NJAMHAA-70th-anniversary-publication

24 to do. An early example of NJAMHAA’s impact is the passage of a dozen state bills in 2014 that includ- ed NJAMHAA’s recommendations and were either signed into law or passed by one or both houses. The goals of this legislation were to increase funding for SUD treatment, expand oversight of state facilities and physicians by state agencies, and reevaluate the state’s educational efforts to address prevention and recovery in the community. Another prominent example of NJAMHAA’s effective advocacy was the enactment of the federal Excel- lence in Mental Health Act, which created a Certi- fied Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) demonstration program, in 2014. Seven NJAMHAA member agen- cies were select- ed for this initial project. Over the following eight years, eight more members received grant funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to create CCBHCs and several of the earlier se- lected agencies received expansion grants. Again, NJAMHAA played a significant role in securing this additional federal support. Several advances occurred in New Jersey in 2015, all of which involved NJAMHAA’s advocacy. A bill allowing individuals receiving medication assisted treatment to enroll in Drug Court was signed into law as a statewide program. In addition, Governor Chris Christie signed into law a bill that requires the Department of Corrections and the Department of Human Services (DHS) to share the authority over prison-based treatment centers, as well as a bill that aims to improve conditions in boarding homes and other shelters. NJAMHAA persuaded the Depart- ment of Children and Families (DCF) to rescind most of the provisions of the Social Service Language Amendments, which DHS also agreed to do in 2016. These amendments restricted providers’ flexible use of their funds to provide staff training, purchase vehicles and meet other business needs. NJAMHAA also played a large role in shaping legislation for the expansion of Early Intervention Support Services and screening centers. Also in 2016, the federal government enacted the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), the first major federal legislation in 40 years focused on SUD treatment and the most comprehensive ef- fort undertaken to address the opioid crisis. The 21st Century Cures Act was also signed into law with numerous provisions for increasing ac- cess to mental illness and SUD prevention and treatment services. During the same year, the Excellence in Mental Health and Addiction Treat- ment Expansion Act brought providers $1.1 billion, the largest investment into the community behavioral health system in more than a generation, to continue operation of existing CCBHCs and create additional CCBHCs. Additional significant examples of NJAMHAA’s im- pact came about in 2017. The association persuaded DMHAS to postpone transitioning Community Sup- port Services from contract-based funding to fee-for- service (FFS) reimbursement. NJAMHAA’s advocacy strongly contributed to the passing of a law that established the Independent Fee-for-Service Tran- sition Oversight Board, to which several NJAMHAA members were appointed, and required a study of the adequacy of FFS rates. Governor Christie signed into law a five-day limit on initial opioid prescriptions in February 2017.