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James Plastiras- NYS OMH Edison Alban- NYS OASAS October 02, 2020
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NYS Office of Addiction Services and Supports and Office of Mental Health Announce Integration Listening Sessions |
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The New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) and the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) today announced a series of public listening sessions on the potential creation of a new single integrated behavioral health agency. Although OASAS and OMH have always collaborated well to serve New Yorkers, the creation of a unified behavioral health agency is being explored as a way to increase coordination of services and support people with both substance use disorders and mental illnesses. An integrated behavioral health agency could also help streamline service delivery and increase efficiency. Stakeholders, including service recipients, healthcare providers and members of the public are invited to provide testimony that will be reviewed and utilized by the two agencies during future integration discussions. Four listening sessions have been scheduled for the following dates:
Registration Link: https://web.telspan.com/register/oasas-omh/10-16-20
Registration Link: https://web.telspan.com/register/oasas-omh/10-26-20
Registration Link: https://web.telspan.com/register/oasas-omh/10-30-20
Registration Link: https://web.telspan.com/register/oasas-omh/11-02-20 The sessions will be jointly moderated by OASAS Commissioner Arlene González-Sánchez and OMH Commissioner Ann Sullivan. Participants can provide up to three minutes of verbal testimony directly to the Commissioners. The agencies will also accept written testimony. All testimony will be posted online after agency review. Any person planning to testify is requested to limit their testimony to only one of the sessions. OMH and OASAS are exploring this option to determine if an organizational restructuring would better serve New Yorkers without placing any additional burden on providers or other stakeholders. OMH and OASAS are hoping to hear feedback that includes, but is not limited to, the following questions:
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