FRN Family Recognition Event Honors MHASP

The Family Recognition event was held at Belmont Center for  Comprehensive Treatment on 5/10/12. There were over 150 attendees from  across the Philadelphia behavioral health system - including providers , DBHIDS , participant's and families.

MHASP was awarded a certificate in honor of our "Outstanding  Contributions to the Advancement of Family Involvement", two family  members involved with PIN, Amarillis Rivera and Marta Cusick were honored family members' and Edie Mannion stole the show with the" Family Leadership Award" for her passionate, and outstanding leadership on  behalf of families in her over 25 years of work at MHASP in the Training and Education Center (TEC).

Click here to view images of the event.

Philadelphia Alliance Embracing Diversity Award Winner

Please join us in congratulating Michelle Sanchez, PIN Family Advocate for winning one of the Direct Service Professional Recognition Awards from the Philadelphia Alliance, the Embracing Diversity Award.

This award is given to an individual who "demonstrates sensitivity, an eagerness to learn about and valuing the specific unique, personal characteristics and background of the individuals they support,
prompting inclusion, equality, and community".

The award was given to Michelle on April 20, 2012 at the Philadelphia Alliance's 10th Annual Conference for Direct Service Professionals. We gave Michelle a big cheer, as well as one for MHASP - for we have won a Direct Service Award three years in a row! And that speaks volumes about the wonderful staff we have in this organization.

Click here to view images of the event.

Budget ax hits home Officials here: Human-service cut fallout great

Originally Published Apr 08, 2012 20:09

By P.J. REILLY
Staff Writer

Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed 20 percent cut in a segment of funding for human services will have many impacts.

But one is more severe than all others, according to Jim Laughman, executive director of the Lancaster County Office of Mental Health/Mental Retardation/Early Intervention.

"We will be forced to shut down residential services," he said. "Unequivocally we're going to have to do that, and that means we'll be putting people on the street who are in housing now."

In February, Corbett unveiled his 2012-13 budget proposal, which, among myriad other recommendations, suggests combining seven funding categories provided to counties into one Human Services Development Fund Block Grant.

Doing so, Laughman said, would give counties more flexibility in spending those combined dollars.

Those line items provide funds for drug and alcohol treatment, homeless services, residential and therapeutic services for the mentally retarded and for people suffering from mental illness, among other services.

For the 2011-12 fiscal year, Lancaster County received $17.5 million for all seven line items combined.

Along with the combination proposal for 2012-13, Corbett also recommended the 20 percent cut in funding.

That would mean a $3.5 million hit for Lancaster County.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/621803_Budget-ax-hits-home.html#ixzz1rZtDdQik

Waste, Fraud, and Abuse: One Family’s Medicaid Re-Determination Story

Gabriel R. was born November 2, 2010, the second child of Corey R. and Shiela may T.  Twelve hours after his birth, the doctors informed his parents that Gabriel has a rare and extremely complex congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF).  He would require heart surgery and life-long care by a cardiologist.

Gabriel was referred to cardiology specialists at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, where the family lives.  A middle class white-collar worker, Corey is medically insured through his work. However, when he learned that the cost of Gabriel’s care would be prohibitively expensive, even with insurance, he started to research other coverage options, including CHIP.

From a co-worker, Corey learned of Pennsylvania’s “Family of One” provision or Act 95. Known as the Medicaid “loophole,” it provides Medical Assistance for thousands of children with disabilities and/or complex health care needs, regardless of their parents’ income. And it enables children to receive critical services and treatments that are not adequately covered or covered at all under their parents’ insurance.

Read the full story HERE

Uncovering kids: 89,000 poor Pa. kids slashed from Medicaid

BY MICHAEL HINKELMAN & CATHERINE LUCEY

Daily News Staff Writers

YONG KIM / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Kheli Muhammad , of Overbrook, holds her son Samad, 2. He has a cardiac pacemaker but was removed from Medicaid rolls.

Poor hurt by Corbett cuts

KHELI Muhammad was trying to schedule a routine pediatrician's appointment last summer when she discovered that her 2-year-old son, who has a congenital heart disorder, had been kicked off the Medicaid rolls.

The 30-year-old mother of two boys was stunned.

"It is written in stone that he's covered," Muhammad said of Samad, who qualifies for Medicaid based on his serious medical condition, not the family's income level. "He's pacemaker-dependent . . . [H]is heart will not beat without a pacemaker."

But the heartbeat of the fragile little Samad was clearly not a priority for welfare officials, who informed Muhammad that she had failed to renew his benefits - even though she said she had not received renewal paperwork in the mail - and that she'd have to reapply.

Read the full story HERE