Archive of News Items

Recent news items can be
found on the News & Updates page.

Guest Column in City Times (St Petersburg Times local weekly) written by Board member Lisa Kane DeVitto

Funding is top challenge in battling homelessness

Dr. Alex Rodriguez Presents to the
Gubernatorial Task Force on Campus Security

Read Dr. Rodriguez's Public Testimony

Health and Human Services Appropriations House Healthcare Council - Budget Recommendations

Health and Human Services Appropriations - House Healthcare Council Budget Recommendations of the Florida Council for Community Mental Health (83k)
Health and Human Services Appropriations - Budget Recommendations Talking Points (PDF, 74k)
Florida’s Public Mental Health and Substance Abuse System - By the Numbers (PDF, 50k)

Op-Ed Piece on Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment Crisis in the Criminal Justice Systems - December 12, 2006

Read the Op-Ed piece

Medicaid Waiver Application

Medicaid Waiver Application Comments by the Florida Peer Network (Adobe PDF, 197k)
Medicaid Waiver Application Comments by the Corporation: Letters to Secretary Levine on September 28th (Adobe PDF, 152k) and September 29th (Adobe PDF, 132k)
Link to Medicaid Reform Waiver Proposal

Children's Mental Health Voice Summit

Read the report from the Children's Mental Health Voice Summit (PDF, 307k)

Mental Health Transformation Grant - Update

SAMHSA News Release regarding Transformation Grant applications
Transformation Grant Application (Adobe PDF, 1.54MB)

NAMI Florida Announces Prescription Drug Helpline

The Helpline number is 1-800-436-6001

Call between 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM Monday - Friday. Two options are active: one for consumers and families, and the other for providers/physicians.

Florida Self-Directed Care Program Website

The Florida Self-Directed Care program (FloridaSDC) is a service delivery strategy designed to give participants the opportunity to design and travel a personalized road to recovery. Through this journey, the adverse effects of mental illness are diminished, so that participants may achieve or return to a productive lifestyle. Service and support selections are participant-drive. FloridaSDC seeks to maximize each participant's ability to control important decisions about how he or she will manage his/her own personal recovery. The program encourages individuals to learn to live life as fully, independently, and productively as possible, and to take responsibility for their choices and the consequences of these choices. In doing so, patterns of dependency on formal systems of care are decreased or eliminated. Instead, participants experience increased self-control and self-efficacy, and enjoy greater use of natural and community supports. To sum, the goal of FloridaSDC is to promote each participant’s ability to set and achieve personal mental wellness and productivity goals, thereby enhancing each participant’s quality of life.

The website for the Florida Self-Directed Care Program is www.flsdc.org.

Noteworthy

Letter to Governor Bush, expressing the Corporation's support of Dr. Dean Aufderheide for an appointment to the Florida Board of Psychology (PDF, 113k)
Letters to Secretaries Hadi, McDonough, and Schembri, dated July 6, 2006 (PDFs, each 119k)
Letters to the 2006 Candidates for Governor of Florida (Charlie Crist, Jim Davis, Tom Gallagher, and Rod Smith; PDFs, each 117k)
Department of Elder Affairs Master Plan Public Hearing, February 20, 2006, Report (PDF, 138k)
DCF's Final Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Plan Update 2006 (PDF, 1.5MB)
Letter to Representative Galvano regarding creation of Children's Cabinet (PDF, 117k)
Stephanie W. Colston appointed Director of DCF Substance Abuse program
Letter sent from the Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities, Inc., to SAMH Corp Chairman David Miller (Adobe PDF, 62k)
Letter sent to Ken DeCerchio regarding employing a Transformation Facilitator on November 3, 2005 (Adobe PDF, 119k)
Letter sent to Governor Bush on October 19, 2005 (Adobe PDF, 130k)
Letter to Governor Bush regarding Substance Abuse Services Waiting List (Adobe PDF, 121k) and Waiting List Table from June 2004 to May 2005 (Adobe PDF, 47k)
Implementing a Recovery and Resilience-Based System in Florida (Adobe PDF, 808k)
Statewide Summit Info from the Children's Mental Health Voice
Letters Mailed on September 1, 2005, to Secretaries Agwunobi (114k), Crosby (113k), Green (112k), Hadi (113k), Levine (108k), Schembri (112k), and Winn (112k) (all PDF files).
Letter of Appreciation from Monroe County Substance Abuse and Mental Health Planning Council (Adobe PDF, 246k)
"From Maintenance to Recovery: A Transformation in Florida's Approach to Treating Mental Illness" by Senator Burt Saunders (Adobe PDF, 40k)
Links to Statutes discussed in recent meetings:
- Part III of Chapter 394
- Part IV of Chapter 394
- Section 453 of Chapter 394
- Chapter 397
Letter to Secretary Levine on July 29, 2005, regarding Medicaid Budget Request (Adobe PDF, 71k)
Letter to Secretary Schembri on July 28, 2005, regarding DJJ Funding (Adobe PDF, 116k)
Letter to Secretary Hadi on July 28, 2005, regarding Budget Recommendations (Adobe PDF, 50k)
Letter to Secretaries Hadi and Levine on July 28, 2005, regarding Managed Care (Adobe PDF, 45k)
Letter to Secretaries Hadi and Levine on July 18, 2005, regarding Data (Adobe PDF, 116k)
Click here to download the Corporation's Annual Report (Adobe PDF, 1013k)
Click here to download the Memorandum of Agreement (Adobe PDF, 968k)
Comparison of the Florida Medicaid HMO Contract and the Florida Prepaid Mental Health Plan Contract (Acrobat file, 712k)
Preliminary Recommendations and Findings on Medicaid Behavioral Managed Healthcare
Letter to Governor Bush regarding Medicaid Behavioral Managed Healthcare
Letter from the Florida Substance Abuse and Mental Health Corporation to Lucy Hadi and Alan Levine regarding Data Committee

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