Review and update Article 41 of the New York State Mental Hygiene Law to support recovery and accountability.

	Reduce the number of funding streams, eliminate unresponsive and overly restrictive regulations, and simplify reporting.
	Include all dollars spent in the publicly-funded mental health system in any consideration of funding methodologies. This would involve state operated, county operated, and not-for-profit sectors as well as other system dollars used for mental health and substance abuse treatment (e.g. child welfare, education, health, and corrections).
	Expand resources for the treatment and support of individuals with co-occurring disorders by integrating funding streams.

	Develop performance outcomes that are derived from the goals and principles that guide transformation.
	Develop standards and a quality improvement process with mechanisms to promote access to appropriate and effective care.
	Clarify state and local oversight roles, holding all providers, including state and local providers, responsible for recovery-oriented outcomes.
	Relate reimbursement to outcomes as program types become adequately funded and there is consensus that the expected outcomes are realistic.

	Review reimbursement models, particularly in relation to increasing accountability, the expectation of performance outcomes, and quality assurance.
	Ensure that reimbursement mechanisms capture actual costs, including administration, that are tied to an acceptable inflation index.

	Achieve housing targets, reduce waiting lists, enhance work incentives, and remove transportation barriers.
	Integrate peer support - including the sharing of experiential knowledge, skills and social learning - in all services and settings.
	Increase individual choice and independence with waivers that allow the funding to 'follow the person' based on his/her needs.
	Conduct a comprehensive anti-stigma campaign.
	Ensure that community integration happens across all populations, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, language capabilities, and diagnosis. Include those who are incarcerated or homeless.
	Develop an Integrated Behavioral Health Demonstration Project. Applicant communities would receive funding and technical assistance to develop cross-system, integrated behavioral health service and funding models. There would be a rigorous evaluation component and effective models would be maintained and expanded. These demonstrations would be tied to statewide transformation goals. The Commission would be responsible, together with state and local agencies for project oversight.

Equalize access to high-quality supports and services. Involve members of each community's cultural and ethnic groups in service design, delivery and evaluation.

	Ensure that the workforce is adequately compensated to reduce staff turnover and staff vacancies.
	Train all individuals employed in the field of mental health and substance abuse with recovery-orientated, family-driven and person-centered perspectives. 'Cross-train' to ensure seamless multi-agency response to children and adults.
	Develop mechanisms to move knowledge from research into practice more rapidly.
	Broaden the workforce to reflect the cultural and linguistic diversity of New York.
	Include families, youth and adult consumers as staff to help shape the "new" service delivery environment.

Please join us in encouraging New York's leaders to transform the behavioral health system.