ACL will take advantage of the opportunities to comment. Meanwhile, please send your comments via their websites when available but also to me at [email protected]. We would like to know what you think.
Public Forums on Behavioral Health Service Agency Integration
The New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) and the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) will host a series of fact-finding forums to consider the appropriateness of consolidating the missions of OASAS and OMH into an integrated and unified behavioral health services agency.
OASAS Commissioner Arlene Gonzalez-Sanchez and OMH Commissioner Ann Sullivan, MD, and Paul Samuels, Esq., Chair of the New York State Behavioral Health Services Advisory Council (BHSAC), are jointly chairing a Steering Committee which will assess and report its findings on the value of creating an integrated behavioral health services agency to improve service delivery, streamline the transition to Medicaid Managed Care, and enhance the treatment outcomes for people currently receiving behavioral health services in New York State. The Steering Committee is comprised of key OMH and OASAS stakeholders.
The Chairs seek public input into the question of whether a new behavioral health agency should be created and whether the creation would improve the care for populations currently served by both agency funded/licensed programs. Input from stakeholders including providers, consumers, families, local government units (LGUs), trade associations, and state and local legislators is sought and will be considered in making any forthcoming recommendations by the Steering Committee.
The public is invited to attend the following forums to be held throughout the State of New York this summer:
July 13th (3:00-5:00 pm; 5:30-7:30 pm) – OASAS NYC Field Office, 501 7th Avenue, Conference Room A, 8th Floor, Upper Manhattan, NY
July 14th (3:00-5:00 pm; 5:30-7:30 pm) – OASAS Central Office, 1450 Western Avenue, 4th Floor Conference Room, Albany, NY
July 22nd (3:00-5:00 pm; 5:30-7:30 pm) – OCM BOCES Henry Center, CNYRIC, Rodax #8 Commercial Park Building, 6075 E. Molloy Road, Syracuse, NY
August 18th (3:00-5:00 pm; 5:30-7:30 pm) – Molloy College, Suffolk Center, 7180 Republic Airport, Farmingdale, NY
August 20th (3:00-5:00 pm; 5:30-7:30 pm) – Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, The Mason O. Damon Auditorium, 1 Lafayette Square, Buffalo, NY
Pre-registration is encouraged, as seating is limited, and a registration page will be available through the OMH and OASAS websites shortly. Interested parties may also view video of a recorded public forum after the initial meeting on July 13th.
In addition to the public forums, comments and recommendations from the public will be accepted via web links that will be posted on both agency websites. All comments will be considered in the deliberations of the Steering Committee which will issue a final report by December 31, 2015.
If you require any special accommodations to participate in this process, or have questions about the format, you may contact OMH and OASAS representatives at:[email protected]