2a392k31wksy2wkejf1y03dp-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com



National Alliance on Mental Illness of Minnesota2020 Legislative GoalsNAMI Minnesota champions justice, dignity, and respect for all people affected by mental illnesses. Through education, support, and advocacy we strive to eliminate the pervasive stigma of mental illnesses, effect positive changes in the mental health system, and increase the public and professional understanding of mental illnesses.To this end, NAMI advocates for policies that increase access to appropriate treatment and supports that enable children and adults to achieve their hopes and dreams.NAMI Minnesota developed its 2020 Legislative Agenda following the engagement of our grassroots network. Minnesota continues to make progress building our mental health system, but we still have a long way to go. NAMI Minnesota’s 2020 Legislative goals are broad and impact health and human services, education, commerce, criminal justice system, housing, employment, and more. To ensure that the voices of people with mental illnesses and their families are heard, NAMI has conducted numerous online surveys and identified gaps in our mental health system through our helpline calls. Our goals for the 2020 legislative session reflect these conversations and identify the steps that must be taken to continue building our mental health system.Adult Community Mental Health TreatmentMinnesota’s mental health system is not broken; it was never built. Starting in the 1970s, most of the state institutions began rapidly decreasing their number of beds. However, promised investments in community mental health treatment to replace the state institutions never happened. NAMI Minnesota is committed to driving investment in our community mental health system. NAMI will work to:Increase funding for First Episode Psychosis (FEP) to meet the needs of the entire state. These programs provide an early and intensive intervention when someone experiences their first psychotic episode. There are currently four FEP programs in Minnesota and we need at least eight.Increase start-up funding for Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams and Forensic ACT teams. These are team-based treatment models that provide mental health treatment to someone with a serious mental illness in the community.Expand the number of Intensive Residential Treatment Services (IRTS) facilities and crisis homes. These are step-down facilities that provide services for up to 90 days for people leaving inpatient mental health treatment or state-operated services. Increase funding to sustain and expand crisis teams. In the event of a funding shortfall, NAMI also supports engaging the providers to determine the most efficient way to use limited resources like prioritizing services during times of the day with peak demand.Assess and monitor the quality of corporate foster care programs.Make Serious Mental Illness (SMI) the standard for eligibility rather than Serious and Persistent Mental Illness (SPMI).Fund evidence-based practices to meet the mental health needs of older adults. Expand use of certified peer specialists throughout the mental health system.Create a license for sober homes to ensure that people with substance use disorders are getting evidence-based supports from appropriately trained personnel.State-Operated ServicesState-Operated Services provide the most expensive and restrictive mental health care in Minnesota. Due to the 48 Hour Law, the lack of community-based mental health options, and more people seeking mental health treatment than even before, our state-operated mental health system is under significant pressure. Too many people are being boarded in the emergency department waiting for a placement in the hospital, people receiving treatment in the hospital are waiting for treatment at a state operated program or in the community, and too many patients at state-operated facilities are waiting for community mental health services when they no longer require this level of care. NAMI will work to:Fund community competency restoration.Fund pilot projects that offer high intensity, secure facilities for people with complex needs.Move state-operated services outside the Department of Human Services to its own agency to avoid a conflict of interest between licensing and providing care.Amend the 48-Hour Law. Rate IssuesMinnesota’s mental health providers face persistent challenges obtaining reimbursement for the care they provide that covers the cost, including the Medicaid managed care payment rates that are below the fee-for-service rate. This destabilizes our mental health system and makes it very challenging for providers to stay operating and recruit the necessary mental health workforce.Require that rates be the same for each procedure across different types of providers and locations.Create incentives to serve people with more complex needs such as co-occurring disorders, youth with substance use disorders, etc.Update rate methodology for mental health and substance use providers including system costs.Children’s Residential TreatmentThe Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently designated most of Minnesota’s children’s residential treatment programs as Institutes of Mental Disease (IMD), or a facility with 16 or more beds where at least half of these beds are used to provide either mental health or substance use disorder treatment. Because IMDs cannot bill Medical Assistance, our children’s residential program has lost a substantial source of funding. Without changes, counties will have to bear 100% of the cost of care for residential treatment. NAMI will work to:Advance the recommendations from the study on children’s residential mental health treatment.Consider what role Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTFs) can play in our continuum of care. PRTFs provide a higher level of care than residential facilities and can bill Medical munity Children’s Mental Health ServicesWhen a child is facing significant mental health challenges, there are not enough options for the child and their family to obtain the level of support they need. Without adequate support in the community, children and youth will develop more serious mental illnesses and require more intensive treatment. NAMI will work to:Fund training for crisis teams to understand the unique needs of children and their families experiencing a mental health crisis.Allow Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) child-only parents to receive child care upon the recommendation of a mental health professional.Increase funding for early childhood mental health consultation and increase payment rates for mother baby programs.Develop and fund crisis homes for children and youth.Implement the recommendations of the School-linked mental health stakeholders group.Increase school-linked mental health funding so that every school building has access to this service.Ban the use of conversion therapy for LBGTQ youth.Expand education and outreach to teens regarding mental illness and suicide prevention.Address issues with the intersection of child protection and intensive children’s mental health services.Transition Age MH ServicesFar too often, teens fall through the cracks when they transition from the children’s to the adult mental health system. Additional support and attention from the mental health system is necessary to maintain the continuity of care for youth during this stressful period in their life. NAMI will work to:Increase communication with adults during transition period.Improve transition services for youth with mental illnesses between school and college or employment (TIP model). Suicide PreventionSuicide is one of the leading causes of death for Minnesotans and has become a public health crisis, with close to 800 people a year dying by suicide. We need to tackle this public health problem like the opioid crisis with improved coordination and additional resources. NAMI will work to:Increase funding for suicide prevention training for health professionals inside and out of the mental health system and the general public.Develop a report on the use of state suicide prevention funding. EducationChildren with mental illnesses have high suspension and dropout rates, poor transition planning, and are more likely to experience the use of seclusion and restraints. NAMI Minnesota will work to:Expand and continue Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS).Decrease the use of seclusion and restraints in schools and provide funding to support students with the highest needs.Streamline current care and treatment education laws to reduce the barriers for children and youth accessing the treatment they need, with a focus on transportation and education so these students stay on track. View truancy as a school failure issue, not discipline issue and address mental health concerns. Decrease the school to prison pipeline, including reliance on zero-tolerance policies and juvenile justice system referrals.Support recommendations from the School Resource Officer (SRO) report, including mental health training for SROs.Increase the number of school support personnel.Support requiring alternatives to suspension especially for students in grades K-3. Restore the funding for intermediate special mental health projects.Funding for trauma-informed schools.Health CareToo many children and adults living with a mental illness do not receive adequate coverage for their health care needs. We need to ensure that Minnesotans on both public and private insurance plans have more options, lower costs and deductibles, adequate coverage, and access to basic mental health treatment and especially community supports. Remove the word “constant” from the criteria for accessing the Community First Services and Supports (CFSS) program and PCA services so that people with a serious mental illness can access this program.Develop alternative network adequacy standards than just appointment wait-times.Make changes to the CADI waiver so that it can be restored immediately after a hospitalization.EmploymentPeople with a mental illness are far more likely to be unemployed, and often face additional hurdles to successfully holding a job. However, there are very few programs specifically designed to help people with mental illnesses find and maintain employment. We need to act now to ensure that every person with a mental illness who is ready to work can get the support they need. NAMI will work to:Increase funding for evidence-based programs such as Individual Placements and Supports (IPS), and to extended employment services and Vocational Rehabilitation services.Expand funding to require workforce centers and all DEED programs to be better able to meet the needs of people with mental illnesses searching for employment, such as training in accommodations for employers.Fund clubhouses and community support programs to carry out employment programs.HousingWithout access to safe and affordable housing, people with mental illnesses are unable to focus on their recovery. For those with serious mental illnesses, stable housing prevents repeated hospitalizations, homelessness, and even entering the criminal justice system. Section 8 Housing Vouchers and other programs like Bridges provide a lifeline for many people with a serious mental illness, but in some cases even access to subsidized or even free housing is not enough and they require additional support, skills training, and connections to mental health resources. Permanent supportive housing meets this need on an ongoing basis and allows for people with a serious mental illness to take steps towards recovery. NAMI will work to:Increase funding for Housing with Supports for Adults with Serious Mental Illness. Increase Funding for Bridges Housing.Create a landlord risk mitigation fund to incentivize property owners to rent to people with a public housing voucher and/or poor rental history.Oppose changes to customized living with a focus on the arbitrary 25% rule.Mental Health WorkforceWe cannot build our mental health system without also building our mental health workforce. In order to meet this need, Minnesota will have to address low reimbursement rates, challenges meeting licensure requirements, and the unique challenges developing a diverse workforce in rural and urban areas. NAMI will work to:Require insurance to cover treatment from a clinical trainee, a practice that is already allowed under MA.Create alternative pathways to licensure for diverse mental health professionals. Require cultural competency.Increase funding for loan-forgiveness programs for mental health professionals.Criminal JusticeWhether it’s a nuisance crime like spitting or something more serious, people with a mental illness are much more likely to have encounters with the criminal justice system that can result in a dangerous encounter with the police, time in jail, or incarceration. We need to ensure that everyone receives the mental health treatment they need in jail, prison, and as they transition back to the community. NAMI will work to:Ensure that every jail inmate with a mental illness accesses their prescription medications and is connected with a prescriber upon discharge.Allow jails with the appropriate health staff to involuntarily administer medications when an inmate already has a JARVIS order.Increase investment in diversion programs like the Yellow-Line Program.Increase funding for mental health services in prison.Increase mental health staff.Change the M’Naghten Standard/insanity defense. Increase the number of mental health release planners.Fund community competency restoration programs.Require access to ITV in jails to ensure access to mental health professionals.Require mental health training for probation officers. Require mental health training for 911 operators. Increase the use of jail diversion programs and mental health courts.Require police departments to document how they utilize their training dollars for crisis intervention, including what specific training they used and whether it was evidence-based.Fund pilot projects for police departments to connect quickly with mobile crisis teams through tablets and telehealth services.Juvenile JusticeToo many youths with mental illnesses are ending up in the juvenile justice system. NAMI Minnesota is committed to closing the school-to-prison pipeline and diverting youth before they are trapped in the juvenile justice system.Promote better data collection across jurisdictions so we can understand the scope of the problem.Promote alternatives to detention for youth, including educating judges, prosecutors, law enforcement, and school resource officers.Increase use of best practices like the crossover youth model across Minnesota for youth moving between juvenile justice and child welfare systems.Develop an interagency response team that can help navigate major crises.Support early juvenile record expungement for youth whose involvement in the juvenile justice system was for reasons related to living with a mental illness.Ensure that all juvenile courts operate using the principles of mental health courts.Civil CommitmentMinnesota’s civil commitment statute is out-of-date and does not reflect the current mental health system. NAMI convened a task force over a year ago to comprehensively review the civil commitment statute. Stakeholders included, sheriffs, hospitals, community providers, mental health professionals, counties, defense attorneys, DHS, advocacy organizations, as well as people with lived experience with the civil commitment process. After over a year of hard work, the task force is ready to introduce a comprehensive revision of the civil commitment chapter. This consensus bill:Changes outdated language.Clarifies use of JARVIS order to include other medications.States that commitment does not automatically end if 30/60/90 paperwork is lost or not properly filed.Clarifies transport and emergency holds.Replaces early intervention section with a new Engagement Service that:Targets people with mental illnesses who are developing the symptoms of a serious mental illness or those who are likely to decompensate and require commitment unless they are engaged in treatment.Requires 90 days of assertive outreach to encourage the individual to voluntarily engage in treatment and connect the person with resources.OtherTobacco Cessation: Adults and youth with mental illnesses are much more likely to be tobacco users. NAMI Minnesota is committed to decreasing the rate of tobacco use among people with mental illnesses.Ensure that Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare covers tobacco cessation services without any treatment limitations, including tobacco cessation counseling services and prescription drugs.Voter Registration: Current Minnesota election law allows for employees of residential treatment programs to vouch for the client’s residency in order to cast a ballot. NAMI proposes clarifying that the definition of residential program includes residential mental health treatment programs. Partner with the Second Chance Coalition to continue to advocate for voter rights.09/30/19 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download