John McDonald — New York State Assembly 2012

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Communication Services

4 months ago

Bailey, our VP for Morale and Marketing, shares his mom's top 5 tips for Library advocacy. ... See MoreSee Less

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4 months ago

Success for Clients in NYS Executive Budget - Communication Services

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$5 million for animal shelter capital project and protecting how mental health services are delivered in New York State. These are what Communication Services helped deliver for our clients in this year’s state budget process. Communication Services runs the New York State Animal Protection Federa...

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5 months ago

A great victory for our clients. We conceived and coordinated the public affairs campaign for this effort.State Budget Contains Language to Permanently Resolve Mental Health Workforce Problem that Has Plagued State Since 2002

The following is the statement from the coalition of groups that worked for this outcome:

Included in the state budget agreement is a solution to a recurring policy challenge pertaining to diagnosing, treating and caring for children, the aged and adults who need services from state regulated and funded settings that offer behavioral health care. The solution ends 16 years of policy stalemates by providing clarity to the activities that need to be performed by licensed practitioners and those that do not require a license.

The result comes thanks to the hard-work of an unprecedented coalition of 12 mental health and substance abuse provider associations--which represent over 500 provider, consumer, and college and university education programs. The group sought a solution that didn't restrict access to quality care and counseling at a time when the behavioral health field is swamped by the opioid epidemic and demand for school-based mental health. The group worked with the Governor, state agencies, the Senate and Assembly to achieve a positive result that ensures the existing, high quality behavioral health care workforce will be able to continue their care, treatment and advising of people in state authorized or funded agencies.
This is a significant victory for mental health and substance abuse service consumers. The budget language demonstrates a strong commitment by the state to begin addressing the severe behavioral health workforce crisis facing New York.

We thank Governor Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Flanagan and Assembly Speaker Heastie as well as their members and staffs for recognizing the need to resolve an issue that has troubled the state since 2002.

In the remaining months of the legislative session, the group will continue to work with the Governor, legislative leaders and members to address the state’s workforce crisis. The group’s goal is to develop legislation that grants diagnosing privileges and Medicaid reimbursement to mental health practitioners licensed under Article 163 including the Family Therapists, Mental Health Counselors, and Psychoanalysts.
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The coalition’s dozen members include: Association for Community Living, Inc., Coalition of Medication Assisted Treatment Providers and Advocates (COMPA), NY Association of Alcoholism & Substance Abuse Providers (ASAP), NY Association of Psychiatric Services (NYAPRS), NYS Care Management Coalition, NYS Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, NY Association for Marriage & Family Therapy, NYS Coalition for Children's Behavioral Health, The Coalition for Behavioral Health, NY Alliance for Inclusion and Innovation, and Therapeutic Community Association of NY (TCANY) and The Mental Health Association of NYS. ... See MoreSee Less

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Communication Services shared The Campaign for New York's Well-Being's post.

5 months ago

A campaign we're doing for a new public affairs client! ... See MoreSee Less

The Campaign for New York's Well-Being

Stop the red tape. Don't put anymore bureaucratic roadblocks up to people getting the mental health services they need and deserve. Send a message to your New York State Assemblymember and Senator today. Maintain the mental health practice exemptions and protect our mental health services.

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Communication Services

8 months ago

Our latest piece in Library Journal. ... See MoreSee Less

Public Education v. Advocacy-an important distinction for library trustees - Communication Services

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This piece appeared in the November 2017 issue of Trustee Hotline, published by Library Journal. This fall, the director of the New Jersey Library Association asked me to put together a list of public education/advocacy dos and don’ts for library trustees, staff and friends. These are important no...

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