From The Gatekeeper!

On Wednesday, St. Luke’s Community Services received confirmation that the Governor’s budget for FY 16 & 17 has completely eliminated Gatekeeper program funding, which adversely affects St. Luke’s, along with several other social services agencies in CT, and at-risk older adults in all of our local communities.
Dwight Norwood

So, we ask our many colleagues and community supporters to please carefully read the budget notice which appears below and respond accordingly in whatever manner you feel appropriate. Of course, we encourage you to contact your local legislator or consider appearing to testify on March 6th at the Legislative Office Building in support of restoring the Gatekeeper budget line item. Obviously therer are budget cuts that greatly impact older adults (age 60+) who rely on programs though both DMHAS and DSS, so this is a double edged “axe” indeeed. Aside from cutting mental health services, the dubling of the cost share for the CT Home Care Program for Elders compounds program and service access problems for some of our state’s most at-risk and vulnerable citizens, particularly those with mental and behavioral health issues in need of care and management.

Is it not incredible that as a society we are spending tens of millions of dollars each year to assist persons living in nursing homes with returning to the community and yet we continue to financially undermine many essential community-based front-line services and programs that help older adults at the very beginning of the community long-term care spectrum which in fact help prevent premature and/or unnecessary institutionalization? Financial support for programs and services for older adults like Gatekeeper, Friendly Visitors & Grocery Shoppers and Volunteer Transportation, the CT Home Care Program for Elders, all are getting whittled away at a time when more and more older adults are living and left fending for themselves alone. Not mention, many of these programs and services provide necessary relief to an already rapidly rising and extremely overburdened caregiver population.

Our legislators need to hear from those of us that serve and advocate for older adults about the potential impacts of these budget cuts or we will see more frequent and unnecessary hospitalizations and nursing home placements. In addition this fosters systemic burnout for social and health services professionals as well as volunteers.

On a side note, please know that this does NOT in any way change or deter our plans for hosting the first every national Gatekeeper conferrence on May 13th & 14th here in Middletown (see our website for more info). If anything, now is the time to publicize and emphasize the need for the Gatekeeper program, and others, with respect to reaching out to and supporting our most vulnerable older adults in the community. We greatly appreciate your advocacy efforts and support. From all of us at St. Luke’s Community Services

STATE OF CONNECTICUT: Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services Legislative Update # 9 February 18, 2015
The Governor presented his 2016-2017 biennial budget to the legislature and below is a summary of the proposed changes to the DMHAS budget. We expect there are changes in the DSS budget that will impact the behavioral health community and we will provide greater detail on the budget as a whole as soon as possible. This update also lays out the public hearing schedule for DSS, DCF and DMHAS.

We are sending you this link to the Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee chairs and membership: http://www.cga.ct.gov/app/special/Subcommittee%20Assignments.pdf

DMHAS Budget
Annualizes Governor’s Mental Health Initiative - 3 million

Annualizes wrap around supports for 100 units of supportive housing - 500 thousand
Expands FUSE - 1 million
Funds 100 additional unit of supportive housing - 1 million
Increases Case Load growth in YAS, GA, Discharge Fund, MFP and Mental Health Waiver Approx. 10 million
Grant Funding remains as currently budgeted Annualizes this fiscal year’s rescissions -4.5 million
Reduces research funding at CMHC -786 thousand
Reduces funding for RAC’s and Governor’s Prevention Partnership -736 thousand
Eliminates Gatekeeper Program -718 thousand
Reduces funding for Regional Mental Health Boards -584 thousand
Reduces funding for legal services -400 thousand

Details on Budget Public Hearings

Public speaker order for the public hearings will be determined by a lottery system. Lottery numbers will be drawn from 9:00 A.M. until 10:00 A.M. in the LOB First Floor Atrium and from 10:15 A.M. until 1:00 P.M. in Room 2700. Speakers arriving after the completion of the lottery will have their names placed at the end of the speaker list. The list of speakers registered through the lottery system will be posted outside the designated hearing room two hours prior to the start of the public hearing. On February 27 and March 6 the Committee will provide a separate sign-up sheet for persons with special needs, and on Tuesday, March 3 a separate sign-up sheet will be provided for students. Those speakers will be registered on a first-come, first-served basis. The Committee Chairs will alternate between the specialized lists and the standard list until the specialized lists have been exhausted. Speakers will be limited to three minutes of testimony. Please submit 30 copies of written testimony at the time of sign-up, but not later than 2:00 P.M. Testimony received after the designated time may not be distributed until after the hearing.

Please email written testimony in Word or PDF format to APPtestimony@cga.ct.gov. The Committee requests that testimony be limited to matters related to the items on the Agenda.

The hearing schedule is as follows:
DMHAS - Friday March 6th 1:30 pm for agency’s presentation, Public hearing 4:30 in room 2C
DCF - Friday February 27th 11:00-1:00 for agency’s presentation
DSS - Friday February 27th 2:00-3:30 P.M.for agency’s presentation
Public hearing 5:00 P.M. in room 2C

Accessing Information via the Connecticut General Assembly Web Page:
If you wish to get the details/status on a bill, read the text of a bill, or check on committee agendas or upcoming events in the Bulletin, log onto the Connecticut General Assembly web page at: http://www.cga.ct.gov . The CGA schedule of events can be accessed on that same page by scrolling down and clicking on the appropriate item.

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