The Arc of North Carolina :: North Carolina Action Alert

Please check back often and sign up for The Arc of North Carolina's E-Alert network. When action is needed, you will receive an e-mail that states the problem, presents talking points based on The Arc's position, and ways that you can respond so that your voice is heard.

Note: You must have Adobe Reader to open PDF files. Some of the links below link to PDF files. Visit www.adobe.com to get a free Reader.

April 25, 2008

MH/DD/SAS Updates

Read The Legislative Oversight Committee on MH/DD/SAS Report

April 21, 2008

MH/DD/SAS Updates

Read D. Benton's Recommendations

February 29, 2008

Breaking News!

New State MH/DD/SAS Leadership is Announced

New Leadership Team Set for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services

RALEIGH- N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dempsey Benton today announced a new leadership team for the N.C. Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services (DMH/DD/SAS). The division will be led by two co-directors, one in charge of clinical activities and the other handling administrative duties.

Mike Lancaster, M.D., who has been DMH/DD/SAS clinical policy chief since June 2004, and Leza Wainwright, who has been DMH/DD/SAS deputy director since December 2003, will fill the new roles.

"This is a large division with a complex mission," said Benton. "It is clear that we need to have strong, focused leadership on both the clinical and the administrative sides of the operation. These two professionals are uniquely qualified to fill those roles. I don’t think any one individual would have the skill set to give both the clinical and administrative functions the attention they deserve at this time."

Dr. Lancaster will provide guidance on clinical policy throughout the entire public mental health, developmental disabilities, substance abuse services system. Lancaster, who has more than 25 years clinical experience as a Board-certified Adult, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, will work with clinical staff to ensure that quality services are delivered consistently across the system.

Wainwright will focus her attention on day-to-day administrative operations of the division, including overseeing budgeting, personnel and relationships with the local management entities that manage community service delivery.

The N.C. Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services oversees delivery of services to over 315,000 people a year and has an annual budget of $2.3 billion. It is by far the largest division in DHHS, accounting for almost 12,000 of the department’s 19,000 employees. The Division also oversees four regional psychiatric hospitals, four developmental disabilities centers, three substance abuse treatment centers, a specialty nursing facility for consumers with mental illness, a specialty nursing facility for consumers with developmental disabilities and two residential facilities for children with emotional disturbances.

Public Affairs Office
101 Blair Drive, Raleigh, NC 27603
(919)733-9190
FAX (919)733-7447
Debbie Crane
Director

Keep up-to-date on issues important to the disability community on The Arc of NC's Blog: www.thearcnc.blogspot.com

February 22, 2008

Breaking News!

State MH/DD/SAS Director Retires

On February 22, 2008 Mike Moseley, State MH/DD/SAS Director, announced his retirement. Press Release

February 22, 2008

E-Alert

Coalition Candidate Forum

We hope you have made plans to attend the Candidate Forum. It is critical that the developmental disability community is represented.

THE COALITION CANDIDATE FORUM

FEBRUARY 25, 2008

8:30 am - 5:30 pm

Lunch break - 12:10 pm to 1 pm

RBC CENTER - Arena Club

LIST OF CANDIDATES ATTENDING: Dan Besse, Walter Dalton, Hampton Dellinger, Bill Graham, Richard Moore, Dennis Nielsen, Bob Orr, Beverly Perdue, Pat Smathers, Fred Smith

Please come for as much of the day as you are able. However if you are not able to attend, Julia Leggett, Policy Coordinator for The Arc of NC, will be blogging the Candidate Forum live throughout the day at: www.thearcnc.blogspot.com

FORMAT- Each candidate has his or her own 40-minute time period. We have invited each candidate to make an opening statement and then address four pre-written questions, leaving 5-10 minutes at the end for audience questions. The audience will submit questions on cards that will be distributed. Due to an agreement with the candidates, we are not able to furnish a schedule of the specific candidate time slots.

LOCATION - RBC Center in Raleigh - Arena Club. Park in the lot by Carter-Finley Stadium, and follow the signs to the VIP Entrance which is next to the box office. Take the elevator to the second floor and the event is in the Arena Club.

The RBC Center is easily accessible and conveniently located adjacent to Carter Finley Stadium and the NC State Fairgrounds just off I-40 and I-440. There will be RBC personnel who can direct you once you enter the facility. For directions to The RBC Center visit the website at: www.rbccenter.com. There is no charge for parking.

LOGISTICS - Lunch will be available for purchase in The Deck during the lunch break. There will be beverages available throughout the morning and afternoon portions of the Forum.

This event is free and open to the public - registration not necessary.

Please join us to hear and be heard during this important election year!

The Coalition consist of individuals and organizations working together to meet the needs of North Carolinians living with mental illness, developmental disabilities, and the disease of addiction.

Coalition Candidate Forum

February 25

8:00-5:00 PM

Please come and represent the developmental disability community. Let the candidates know that the DD community matters, and VOTES. The candidates need to see a full house so that they recognize that earning the disability vote matters!

The Coalition is hosting a Candidate Forum from 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM at the RBC Center in Raleigh. All major party candidates for Governor and Lt. Governor are being invited to attend and participate in this forum.

Each candidate will be offered 30-45 minutes to come before those attending the forum and address various issues relating to mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse. Candidates will be given time for a brief statement, be given four questions on topics we suggest they address, and will then have some time for moderated audience questions. This is NOT a debate. Candidates will each have their own time slot. Please join us to hear and be heard during this important election year. This event is free and open to the public - registration not necessary.

Already scheduled to attend are: Fred Smith, Pat Smathers, Bob Orr, Hampton Dellinger, Walter Dalton, and Bev Perdue

Even if you cannot attend the entire day, please come for a few hours. It is critical that the candidates see a good turnout so they understand how important disability issues are and that the disability community VOTES!

While registration is not required, The Arc of NC would like to know if you are planning on attending. Please e-mail lguzman@arcnc.org to let her know you are coming.

Directions to the RBC Center are available on the RBC Center web site at: www.rbccenter.com/ In the top right hand corner, you will see a link to directions. You can also find maps etc from that link.

The Coalition consist of individuals and organizations working together to meet the needs of North Carolinians living with mental illness, developmental disabilities, and the disease of addiction.

The Division of MH/DD/SAS has been working on the new waivers. As you may recall from our last E-Alert, the current CAP-MR/DD waiver expires in August 2008 and the Legislature has mandated the development of tiered waivers. The state has requested and is expected to receive authority to extend the current waiver until the end of December 2008 in order to have adequate time to develop a waiver plan that best meets the needs of North Carolinians.

The development of tiered waivers will mean that the waiver that a person receives will be based on their support needs; i.e. Tier 1 will support people with greater independence and less support needs while Tier 4 will serve people with medical fragility and significant behavioral support needs.

The Arc continues to advocate for more flexibility in the waivers, the ability for families and individuals to self direct their supports and services, and for more ability for the Local Management Entities (LMEs) to manage the waivers. To date, the Division has been receptive to input and is attempting to make the waivers user-friendly.

We want to continue to provide positive and rational feedback on how to make the waivers work best for individuals and families. To that end, we really want to know your thoughts. For now the feedback that would be most helpful is your thoughts on what is currently working, what is hopelessly broken, and what needs to be repaired with the current waiver. Please let us know what you want to see in the new waivers so that we can formulate our advocacy position.

Send an e-mail to lguzman@arcnc.org with what you would like to see with new waivers. Your ideas and suggestions will be used to shape our positions and advocacy as the new waivers are developed.

As drafts of the new waiver plan begin to emerge we will make sure you have the information and we'll make sure you know how to provide your input and feedback. For those of you who are not familiar with the waiver, we have created an Information Page on our website.