| This week in the General Assembly
Exciting news- this week in Senate Appropriations Senator Kinnaird put forward SB 354 that will help an estimated 9000 people maintain their Medicaid eligibility despite a cost of living increase that may have put them a dollar or two over the income restrictions. Here's how our complicated government system works: every January people who live on social security get a cost of living increase, then in February, the poverty level is set for federal programs. In April, NC sets its own eligibility limits. This year was a bigger than usual cost of living increase, which ironically kicks people out of eligibility for Medicaid. And of course Medicaid is their insurance program that pays for their health care and their services as well. When they lose this, they lose their ability to live on their own, must meet large deductibles in order to apply again. Many may have to go to nursing home level of care. If you have a story like this- please call your legislator and ask them to support the An Act to Direct the DHHS to Adopt a Policy Allowing a Certain Income Disregard under the Medicaid Program. And call Senator Kinnaird and the cosponsors Atwater, D Berger, Foriest, McKissick, and Stevens, and Nesbitt to say thank you as well. Because it passed Senate Base Budget/Appropriations, There is a long ways to go till it is law, but we're on our way. Please activate your telephone trees or just call your legislator and ask them to support SB 354.
|  National Family-to-Family Leadership Award recognizes Brenda Piper, NAMI North Carolina Program Director
Each year, the Family-to-Family Education Program recognizes a state Family-to-Family program director for outstanding statewide Family-to-Family program coordination. Brenda Piper, for the past three years, has been making steady progress in fortifying the NAMI North Carolina Family-to-Family program infrastructure. Of her many accomplishments, she has successfully secured local management entity (LME) contracts which provide funding for the state and local affiliates. She has worked effectively to promote statewide communication regarding program development via regular contacts with affiliate presidents and quarterly calls with Family-to-Family teachers.
North Carolina compares very favorably with the 49 total states engaged in the family to family program Based on information gathered during year-end calls to the states from national, covering 46 of our 49 F2F program states, North Carolina falls in our top tier of program states which have:
1) funding in excess of 50,000 earmarked for F2F;
2) annual F2F classes held in excess of 25;
3) annual F2F graduates in excess of 250;
4) full time/paid program coordinator;
5) solid communication links with local program sites;
6) local affiliate program support;
7) solid core of state F2F trainers; and
8) strong state board and executive director support of program expansion
Brenda will be recognized at the 2009 conference in San Francisco. | |
