Governor Richard Codey

Codey Visits Patients at Ancora Psychiatric Hospital
Governor Builds Upon Achievements Improving New Jersey's Mental Health System(ANCORA) – Governor Richard J. Codey today visited with patients and staff at Ancora Psychiatric Hospital and signed several executive orders building upon his achievements improving New Jersey’s mental health system and expanding treatment and recovery services.

“I know that the road to recovery is a continual journey. Today I am signing several executive orders that will lay out a blue print for the new administration to continue improving New Jersey’s mental health system,� said Codey. “We want people to be able to get the treatment they need, close to home and close to the support of their loved ones. We want them to stay integrated within their community and become self-sufficient.�

Codey was joined by Kevin Martone, Special Assistant Commissioner for Mental Health Services for the Department of Human Services, as well as patients and staff from Ancora and representatives from Southern Jersey community mental health centers.

Codey signed three executive orders, the first of which focuses on improving children’s treatment and intervention services. It urges Governor-elect Corzine to strengthen and expand the Governor’s Cabinet for Children to include two members from the Task Force on Mental Health, as well as a minimum of two pediatricians and two child psychiatrists/psychologists.

The order also directs the Department of Human Services to work to strengthen its prevention and early intervention services for children; to take steps to ensure that personnel who interact with children in preschools, schools, health care facilities and juvenile justice agencies receive ongoing training to identify and respond to early childhood development; to explore ways to expand child screenings statewide for development and mental health issues; and to launch a public awareness campaign to alert educators, parents, pediatricians and the public to risk factors and early intervention resources.

The second order recommends that the state’s mental health system move towards a system of community-based wellness and recovery treatments rather than the current system based on institutionalized care. The order recommends permanent supportive housing, supportive employment, in-home services and consumer self-help.

The third order will enable mental health providers to maximize the use of existing state funding. It directs the Department of Human Services (DHS) to develop a pilot program of Operational Incentives for its Division of Mental Health Services (DMHS) contracts. This program will allow all DMHS non-profit, non-hospital and non-governmental agencies with cost reimbursement contracts to continue accessing any unused funding after the fiscal year expires in order to meet their operational costs and provide uninterrupted services for patients. Based on the success of the pilot program, the DHS commissioner will have the option to expand this program to other divisions within the department.

After signing the executive orders, Codey toured the facility, having lunch with patients in Ancora’s cafeteria, and traveling the wards and talking to patients and staff. The tour capped off Codey’s 14-month tenure, which focused heavily on transforming New Jersey’s ailing mental health system.

During that time, he brought the issue of mental illness to the forefront of public debate, signing legislation creating a landmark $200 million housing trust fund for individuals with special needs, wiping out penalties for people who cannot afford their stay in a state hospital, creating a student loan incentive program to attract and retain social service workers, launching a postpartum depression awareness campaign, and providing $40 million additional dollars to expand screening and self-help centers.

“We said we were going to stand up for our most vulnerable and we did. We said we were going to fight for those without a voice and we are. We said we would demand better and we have,� added Codey. “And I promise that as long as I am an elected official, regardless of what hat I wear, I will continue to challenge the status quo and help shatter the stigma of mental illness.�

Copies of Codey’s executive orders are included below. For additional information on mental health services in New Jersey, visit: www.state.nj.us/humanservices/dmhs/index.html .

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 77

WHEREAS, it has been the priority of my Administration to restore the traditional role of government by helping those citizens who need it the most; and
WHEREAS, throughout my years of public service and my tenure as Governor, I have strived to better the lives of those persons with mental illness and to improve New Jersey’s mental health system; and
WHEREAS, working cooperatively with many dedicated non-profit providers, the State of New Jersey, through its Department of Human Services, has made great strides in caring for those citizens in need of assistance; and
WHEREAS, despite those accomplishments, there remains much to be done by the State in fostering improvements to our current system and in assisting the non-profit contractual providers in developing sufficient reserves or working capital to assist them in such endeavors as upgrading or replacing infrastructure, or defraying short-term liabilities;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, RICHARD J. CODEY, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:
1. The Department of Human Services (the Department) shall develop a pilot program of Operational Incentives for its Division of Mental Health Services (DMHS) contracts.
2. This Operational Incentives Pilot Program shall apply to all DMHS non-profit, non-hospital and non-governmental agencies with cost reimbursement contracts. Fixed price and fixed rate contracts shall not be included in this pilot program, nor are contracts with hospital-based or governmental organizations.
3. The Department shall establish this pilot program that will allow the contract provider to earn an Operational Incentive when the provider’s final contract expenditure report indicates that a net contract surplus exists. Providers should be allowed to retain 100 percent of the current contracts net savings identified from contract deficiencies. The Department shall establish reasonable restrictions and limits on the earned incentives, including an annual cap and a provision that federal funds cannot be included in the Operational Incentive.
4. The Operational Incentive shall be utilized by the provider agencies as a savings reserve, available to meet cash flow needs as working capital and for assisting the provider agency in meeting its mission. The guidelines adopted by the Department shall prohibit providers from utilizing the Operational Incentive funds to expand programming that would require ongoing funding, thereby creating obligations for future budget cycles. The guidelines shall also prohibit providers from utilizing Operational Incentive funds for executive management staff bonuses.
5. The guidelines adopted by the Department shall further provide that, upon termination of the contractual relationship with DMHS, or upon dissolution of the provider’s corporate entity, the provider shall refund to DMHS all remaining funds in the Operational Incentives reserve account.
6. The Department may expand the pilot program established by this Order to include providers under contract with the Department’s Division of Developmental Disabilities, or any of the other Divisions within the Department.
7. This Order shall take effect immediately, and shall be retroactive to DMHS contracts entered into on or after July 1, 2005.
GIVEN, under my hand and seal this 13th day of January,
Two Thousand and Six, and of the Independence of the United States, the Two Hundred and Thirtieth.

/s/ Richard J. Codey

Governor

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 78

WHEREAS, it has been the priority of my Administration to restore the traditional role of government by helping those citizens who need it the most; and
WHEREAS, throughout my years of public service and my tenure as Governor, I have strived to better the lives of those persons with mental illness and to improve New Jersey’s mental health system; and
WHEREAS, consumers, family members, mental health providers and public health practitioners endorse a recovery-oriented mental health system which enables persons suffering from mental illness to live, work, learn and participate fully in their communities; and
WHEREAS, the recovery process enables a person to re-establish a sense of integrity and purpose and to live a satisfying, hopeful and contributory life, within the limitations of the illness; and
WHEREAS, the wellness process is a conscious, deliberate and ongoing process in which a person becomes aware of and makes choices towards a more satisfying lifestyle; and
WHEREAS, the public mental health system must continue to move from an institutional system of care to a community system of care based upon the principles of wellness and recovery;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, RICHARD J. CODEY, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:
1. The financing of the State of New Jersey’s mental health system should be changed to promote state-of-the-art treatment alternatives. These alternatives would include, but not be limited to, permanent supportive housing, supportive employment, in-home services and consumer self-help.
2. The Department of Human Services (the Department) shall commence an immediate review of currently licensed partial-care and partial-hospitalization programs to determine the appropriateness of utilizing and funding, where appropriate, recovery-based programming and services. The Department shall also commence an immediate review of its existing regulations dealing with mental health services and programs for adults and children, with an eye towards revising those rules to allow for the shift to a system based on wellness and recovery. This shift should include staff training, mission, vision, treatment and recovery modalities, contracting and funding.
3. The Department shall examine whether the State Medicaid Plan should adopt the Medicaid Rehabilitation Option, which would allow greater flexibility than currently exists to bill for non-facility-based services such as outreach, peer services, family education, supportive housing services, case management and social and recreational activities. This Option would provide more flexibility to meet consumers’ needs by allowing services to be community-based rather than clinic-based, and would better maximize federal dollars, resulting in more financial resources.
4. The Department of Labor and the Department of Human Services shall develop a cooperative training series for individuals with mental illness, family members and providers, in order to increase awareness and utilization of the Ticket to Work Program, to ensure that New Jersey is maximizing the benefits of this federal program and resources for individuals with mental illness and other disabilities.
5. New Jersey should continue and expand its emphasis on evidence-based and/or promising practices, such as physical wellness and recovery programs now offered at the University of Medicine and Dentistry’s Centers for Excellence.
6. Performance and outcome measures are essential to the evaluation of treatment and value. The Division of Mental Health Services should move away from its current funding paradiegm, which is historical in nature, to one that pays for services based upon quality performance and measurable outcomes.
7. This Order shall take effect immediately.
GIVEN, under my hand and seal this 13th day of January,
Two Thousand and Six, and of the Independence of the United States, the Two Hundred and Thirtieth.

/s/ Richard J. Codey

Governor

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 79

WHEREAS, it has been the priority of my Administration to restore the traditional role of government by helping those citizens who need it the most; and
WHEREAS, throughout my years of public service and my tenure as Governor, I have strived to better the lives of those persons with mental illness and to improve New Jersey’s mental health system; and
WHEREAS, the care and treatment of children with emotional disturbances or mental illnesses is of particularly great concern and must be a top priority;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, RICHARD J. CODEY, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:
1. I urge my successor as Governor to reconstitute, strengthen and expand the Governor’s Cabinet for Children created by Executive Order No. 60 (2003) and Executive Order No. 83 (2003). Specifically, I would recommend that membership of the Children’s Cabinet be expanded to include two members of the Task Force on Mental Health, a minimum of two pediatricians, and a minimum of two child psychiatrists and child psychologists. I would further recommend that the Commissioner of Human Services be designated by the Governor as a Co-Chair and that a second Co-Chair be designated from among the members who are professionals in the community.
2. The Department of Human Services shall take all necessary steps to strengthen its prevention and early intervention programs. Service delivery should occur at sites such as preschools and pediatric health care clinics where children and families already access other services. The Department shall take steps to ensure that personnel who interact with children in preschools, schools, health care facilities and juvenile justice agencies receive ongoing training on how to identify and respond to early childhood development issues and risk factors.
3. The Department shall examine how screening of young children for development and mental health issues can be implemented on a Statewide basis, and how follow-up assessments and linkage to services can be made available to all who need them. The Department shall launch a public awareness campaign to alert educators, parents, pediatricians and the general public to early intervention issues such as positive parenting skills, identifying at-risk children, available resources and how to access those resources.
4. This Order shall take effect immediately.
GIVEN, under my hand and seal this 13th day of January,
Two Thousand and Six, and of the Independence of the United States, the Two Hundred and Thirtieth.

/s/ Richard J. Codey

Governor