NJAMHAA-70th-anniversary-publication

17 2005 - The Task Force’s recommendations resulted in the FY2006 State Budget including a $40 million increase in funding for many behavioral health services and the creation of the $200 million Special Needs Housing Trust Fund. - The IT Project launched the Benchmarking for Best Practices Initiative and IT Hero awards program. 2005 - The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline was established. 2006 - First Lady of New Jersey Mary Jo Codey was instrumental in the passage of New Jersey’s Postpartum Depression Screening and Education Law. - Twitter was introduced and quickly grew in its use for sharing news, including behavioral health topics. 2006 - NJAMHAA met with Congressmen Rush Holt and Patrick Kennedy to develop strategies for gaining passage of federal mental health parity legislation. - The Courage & Compassion Awards were created in 2006 as a component of the advocacy campaign with the same theme. “NJAMHAA leveraged relationships with legislators to elevate the voice of communities in need during the pandemic.” – Susan Loughery, Current NJAMHAA Board Chair its first paid staff member - Dominic A. Colangelo, ACSW, Executive Director – on a part-time basis. Also in 1975, nearly 75 percent of mental health care was provided in the community versus institutions. This was a complete turnaround from 1955. Soon afterwards, A Manual for Reform of New Jersey’s Mental Health Care System was published, focus- ing on achieving dignity, self-determination and community integration for individuals with mental illness; Alcoholics Anonymous published the third edition of Big Book and reached a total circulation of 19.5 million; President Jimmy Carter established the President’s Commission on Mental Health, the first comprehensive survey of mental health care since the 1950s; and the National Alliance on Mental Illness was established. In 1978, Regional Children’s Crisis Intervention Service units were established in New Jersey. In the 1980s, President Carter passed the Mental Health System Act, which is considered landmark legislation in mental healthcare policy even though President Ronald Reagan repealed most of the law. Unfortunately, during this decade, federal support for treatment began to decline and the number of incarcerated drug users began to increase. On a positive note, later in the 1980s, the Mental Health Block Grant was created under the enactment of the Federal Omnibus Reconciliation Act. While these clinical and policy achievements were being made, NJAMHAA partnered with the State Division of Mental Health Services (DMHS) in 1984 to