Our Collaborations:

Children's Mental Health STEPS (Solutions to End Psychiatric Shortages) Campaign

The Children's Mental Health STEPS (Solutions to End Psychiatric Shortages) Campaign is a multi-year effort of the New York State Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors, in collaboration with SCAA, to improve access to child and adolescent psychiatrists. One in five children has a diagnosable mental or emotional disorder but nearly two-thirds of them go without treatment.  The shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists forces most children to go without treatment or see other practitioners who may not have training or experience to appropriately treat them. There are less than 900 child and adolescent psychiatrists in New York State and almost half of the counties in the state have none.  What can our state do to address this problem?  SCAA and the New York State Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors hosted a Legislative Roundtable on Sept. 10, 2007 to provide opportunities for policy makers, advocates, service providers and families to participate in the development of solutions to end psychiatric shortages in New York.

March 2008 policy paper A Crisis of Care: Addressing the Shortage of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists in New York State                                                                 


Sept. 27, 2007 Roundtable Resources:

Appendix A: Prevalence and Numbers of Child Psychiatrists in New York State, Chart by New York State Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors, 2005

Total Number of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists by County, 2001 Map by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Assessing and Addressing the Need for Child Psychiatry in NYS, Powerpoint by the Center for Human Services Research and the Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors

Childhood Mental Health Strategies for Rural NYS, Powerpoint by Thomas C. Rosenthal MD, Director, NYS AHEC System; Editor of the Journal of Rural Health; Professor and Chair University of Buffalo Dept. of Family Medicine

The Shortage of Child Psychiatrists in the U.S.: Causes and Solutions, Powerpoint by Gregory Fritz, MD, Bradley Hospital; Hasbro Children’s Hospital Brown Medical School


                                                                

Home is Where the Start Is

In November 2006, the Horace Hagedorn Foundation funded SCAA to “provide the public policy and education groundwork for creating a universal home visiting program in New York State.”  In October 2007, SCAA and the Home is Where the Start Is workgroup published Universal Prenatal/Postpartum Care and Home Visitation: The Plan for an Ideal System in New York State. The paper was the result of two years of meetings and discussions between state agency staff, home visiting programs, and early care and education advocates, including representatives from Healthy Families NY, the Nurse-Family Partnership, Parent-Child Home, Early Head Start, the New York State Office of Mental Health’s New Mothers Wellness Project, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) and various local health departments, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the New York State branch of the American College of OB-GYNs.

Upon publication of the white paper, the Home is Where the Start Is workgroup convened a smaller advocacy arm that has shared the proposal’s recommendations with the Governor’s Office and relevant state agencies. The statewide coalitions Winning Beginning NY and New York CAN (Children’s Action Network) came out in support of the proposal and will continue to support the budget requests as part of their gubernatorial and legislative agendas.

SCAA has shared its vision with other states by presenting the proposal at the Child Welfare League of America’s Annual Conference in September 2007. SCAA also hosted a Legislative Breakfast on December 6, 2007 in Albany. This event unveiled the policy paper to legislative staff and served to educate them about the proposed plan for a universal system. Representatives from Healthy Families NY, the Nurse-Family Partnership, Parent-Child Home, and Early Head Start presented, further educating legislative staff about their particular programs.

New York Children's Action Network

The New York Children's Action Network (New York CAN) is a broad-based initiative that brings together a variety of coalitions, organizations, and individuals all concerned about the issues affecting children and families with the goal of elevating the importance of supporting all children in New York State.

Vision: New York is a state that provides every child an opportunity to become a healthy, educated, productive, and responsible adult.

Mission: To be a unified and powerful voice to improve the lives of all of New York's children, youth, and families through the promotion of adequate resources and changes in policies and practices.

Goals: 1) To mobilize public will, 2) to foster investments in children, 3) to elevate children's issues as a priority with elected officials, administrators and candidates, and 4) to serve as a clearinghouse.

Who can participate? Every group, organization or individual in New York State who cares about children and their families.  Visit the New York CAN website for further information.

New York State Coalition for Adult Home Reform

Deplorable conditions in some adult homes serving New Yorkers with psychiatric disabilities have long been known to advocates and policymakers. SCAA, in conjunction with the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in New York State (NAMI-NYS) formed the Adult Homes Work Group in 1999 to improve the quality of life for adults with psychiatric disabilities residing in adult homes.

At a June 22, 2000 Adult Homes conference, which SCAA co-sponsored, the Work Group released There's No Place Like Home: Recommendations for Improving the Quality of Life in Adult Homes Serving People With Mental Illness. Following the conference, a smaller subset of stakeholders continued to meet, and the New York State Coalition for Adult Home Reform (NYSCAHR) became the outgrowth of the original workgroup. The Coalition is co-chaired by SCAA and the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services, and is an affiliation of mental health, social policy, legal and lay groups. The misson of NYSCAHR is to fundamentally change the living conditions, care and treatment for people with psychiatric disabilities who currently live in adult homes.

The Coalition meets on a regular basis and has developed numerous recommendations for adult home reform.  Since its formation, NYSCAHR has successfully advocated for an increase in the state portion of the Supplemental Security Income that people living in adult homes receive, and for the implementation of independent case management and peer specialist programs for people with psychiatric disabilities living in adult homes. 

Recent documents and additional adult home reform resources can be found on the Adult Home Reform page. Visit the Press Coverage page for additional adult home related news articles.

Adult Home residents speaking out at an April 5, 2005 lobby day for an increase in the personal needs allowance,  independent case managment services, and additional  residential service improvements. Click on image for a larger view. (photo: Sara P. Harmon)

New York State Community Health Partnership

The New York State Community Health Partnership (NYSCHP) was formed in 1997 when key leaders and organizations from the public and private sectors recognized that improving community health is best carried out in localities, but supported by a statewide infrastructure that includes more than government. NYSCHP is a unique collective that includes business, community organizations, education, government, health, philanthropic organizations, and the faith community. NYSCHP members agree to transform and strengthen the public health infrastructure at state and local levels to improve the health and well being of New York's communities. Partners also believe in focusing on outcomes to impact community health.

The goal of NYSCHP is to mobilize communities, address statewide public health infrastructure issues and identify the need of local partners for assistance related to implementing community health improvement projects. NYSCHP is a long-term project whose members agree to serve as catalysts and facilitators for health improvement activities throughout New York State. NYSCHP also serves as the steering committee of the NYS Turning Point Project funded by the Kellogg Foundation.

Timothy's Law Campaign   Timothy's Law passed!  See press coverage here.

Timothy's Law Campaign works for health insurance parity for mental health and chemical dependency coverage.  Named after Timothy O' Clair, a 12 year old victim of mental health insurance discrimination, the Campaign includes more than 200 organizations statewide endorsing the passage of Timothy's Law - legislation to ensure that mental health and chemical dependency coverage is provided by insureers and HMO's on terms comparable to other health care and medical services.

Timothy's Book: Real Stories about the Cost of Health Insurance Discrimination Against Mental Illness & Chemical Dependency is available in a PDF file here.

For more information about Timothy O' Clair and the Campaign, visit the Timothy's Law website.

NYS Senator Liz Krueger, Assemblyman Paul D. Tonko and Assemblyman Peter M. Rivera reading stories from Timothy's Book at the May 4, 2004 vigil in Albany. Timothy's parents Donna and Tom O'Clair are to their right. Click on image for a larger view. (photo: Sara P. Harmon)

Winning Beginning NY

Beginning in 1997, under the moniker The Center for Early Care and Education, SCAA has advocated for universal prekindergarten and early learning opportunities in New York State. Winning Beginning NY is the current coalition arm for these efforts, formed from a January 2007 merger of the Child Care That Works Campaign and the Emergency Coalition to Save Universal Pre-Kindergarten. It is a statewide coalition representing more than 60 organizations working to inform policy-makers and the public about the many benefits of early learning and early care to children, families and society. The coalition aims to build a broad-based constituency to make investment in quality early care and education a top public priority in New York State. Winning Beginning NY is co-convened by the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy, Child Care, Inc., the New York State Child Care Coordinating Council, and the New York State Association for the Education of Young Children.

On July 19, 2007, Winning Beginning NY received a national "Pre-K Champion" award from Pre-K Now, for the following accomplishments: Successfully advocating this year for a $146 million increase in state pre-k funding to raise the overall annual committment to $446 million, enabling provision of pre-k placements for close to 40% of children statewide; conducting a statewide grassroots campaign to educate the public and policymakers of the benefits of pre-k, along with a media campaign that netted coverage in news outlets throughout the state; and publishing The Best in the Nation: A Plan for Early Care and Education, a sweeping policy statement outlining the means and benefits of raising the quality, coordination, and investment into New York's early childhood system.