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What's Inside:
NMHA Responds to Hurricane Ravaged Gulf Coast

Medicaid Cuts Still in Doubt As Advocates Say "No!"

First Person: Teen's Cutting Experience Leads to Opportunities to Educate

Kid's Corner: Legislators' Opposition To Screening Misplaced

New York Mental Health Associations Help Pass Geriatric Mental Health Act

NMHA Medicare Enrollment Campaign Gets Off to a Strong Start

Research Notes

“This landmark legislation will prepare for the vast increase of the number of Americans 65 and older over the next 25 years, from 35 million to 70 million, and the consequent growth of older adults with mental disorders from 7 million to 14 million. Approximately 800,000 of these seniors will reside in New York state.” —Giselle Stolper, executive director, MHA of New York City

Older adults who seek mental health services often face an uphill battle. Insurance coverage is woefully inadequate, services are delivered in mental health centers and not in an individual’s home or community, and providers are insufficiently trained in mental health and aging issues. In New York, a new law was recently passed to reverse these harmful trends.

Last summer, New York Gov. George E. Pataki signed into law the Geriatric Mental Health Act. It’s the first bill of its kind in the country to help meet the growing mental health challenges of older adults.

The law recognizes the need for innovation in meeting the unique mental health needs of older adults by providing for:

• Services demonstration grants that are designed to foster new approaches to help older adults live in the community; to improve access to, and quality of, mental health services; to integrate mental health, physical health and aging services; to increase the capacity of the mental health system to serve cultural minorities; to enhance caregiver supports; and to build a clinically— and culturally—competent workforce.
• Interagency planning processes that will foster the integration of mental health, physical health and aging services, which is critical for effective service delivery for older adults.

The MHAs of New York City and of Westchester worked tirelessly to ensure the law’s passage. Together, the two MHAs created the Center for Policy and Advocacy in 2003 under the direction of Michael B. Friedman, a leading mental health policy expert. The Center mobilizes stakeholders and provides visibility and leadership to help move mental health issues to the top of the state’s political agenda. In 2004, the Center established the Geriatric Mental Health Alliance of New York, which has grown into a network of more than 800 individual and organizational members.

The Center is working to see that legislation similar to the New York law is passed by legislatures throughout the country. In fact, staff from the Center recently traveled to North Carolina to strategize with the state MHA there on ways to build an effective mental health and aging coalition, with the ultimate goal of enacting a North Carolina version of the Geriatric Mental Health Act.

For more information about this effort and to learn how to get your state involved, contact the MHA of Westchester at 914-345-5900 or the MHA of New York City at 212-254-0333.