Governor Christie has signed an Executive Order issuing a Reorganization Plan that will transfer the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services, currently in the Department of Human Services, to the Department of Health. According to a notice released by DOH Commissioner Cathleen Bennett, transferring mental health and addiction services out of DHS is "necessary to improve health care, remove bureaucratic obstacles to the integration of physical, mental and behavioral health care, and effectively address substance use disorder as the public health crisis that it is." Furthermore, the notice states the plan will take effect 60 calendar days after the date of filing with the Secretary of State and Office of Administration Law. In addition, you can read NJ Spotlight's story on the transfer by clicking  here . The article states there will be a public comment period. We will be closely monitoring this situation and weighing in during the comment period about the change. We will also be sure to notify you of any information that may be relevant to your loved one who currently receives mental health services through the Department of Human Services.

In terms of Budget, we also wanted to take a moment to recognize that in addition to the $20 million we secured for Direct Support Professionals, the funding document for FY18 also includes $89.7 million of new state and federal funding to create community placements and services. The breakdown is as follows:
  • $10 million to fund community-based services for individuals currently on the Community Care Waiver Waiting List
     
  • $8.6 million to fund community-based residential placements for 54 individuals currently living in one of the Division's five developmental centers
     
  • $1 million to fund 125 new housing vouchers
     
  • $46.2 million to fund service expansion for new and existing Supports Program participants
     
  • $23.9 million to fund general Division growth (e.g., young adults turning 21 and aging out of special education services, emergencies, self-direction, annualized cost from prior year placements, etc.), in addition to funds available from prior-year CCW recoveries.
We are still working to obtain exact details regarding the distribution of the $20 million for DSPs and we'll provide updates as soon as we have more information. 

Action Alert: Call Senate President Sweeney
Now that a few days have passed since Governor Christie signed the FY18 State Budget, it's important that we take the time to recognize and thank those that were so pivotal to our recent victory. No legislator fought harder for the $20 million line item to increase wages for our Direct Support Professionals than Senate President Sweeney. Not only did he ensure funding was added to the Budget, he did everything in his power to protect the funding from a line-item veto. With this in mind, please take a moment this week to contact Senate President Sweeney's district office and thank him for all of his hard work. Obtaining money to increase wages was by no means an easy battle. It's important that we show our appreciation for those who helped us in our fight. 
Sincerely,

Thomas Baffuto
Chair of the Coalition for a DSP Living Wage 
Information for Contacting Senate Pres Sweeney
Call the Senate President  this week at  (856)-251-9801. You can also send him a thank you email at  SenSweeney@njleg.org.