COALITION RALLY IN RICHMOND

Monday, January 21, 2008
10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Join Other Advocates in Richmond at the Coalition Rally!

Place Saint Paul's Episcopal Church Southwest Corner of 9th and Grace Streets

Purpose Learn About the Issues. Meet With Your Legislators and Tell Your Story

PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS

Mental Health America of Virginia, NAMI Virginia, Parents & Associates of the Institutionalized Retarded (PAIR), People First of Virginia, Psychiatric Society of Virginia, Substance Abuse & Addiction Recovery Alliance of Virginia (SAARA), The Arc of Virginia, VaACCSES, Virginia Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists, Virginia Federation of Families, Virginia Network of Private Providers (VNPP), Virginia Organization of Consumers Asserting Leadership (VOCAL), Virginia Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association, Virginia Rehabilitation Association, Voices for Virginia's Children

LOCATION OF THE RALLY

The Rally will be held at Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, which is located on the southwest corner of 9th and Grace Streets. The Rally will include speeches, briefings and distribution of materials. After the Rally is over, we will walk in a group to the General Assembly Building to meet with our legislators. The General Assembly Building is at the corner of Broad and 9th Streets and is entered from the plaza off 9th Street. You can find a map of the Capitol area at http://deb.dgs.state.va.us/. Click on "Capitol Square: Complex Map" on left-hand side of the page.

DIRECTIONS TO RALLY SITE

APPROACHING RICHMOND FROM THE NORTH OR SOUTH: Take I-95 to the Broad Street West exit. Proceed West on Broad Street. Find the nearest parking to the Capitol grounds.

APPROACHING RICHMOND FROM EAST OR WEST: Take I-64 to I-95 South. Take I-95 to the Broad Street West exit. Proceed West on Broad Street. Find the nearest parking to the Capitol grounds.

NOTE: Parking in Richmond on streets is difficult at any time, especially when the General Assembly is in session. There are many good parking lots and garages nearby; they are cheaper than parking tickets.

SPECIAL SATELLITE PARKING FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

For individuals who will be traveling to the Rally in a van and who may have difficulty dropping off participants at the Rally site, the Richmond Behavioral Health Authority (RBHA) has generously arranged for satellite parking and shuttle service to the Coalition Rally. Consumers and direct support staff who need an area to rest or use restrooms may do so in the lobby of RBHA.

Satellite parking will be located at 107 South 5th Street. Shuttle service will be available from 9:30 AM until 10:15 AM to the Coalition Rally at St. Paul's Episcopal Church. Shuttle service will offer return trips from St. Paul's to RBHA from 11:00 AM until 11:45 AM.

For questions or additional information, please contact Beth Rafferty at (804) 819-4027. Beth can be reached on the day of the Rally on her pager at (804) 659-1675.

GET READY FOR YOUR VISIT TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY BUILDING

Capitol regulations do not permit signs on posts or sticks. Hand-held signs or banners are permitted.

Prepare for security requirements similar to airline security at the General Assembly building. You will walk through a metal detector and your belongings may be inspected.

VISIT YOUR DELEGATE & SENATOR!

The Rally is a great opportunity to visit your representatives and other members of the General Assembly. Thank them for their past support and let them know that many individuals with mental disabilities are still in need of help. Leave your name, address and a brief statement with the aide if your representative is not there.

COALITION FOR VIRGINIANS WITH MENTAL DISABILITIES

2025 East Main Street, Suite 107, Richmond, VA 23223

2008 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

MEETING URGENT NEEDS AND BUILDING COMMUNITY CAPACITY

The Coalition commends the Governor and members of the General Assembly for helping people with disabilities obtain the services and supports they need to live successfully in the community. The cost of inappropriate or no treatment and lack of supports far exceeds the cost of appropriate treatment and supports. The major roadblock to meeting individual needs and preventing crises is a serious lack of community capacity.

PRIORITY BUDGET ISSUES

MENTAL HEALTH / SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER / CO-OCCURRING CONDITION SERVICES

• Support funding in the introduced budget of $14.6 M for increased capacity for rapid stabilization services for children and adults who have urgent needs and who, without outpatient treatment, would be at risk of involuntary inpatient treatment or incarceration.
• Support funding in the introduced budget of $4.5 M and provide an additional $7 M to expand the capacity of outpatient counseling and psychiatric services, reduce the waiting period, and facilitate early intervention and crisis prevention.
• Provide an additional $28 M for intensive community services and supports to strengthen community stability including housing, medications and local inpatient purchase of services. These services will reduce the need for urgent/crisis care, especially out-of-community placements.
• Support funding in the introduced budget of $8.8 M for MH/SA case managers to facilitate access to services.
• Support funding in the introduced budget of $6 M for jail diversion programs and provide an additional $7.5 M for 10 new jail diversion pilots using all components of the Sequential Intercept Model.
• Provide $1.68 M for 10 Drug Treatment Court Programs that currently do not receive state funding.
• Provide $597,000 for 3 Family Drug Treatment Court Programs. (Alexandria, Charlottesville, Newport News)
• Provide $6.5 M for peer provided or consumer run recovery and support services that support recovery and relapse prevention.
• Provide $5.5 M to increase the availability of assertive community treatment modalities such as Intensive Community Treatment (ICT) and Programs of Assertive Community Treatment (PACT). Consumers served by these programs used 76% fewer state hospital days after enrollment, 92% had no arrests during the year, and 83% experienced stable housing situations.

CHILD, ADOLESCENT & FAMILY SERVICES

• Support funding in the introduced budget of $5.8 M for outpatient services to children not eligible under CSA.
• Provide $6.8 M to serve additional infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities in recognition of a consistent 8% growth in referral to Part C/Early Intervention services.
• Provide $6 M for 12 additional Systems of Care projects that wrap services around youth with MH/MR, MH/SA, MH/MR/SA using a variety of evidence-based practices designed to assist families and youth, keeping families intact and avoiding out-of-home placements to the greatest extent possible.
• Provide $4.8 M for evidence-based prevention models designed to reduce youth underage alcohol consumption and resultant high-risk behaviors. When compared with other states, Virginia's underage consumption is currently among the highest in the nation .

INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES SERVICES

• Support funding in the introduced budget of $7.2 M for 150 MR Waiver slots and add $66.7 M for an additional 1,450 slots for a total of 1,600 MR Waiver slots over the biennium for people on the Urgent Care Wait List. Provide $5.1 M for start-up funds for 1,600 MR Waiver slots.
• Provide $10 M for services for 1,000 people not receiving services through the MR Waiver.
• Provide $57.1 M to implement a 4.2% annual cost of living inflator in Medicaid waiver rates to ensure the availability and choice of providers to meet the needs of people with disabilities.
• Earmark $50 M in state capital funding to expand creative, flexible community housing options.

ALL DISABILITIES

Housing

• Implement the portability of Auxiliary Housing grants (no new funds are needed for this request) to allow eligible individuals to live in the least restrictive and most integrated setting available. Invest in supportive housing models that offer affordable, integrated housing with community-based supports.

Employment

• Provide $1.8 M to eliminate the DRS Order of Selection (wait list) and provide employment opportunities for 500 eligible individuals so they can work and live independently in the community.
• Restore the $264,000 cut for employment support services to 132 Virginians with disabilities participating in the Extended Employment Services (EES) and Long Term Employment Support Services (LTESS). Eliminating employment opportunities for Virginia taxpayers with disabilities does not make economic sense.
• Provide $3 M for Long Term Employment Support Services (LTESS) for 1,500 people with disabilities who want to become employed and need innovative employment supports to remain employed, contribute to the tax base, and live in the community.
• Adjust the Medicaid waiver individual supported employment rate to enable waiver participants to become employed. Less than ½ of 1% of waiver participants are employed. Rates must parallel SE rates assigned by DRS to individual ESOs to satisfy Commonwealth procurement laws.

Aging Services

• Provide $26.5 M for additional Geriatric System of Care demonstration projects to create a community-based system of care for seniors with significant infirmities of aging and MI, MI/MR or SUD and to fully fund the Tidewater area and Northern Virginia Systems of Care projects.

Access to Services

• Provide $1.8 M to fully fund 10 existing deaf services providers who serve children and adults with mental disabilities who are deaf, deaf-blind and hearing impaired and increase funds for the Interpreter Fund.
• Provide $42 M to increase Medicaid eligibility to 100% of Federal poverty level so that people with disabilities have access to health care and other support services needed to work and live in the community.

Getting Ready for the Rally

The Coalition for Virginians with Mental Disabilities will hold its annual General Assembly Rally on Monday, January 21 at 10 AM in St. Paul's Church in Richmond. Put the date on your calendar and plan your transportation. In addition, there are five more things you need to do beforehand to be ready for the Rally.

1. Find out who represents you in the Virginia Senate and Virginia House of Delegates. If you have Internet access, you can get this information at http://legis.state.va.us. Otherwise, call your local voter registration office and they can give you the information. Write down their home district mailing address, their e-mail address and their Richmond office phone number. Note: If you are represented by a legislator who is retiring, you will not want to contact him; you want to contact his replacement. Your voter registration office can help you determine who your new Senator or Delegate will be and how to reach him. Retiring Senators: Williams, Rerras, Lambert, Hawkins, Bell, Potts, Chichester, Devolites Davis, O'Brien. Retiring Delegates: Dudley, Hurt, Welch, Callahan, McQuigg, Waddell, Reid, McEachin, Wardrup, Rapp.

2. Review the Coalition's legislative agenda. As usual, it primarily focuses on increased funding for services to people with mental illness, mental retardation, and substance use disorders.

3. Contact your legislator by letter or by e-mail to let him or her know you will be in Richmond on January 21 and would appreciate the opportunity to meet with either the legislator or the legislative aide. Let them know that you are especially interested in funding for mental health, mental retardation, and substance use disorder services. Include a few words about why this is of interest to you. Invite your legislator to join you at the Rally between 10 AM and 11 AM at St. Paul's Church.

4. The week of January 14, call your legislator's office in Richmond to remind them that you will be in Richmond the following week and are looking forward to seeing them. Remind your legislator that they are welcome to attend the Rally and you hope to see them there.

5. Plan and rehearse what you will say to your legislators or to their aides when you visit them. Connect what you say to the budget and legislation that are under consideration. You may want to put it in writing for them.

Hit a snag or have a question? Call one of the participating organizations listed below or your local Community Services Board. They will be able to steer you in the right direction.

See you in Richmond on Monday, January 21!

PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS

Mental Health America of Virginia, NAMI Virginia, Parents & Associates of the Institutionalized Retarded (PAIR), People First of Virginia, Psychiatric Society of Virginia, Substance Abuse & Addiction Recovery Alliance of Virginia (SAARA), The Arc of Virginia, VaACCSES, Virginia Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists, Virginia Federation of Families, Virginia Network of Private Providers (VNPP), Virginia Organization of Consumers Asserting Leadership (VOCAL), Virginia Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association, Virginia Rehabilitation Association, Voices for Virginia's Children