NJAMHAA-70th-anniversary-publication

50 Professional Development In the 1980s, NJAMHAA’s main focus was holding four conferences each year, and each event had 40 to 50 attendees. “NJAMHAA’s initial contributions were the confer- ences. They allowed us to establish the brand of NJAMHAA as a pro- fessional development entity and provide opportunities for peo- ple to get to know us,” said Joe Masciandaro, MA, President and CEO of CarePlus NJ and a former NJAMHAA Board Chair. “Professional de- velopment continues to be a great contribution that NJAMHAA makes annually.” From the mid- to late- 1990s until 2019, NJAM- HAA had been holding three conferences that attract triple the number of attendees compared to the early days. Two-day spring conferences and one-day fall con- ferences each year have featured diverse experts who presented on policy, operational, fiscal and clinical topics, and annual IT con- ferences hosted by the IT Project have provided tools to ensure data security, clients’ confidentiality and organizations’ protection from cyberattacks. In addition, multiple series of workshops were created and presented as training needs arose. For example, billing and management trainings were offered to assist providers with the transition from contract funding to fee-for-service reimbursement, and workshops were held to prepare providers for working with managed care organizations. The IT Project has been offering webinars throughout the year on numerous tech- nology-related topics, ranging from new soft- ware options, such as Microsoft Power BI and SharePoint, to privacy laws and regulations, as well as billing. In 2020, the pandem- ic required that the spring conferences be postponed to the fall and presented virtual- ly. NJAMHAA not only made the transition, Members Also Benefit from Training, Networking and Technical expertise “NJAMHAA’s initial contributions were the conferences. They allowed us to establish the brand of NJAMHAA as a professional development entity and provide opportunities for people to get to know us. Professional development continues to be a great contribution that NJAMHAA makes annually.” – Joe Masciandaro, Former NJAMHAA Board Chair Debra Wentz, Ron Manderscheid, PhD, Executive Director, National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors (left) and NJAMHAA member Jim Cooney, 2016