The D&A Coalition met again on July 31 with the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) and the Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Programs (BDAP) to get an update on the budget restoration. The following is a summary of the highlights of the meeting.
- The bridge/stopgap funding letters for August went out to the Single County Authorities (SCAs) on August 1. Allocations will be the same amount as last month; Behavioral Health Special Initiative (BHSI) and Act 152 allocations less 5%. Separate discussions are occurring with Philadelphia at this time. The stopgap funding is intended to help programs hold on until funds are restored. (The list of county allocations is attached.)
- BDAP has announced that SCAs can draw down up to one quarter of their yearly allocation. An additional $1.5 million is being made available from BDAP (these funds were previously allocated for special projects aimed at increasing accessibility). BDAP is in the process of determining the new allocations for these funds and expects to have them finalized by the end of next week.
- There is some good news from the administration; apparently, Governor Rendell had a meeting with all of the secretaries and deputies to discuss how the state can run more efficiently. At that meeting the governor stated that he will support 100% of restoration for D&A, the Human Services Development Fund (HSDF), and libraries.
- However, it still comes down to revenue, some Legislators have stated that if there is no support for tax increases, there will be no restoration.
- Legislators and administration officials have inquired why D&A programs have not closed as predicted. The primary reason is that all concerned had been asked to make every possible effort to keep the system in place with the sincere belief that restoration would occur. Much work has been done on the part of counties and providers to keep programs operating using options such as lines of credit, temporary shifting of funds, etc. However, OMHSAS and BDAP surveyed the SCAs last week to determine if closings had indeed occurred. Here is what they learned:
- The collapse of one program has a ripple effect into other areas/regions due to counties contracting outside of their communities.
- Even with stopgap funding, over 50 programs have closed. The expected number of people impacted by these closures is approximately 25,000 people statewide. Over 500 employees have been laid off since May.
- Over 100 programs (in addition to the 50 closures) have reduced capacity, instituted layoffs, or have experienced other negative impacts such as potential loss of federal dollars because of the counties uncertainty of meeting the financial matching requirements.
- The programs most impacted thus far are outpatient, intensive outpatient, and halfway houses. Second most impacted are regional residential programs.- It is unknown at this time if additional stopgap funding will be available. OMHSAS originally predicted enough funds through October.
- If funds are not restored soon, BDAP may need to consider prioritizing services that reflect the block grant priorities. This would include pregnant women, women with children, and IV Drug Users.
- Discussions continue about D&A performance outcome initiatives. The governor has recommended using KPMG (a national consulting firm) to assist with the D&A outcomes initiatives. OMHSAS is working on a new performance based initiative called “HealthChoices Baseline Performance Reports.”
- BDAP expects to include some of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) domains into measures. These domains are employment, social support, criminality, and decrease in D&A use. Of most interest to the administration are relapse/reduction in use, criminality, and continuing care facilitation. OMHSAS and BDAP have been charged to prove that these services are indeed effective by spring 2004. Studies related to relapse/reduction in use, criminality, and continuing care facilitation are being created to do this. PCPA will be a part of an implementation work group that will work on these studies.
PCPA will provide updates as new developments arise. For more information, contact Lynn Cooper at the Association.