission on Substance Abuse, City Councilors, and many others were there to show support. Members of the Mental Health and Substance Abuse committee spoke, including the co-chairs Senator Jen Flanagan and Representative Liz Malia as well as Senator Jack Hart, Rep Marty Walsh, Rep Brian Wallace, Rep Jim O'Day, Senator Harriet Chandler and Michael Botticelli the Director of the BSAS. Legislators from all over the State were in attendance and both co-chairs expressed the opinion that due to the crowd we would have to get a bigger meeting area for next years breakfast. Most importantly they all expressed their support for the those issues important to the Recovery Homes Collaborative. These are to insure that our funding is not cut in this years budget and to support a dedicated revenue stream from the new alcohol tax to support substance abuse treatment programs. As importantly, to support our efforts to insure that the ballot question to repeal the alcohol tax is defeated if it makes it onto the ballot.

Thanks again for your help and we will be looking to all of you to help with your legislators  as we go forward.


Bob Monahan PhD, LADAC I
Executive Director
South Shore Recovery Home
President
Recovery Homes Collaborative

Posted 02/03/10

Hello Everyone.

Just to let you know what's going on and to remind you of the importance of getting in contact with your Legislators especially as far as the legislative breakfast on the 11th of this month at the State House. Contact them, let them know about it, and then meet them there. The Recovery Homes Collaborative is part of the Campaign for Addiction and Recovery that won the award so congratulations. Don't forget the Legislative breakfast on Feb 11th at 10AM at the State House in the Members lounge of the House.
 

The Governor’s FY 2011, budget was released on January  27th  and proposes  overall funding reductions for the DPH/Bureau  of Substance Abuse Services,  although it appears that the proposed cuts would  not impact community-based  services that are funded by the Bureau.  In  addition, there are no  significant cuts to behavioral health services in the  Mass Health budget.   The Governor did not propose any Mass Health rate  cuts nor the elimination of any MassHealth optional services.   The Governor, however, does recommend the consolidation of  the DPH/Bureau of Substance Abuse Services line items into one new line item:  4510-0700 Addiction Control Services.   This line item  was funded at $81,184,876, which is about $3.5 million less than the current FY  2010 (post 9C cuts) appropriation.    The lines items to be  consolidated into 4510-0700 include the following:  

4512-0200 (BSAS Programming and Operations)
4512-0201 (Post Detox Step-Down Services)
4512-0202 (Secure Treatment Facilities for Opiate  Addiction)
4512-0203 (Intervention, Care Management, and Young Adult  Treatment Pilot Program), and  
4512-0225 (Compulsive Gamblers’ Treatment Program)

  
Although the overall reduction in BSAS funding will not  impact current service programs, we believe proposed BSAS spending is below the state’s Maintenance of Effort requirements for  the federal Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Block Grant and  could thereby place some of this federal funding in jeopardy.    We will keep you informed and  call you into action as needed as the budget process moves  forward. Campaign for Addiction Prevention, Treatment and  Recovery to Receive National  Recognition We are pleased to announce that the Campaign for Addiction  Prevention, Treatment and Recovery has been chosen by the National Council  for Community Behavioral Healthcare to be the recipient of the 2010 Award of  Excellence for Grassroots Advocacy.   This award is wonderful  recognition of our collective strength and the success of our campaign to repeal  the sales tax exemption on alcohol purchased in stores.  This award will be  presented on March 16 at the National Council’s 40th Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida and Vic DiGravio,  Campaign Co-Chair, will accept the award.  Many thanks to all of you for  helping to make our campaign last year a success! As you know, however, our success on this front may be short  lived.  The package liquor store industry has mounted an anti-alcohol tax  ballot initiative and they have met the state requirements to place a question  on the ballot next November that, if passed, would undo the repeal of the sales  tax exemption on alcohol purchased in stores and thereby eliminate this crucial  source of revenues to help fund addiction prevention, treatment and recovery  support services.     We will be gearing up our Campaign again this year to defeat  this ballot question.  More information will be sent to you over the coming  months as planning on this front moves forward.    
 

Thank you for your on-going advocacy and  support!


Bob Monahan PhD, LADAC I
Executive Director
South Shore Recovery Home
President
Recovery Homes Collaborative

January 2010

Posted 01/22/10

Survey of Income Returned to the Commonwealth

Posted 01/15/10

Posted 01/06/10

Posted 12/30/09

Past Updates

2009