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Funding Saved for National Consumer TA
Centers...for Now!
To: NYAPRS Members and Friends
From: Harvey Rosenthal
Date: Sept. 20, 2002
Re: IAPSRS: Funding Saved for National Consumer TA Centers...for Now!
Earlier this year, President Bush's budget proposed cutting all funding
from the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) for the five Consumer
Technical Assistance Centers. After several weeks of fighting, the
consumer/survivor/ expatients movement, IAPSRS, NYAPRS and many other
national, state and local mental health advocacy groups successfully ensured
that funding would continue. A Notice Of Grant Application (NOGA) was to be
released in the August-September, 2002, time frame.
Just last week, CMHS told the five Centers that the NOGA would NOT be
issued, effectively cutting funding three weeks before the end of funding
cycle! Apparently, pressure from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
forced CMHS to cancel the NOGA.
NYAPRS members learned of this crisis last week, directly from IAPSRS'
Paul Siefert and from leaders from 3 of the groups affected, Judi Chamberin
of the National Empowerment Center, Joe Rogers of the National Mental Health
Consumers' Self-Help Clearinghouse and Larry Belcher of CONTAC at our Annual
Conference at the Nevele.
They promptly responded by making over 200 phone calls from a phone
hastily installed in the Nevele lobby to OMB Director Mitch Daniels demanding
the restoration of funding for these extraordinary promoters of the recovery,
rehabilitation and rights of Americans with psychiatric disabilities.
According to Paul Siefert, our joint efforts with countless other
national and state groups have been successful...at least for now!
Funding was restored Tuesday, Sept. 17, to the TA centers for the coming year!
Stay tuned for details as to how you can support ongoing efforts to
preserve funding for the TA centers in the coming budget affecting next year,
for the 2003-4 fiscal year!
National Empowerment Center At Risk of Closure
In an apparently outrageous turnaround, the federal Office of Management and
Budget is refusing to release the restored funds, for the coming year, for the
National Technical Assistance Center.
If this is allowed to go forward, the extraordinary National Empowerment Center,
National Mental Health Consumers' Self-Help Clearinghouse and CONTAC will be
forced to shut down over the next 2 weeks!
Ironically, leaders and representatives of the 3 groups are all very active
participants at this year's NYAPRS Conference which, as of this morning, will
take up the cause and encourage over 600 participants to contact Washington
today....
We are urging mental health advocates from across New York and the country to:
1. E-mail SAMHSA head Charles Curie at
ccurie@samhsa.gov
2. Fax Office of Management and Budget chief Mitch Daniels at 202-395-3888
3,4. Call your US Senator
index by state
California
US Senator Diane Feinstein (202)
224-3841
senator@feinstein.senate.gov
US Senator Barbara Boxer (202)
224-3553
http://boxer.senate.gov/contact/webform.html
New York
|
US Senator Charles Schumer |
US Senator Hillary Clinton |
| Washington |
202-224-6542 |
202-224-4451 |
| New York City |
212-486-4430 |
212-688-6262 |
| Albany |
518-431-4070 |
518-431-0120 |
| Buffalo |
716-846-4111 |
716-854-9725 |
| Binghamton |
607-772-6792 |
|
| Red Hook |
845-569-0923 |
|
| Westchester |
914-285-9741 |
914-725-9294 |
| Long Island |
631-753-0978 |
631-249-2825 |
| Rochester |
585-263-5866 |
585-263-6250 |
| Syracuse |
315-423-5471 |
315-448-0470 |
| North Country |
|
315-376-6118 |
and tell each of them:
'I am a registered voter from (your locality) who is a strong supporter of the
very valuable National Mental Health Technical Assistance Centers, which are
being currently threatened with de-funding at the end of this month.
I am calling on you to see that their funds are restored today!
Following is a national alert:
We need your help!
Even though the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
and the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) had provided assurances that
the national technical assistance center grants would be funded for the year
beginning October 1, 2002, and even though all of the proposals submitted by the
national technical assistance centers received excellent scores in the peer
review process, we have received word from high up in SAMHSA that the Office of
Management and Budget is insisting that SAMHSA not fund the national technical
assistance efforts.
The Notice Of Grant Award (NOGA) is due at the end of September. However, as far
as we know right now, no NOGA will be issued. The result will be that all five
national technical assistance initiatives, particularly the three
consumer/survivor-run national technical assistance centers (CONTAC, the
National Empowerment Center and the National Mental Health Consumers' Self-Help
Clearinghouse), will have to cease operations almost immediately.
This is disastrous news. It is also puzzling, since The President's New Freedom
Commission on Mental Health, which includes Dan Fisher, co-director of the
National Empowerment Center, is currently meeting to discuss ways to create "New
Freedom" initiatives.
It is our understanding that this effort to put an end to national technical
assistance is purely political, and that it has been instituted by Sally Satel
of the Enterprise Foundation, a right-wing Washington "think tank." Sally Satel,
who is notorious for her opposition to consumer empowerment efforts, recently
was quoted as saying, at the CMHS Advisory Committee meeting, words to the
effect that consumer empowerment interferes with her ability to practice
psychiatry.
Although the news from SAMHSA is dire and has great potential to cause serious
trouble, it is not too late! There is hope that, if the consumer/survivor
movement demands that the administration undo this unprecedented action of
pulling a grant that was approved at all SAMHSA levels, including a peer review,
because of the political machinations of a couple of individuals, we might be
able to change this.
So we need you to immediately contact SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie at
ccurie@samhsa.gov and urge that the NOGA
be issued as originally planned. After you have written to him, please write to
Mitch Daniels, Director, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street,
N.W., Washington, DC 20503, Fax: 202-395-3888.
In addition, please write to your Senators and Congressperson and urge them to
contact Tommy Thompson, secretary of the Department of Health and Human
Services, in this regard.
Also, please write to Tommy Thompson yourself, and urge him to issue the NOGA as
originally planned.
To obtain contact information for your Senators and Congressperson, click on the
following link:
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/ziptoit.html
Tommy Thompson's e-mail address is hhs.mail@hhs.gov
His mailing address is Tommy Thompson, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human
Services, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20201; Fax:
202-690-7203.
(Because mail to Washington is delayed following the events of September 11,
2001, please use e-mail and/or fax your letters.)
Please do this as soon as possible, since this is a matter of some urgency.
Thank you for your help!
This "Mental Health E-News" posting is a service of the New York
Ass'n of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services, a statewide coalition of people
who use and/or provide community mental health services dedicated to improving
services and social conditions for people with psychiatric disabilities by
promoting their recovery, rehabilitation and rights.
To join our list, e-mail us your request and, where appropriate, the name of
your organization to NYAPRS@aol.com.
Last Updated on
04/14/04
webmaster@namiscc.org
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