NEWSFLASH!! CARA PASSES CONGRESS!.
On July 13, 2016 the United States Senate passed the Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act (CARA) with a 92-2 vote. this follows an equally overwhelming 407-5 vote in the House of Representatives the week before. The bill is now headed to President Obama's desk for his anticipated signature.
While the current funding level for recovery services in the bill is grossly inadequate we must pause to acknowledge this historic achievement. With Congress mostly gridlocked for the past several years CARA received unprecedented bi-partisan support, indicative of the significance of the addiction crisis in communities in every state in the union. This is the first major addiction legislation to pass Congress in more than 40 years.
We will be gearing up shortly for a comprehensive nationwide advocacy campaign in the fall aimed at the appropriations process to increase CARA funding. Each year 47,000 people die from drug overdoses and >88,000 from alcohol related deaths.
Addiction is the number one public health crisis of our times and will be a top 3 issue in all political campaigns this fall. We need a comprehensive national approach to hold all candidates accountable. Stay tuned for additional updates in the coming weeks.
While the current funding level for recovery services in the bill is grossly inadequate we must pause to acknowledge this historic achievement. With Congress mostly gridlocked for the past several years CARA received unprecedented bi-partisan support, indicative of the significance of the addiction crisis in communities in every state in the union. This is the first major addiction legislation to pass Congress in more than 40 years.
We will be gearing up shortly for a comprehensive nationwide advocacy campaign in the fall aimed at the appropriations process to increase CARA funding. Each year 47,000 people die from drug overdoses and >88,000 from alcohol related deaths.
Addiction is the number one public health crisis of our times and will be a top 3 issue in all political campaigns this fall. We need a comprehensive national approach to hold all candidates accountable. Stay tuned for additional updates in the coming weeks.
*On May 12, 2016 the House passed a version of CARA that includes recovery programs in a landslide vote 400-5, A tremendous advocacy effort ensured the recovery provisions were added back in. As the legislative process now moves to conference committee with the Senate we must be visible and vocal nationwide to press for the strongest possible final bill with an increase in appropriations to sufficiently fund the CARA initiative.
LIRA supports legislation creating an emergency medical hold on individuals deemed to be incapacitated by alcohol or other drugs including those who are revived from an opiate overdose by Naloxone and clearly posing "a danger to self or others."
The emergency hold will allow for a clinical assessment or evaluation and referral to treatment or other recovery resources. We believe this intervention will save countless lives especially those of injection drug users who otherwise are very likely to return to using within 48 hours. We must continue to act quickly and decisively when lives are at stake. This bold action is necessary as Long Island continues to be devastated by the loss of young lives.
We envision improvements in accessing care across the island in an effort to realize treatment on demand. The addition of recovery coaches and peer advocates in hospital emergency rooms and an expansion of recovery support services throughout the community will help fill the existing gap in the continuum of care. LIRA will continue to work closely with law makers and like minded groups locally, at the state and federal levels to push for pro-active changes.
We encourage healthcare professionals hospitals and treatment providers to practice warm hand offs even hand holding if needed to ensure that each individual or family in need is connected to the appropriate resources in a compassionate manner.
In the recent legislative package signed by the Governor in late June 2016 the emergency hold was expanded from 48 to 72 hours. Now appropriate mechanisms and policies must be put in place in order to maximize the therapeutic benefit of this process. Some have raised concerns about potential law enforcement interventions if an individual refuses to comply with this mandate. Clearly nobody wants to see a crossover into criminal justice consequences for a public health issue.
The emergency hold will allow for a clinical assessment or evaluation and referral to treatment or other recovery resources. We believe this intervention will save countless lives especially those of injection drug users who otherwise are very likely to return to using within 48 hours. We must continue to act quickly and decisively when lives are at stake. This bold action is necessary as Long Island continues to be devastated by the loss of young lives.
We envision improvements in accessing care across the island in an effort to realize treatment on demand. The addition of recovery coaches and peer advocates in hospital emergency rooms and an expansion of recovery support services throughout the community will help fill the existing gap in the continuum of care. LIRA will continue to work closely with law makers and like minded groups locally, at the state and federal levels to push for pro-active changes.
We encourage healthcare professionals hospitals and treatment providers to practice warm hand offs even hand holding if needed to ensure that each individual or family in need is connected to the appropriate resources in a compassionate manner.
In the recent legislative package signed by the Governor in late June 2016 the emergency hold was expanded from 48 to 72 hours. Now appropriate mechanisms and policies must be put in place in order to maximize the therapeutic benefit of this process. Some have raised concerns about potential law enforcement interventions if an individual refuses to comply with this mandate. Clearly nobody wants to see a crossover into criminal justice consequences for a public health issue.
LIRA is a committed voice in support of legislation that would give decision making authority for addiction treatment (type and duration) to Addiction Treatment Professionals (in New York State.
Until now these decisions have been rendered by dollar driven insurance companies and without question have contributed to the loss of countless lives. Client driven decisions made by clinicians on the front lines must become the norm.
Until now these decisions have been rendered by dollar driven insurance companies and without question have contributed to the loss of countless lives. Client driven decisions made by clinicians on the front lines must become the norm.
Each week someone we know shares another horrendous story about coverage for sorely needed life saving treatment being denied as insurers continue to discount the rights of those in needs of our families and friends in need of addiction treatment. We view these practices as civil rights violations, discriminatory in nature and devastating to families across New York. We must remain steadfast and united until these gross injustices are righted and people can access the treatment they need to get well. Treatment on demand is the only acceptable standard in this day and age.
Nationwide there are more then 23 Million Americans in Recovery, many of who have been able to find the path to freedom from addiction after building a strong foundation at an inpatient treatment center. We are determined to stay the course until these discriminatory barriers are removed.
We urge everyone to support ongoing efforts to improve access to treatment through a broad reaching statewide campaign to correct this long standing injustice.
Advocacy efforts continue to pay off. In June advocates state wide joined with our partners and the Governor as he signed a landmark legislative package into law to help address the addiction epidemic. These sweeping changes incorporated the recommendations of local communities through the work of several task force efforts, most recently the Governors Task force. We applaud our friends and task force members Jeff Reynolds, Cortney Lovell, Kym Laube and Sue Salamone for helping to steer the discussions in the proper direction to embrace statewide grassroots input.
Below Long Island Advocates are among the group joining Governor Andrew Cuomo at the bill signing at SUNY Farmingdale in June 2016.
Advocacy efforts continue to pay off. In June advocates state wide joined with our partners and the Governor as he signed a landmark legislative package into law to help address the addiction epidemic. These sweeping changes incorporated the recommendations of local communities through the work of several task force efforts, most recently the Governors Task force. We applaud our friends and task force members Jeff Reynolds, Cortney Lovell, Kym Laube and Sue Salamone for helping to steer the discussions in the proper direction to embrace statewide grassroots input.
Below Long Island Advocates are among the group joining Governor Andrew Cuomo at the bill signing at SUNY Farmingdale in June 2016.
LIRA supports passage of The Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act (CARA) Senate Bill S524 House Bill HR953
Major progress has been made on the sober housing front since LIRA first identified this as an area of concern back in 2000. Our sober housing team under the umbrella of Long Island Congregations Associations and Neighborhoods (LICAN) was the driving force behind the issue seeking to improve living conditions, confront disreputable outfits and reward good providers for a job well done. Significant progress has been made. Since we began work on this crucial recovery issue back in 2000 much has transpired. After initial complaints from sober homes residents inspired an investigation our LICAN team devoted a great deal of time and energy into researching the history of the issue on Long Island and identified some questionable outfits .
Our initial gestures and offer to work cooperatively with the identified housing operators to improve living conditions were rebuffed so we regrouped and outlined a strategy.
After bringing Newsday & Cablevision Channel 12 on board we recruited Senator Chuck Schumer to Long Island for a press conference as our team continued to increase public pressure. Senator Schumer called for a federal probe of one of the outfits in question and then two public assemblies were held in Brentwood and Huntington, attracting more then 400 people and the media.
Next we targeted NY State OASAS involvement and pressed OASAS officials to take action.
As a result of their extensive investigations two large treatment organization groups with extensive housing operations were found to be in violation of OASAS standards and as a result were fined a combined several million dollars and these operations were ultimately issued cease and desist orders, after failing to respond to overtures to make improvements and work with OASAS and Long Islands Recovery community. In response to the closing down of these outfits OASAS then designated a whopping $26.6 million dollars to LI for the creation of 100 new community residence beds.
The LICAN housing team initiated the creation of the Sober Living Network of Long Island (SLN) More then 40 people attended an invitational meeting of the Sober Living Network of LI. 15 separate groups applied for membership willing to agree to quality standard(s) and pay dues for support of the group to provide oversight, inspection of homes and handle disputes and grievances. Teams of designated inspectors visited about two dozen applicant homes and were prepared to work next with Suffolk County to find funding and support for the grassroots community group.
Another result of the effort led to a statewide OASAS residential needs task group being formed and members of LIRA, LICAN, QCSC along with OASAS reps and other treatment folks and interested groups began regular meetings via tele-conference between LI and Albany. This group totaled nearly 50 people from across the state.
Suffolk County became more actively involved and Legislator Kate Browning worked diligently to address complaints in her Eastern Long Island district. She met with many of us and was invited to tour a respected home in Flanders where we met again to outline a plan of action.
The Suffolk legislature charged its Welfare to Work (WTW) commission with investigating the issue in earnest. The WTW did a thorough job meeting with many of our experienced leaders and holding two public hearings which contributed to the findings in the report delivered to the legislature.
Every suggestion from our housing team was adopted into the report.
The Legislature then directed Suffolk DSS to create a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for operators of quality sober homes. In exchange foe agreeing to hands on oversight and a commitment to quality standards and safety this initiative would increase the reimbursement rate for qualified high quality housing operators from $309.00 per month to $500.00 for room and from $448.00 to $600 for those providing room & board.
While difficulties remain with the implementation and functional criteria of this plan, the progress should not be underestimated. The $309.00 rate had remained without an increase for over 40 years. Our OASAS task force met again and several of our reps encouraged DSS to offer more liberal criteria allowing several respected and deserving operators to qualify for the RFQ. As of March 2012 further action on this request is still in the works
Most recently The Suffolk Legislature created a Sober Home Oversight Board and LIRA and our friends are represented and helping to shape the scope of work for this pro-active group. LIRA remains committed to represent the voice and needs of the recovery community. We look forward to further developments and we support efforts of the recovery community and their legal advisors in Brooklyn as they seek to tackle an emerging and similar issue.
The Suffolk County Sober Homes Oversight Board continues to meet and a revised RFQ has been released that will provide increased revenue to quality operators. 48 Beds will be used as the pilot LIRA & The Long Island Council Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (LICADD) and Long Island Congregations Associations & Neighborhoods (LICAN) are collaborating to revive our plan to create a sober living network consisting of quality recovery home operators that will oversee the quality, safety and performance of existing homes on LI. Inspections and self regulation will be key components as we seek to build on the recent efforts to reign in wayward providers and reward the good providers who put a quality residential experience at the forefront of their operations.
In October 2008 President George W Bush signed the federal Mental Health Addiction Treatment Parity Act into law. This major victory for recovery advocates requires insurers to cover addiction treatment in the same manner as they do other medical conditions ending years of discriminatory practice that prevented many in need from accessing sorely needed services. We are proud to have been a driving force in New York having assembled a Parity group of more then 20 organizations who worked together with other local, state and federal stakeholders to help make parity a reality. This team approach reinforces what we can accomplish by working together with other groups and all levels of government.
LIRA worked feverishly for over three years in support of Timothy’s Law and despite our relentless efforts a compromise was reached which excluded coverage for addiction treatment. While we are pleased that progress was made and those with mental health issues, including MICA (dual diagnosis) have gained additional coverage, we will continue to do battle to gain equality for chemically dependent people.
Timothy's Law is named after Timothy O'Clair, a Schenectady boy who completed suicide in 2001,
This website was designed as a tool to help spread the word about Timothy's Law, and to aid the O'Clairs in their quest to pass this life-saving measure. Please take a few minutes to peruse this resource; sign up for Timothy's Team, which will provide you with occasional updates about the status of Timothy's Law and activities you can undertake to help strengthen this law.
