In which Kara DOESN’T go to Washington

There is a ton going on. Yes, that includes major changes (and freezes) to funding you may be relying on. Don’t panic, but do get your ducks in a row.

If you’re a bit confused about what anyone should be panicking about, please take a few minutes to catch up.

This is serious business. Please don’t take these actions by the Administration lightly. Despite the “Recinded Memo,” we still have clients who have not been able to draw down funds from PMS. The risk is real. Not only as the CEO of INCITE, but as a person who serves on a board of directors for Monarch (an amazing North Carolina behavioral health organization,) and as a family member. My entire career and the careers of many of my team members, has been in this field. We understand the public health and non-profit policy terrain – and we all know how much is at stake.

That being said, my Predictive Index profile says “I have a tendency to be overly optimistic,” and I’m just going to lean right into that. There are still an exponential number of unknowns, but my call to action is just that: ACT. NOW. Below are some concrete actions you can take to shore up support for our field and your organization. I tried to keep it simple and brief, as you might be a little stressed right now (1000% understandable). And just in case this isn’t brief enough, you can also get just the highlights  of our suggested To-Do List via a little game of Bingo!

I don’t care how  you voted or what your personal opinions are, whether they’re the same as mine or not. This is not a partisan squabble. We all care for this population – some of the most vulnerable among us – and want to make sure they’re cared for well. The time is now to get active and do something different to ensure their protection.  Lives are at stake!

Go Local!

• Or, find your local reps https://myreps.datamade.us/ yourself and call their offices. You may get an appointment with a legislative aid or chief of staff instead of the elected official themselves. That’s ok, it is still worth it to go.
  •  At the visit, “be brief, be bright, be bold” (to quote my former boss, Linda Rosenberg).
  • Remind them how many constituents you employ, how many constituents you serve, and how many dollars you save the state/federal budget.
  • Bonus points if you can cite recent good or bad press on how behavioral health is being handled in their district.
  • Make this visit regardless of where your reps fall on the supporting behavioral health funding spectrum. Try to also visit as many reps as you can, prioritizing the ones your organization is within the districts of, the ones that represent your personal district, and the ones who are the true advocates (there are usually at least a few you can figure this out based on past bills they have sponsored or signed on to).
• Make an ask:
  • Maybe you want bundled behavioral health urgent care crisis payments, or more state grants for trauma informed care for domestic violence survivors. Get clear on your top two priorities and be ready to leave a one pager about the impact of your organization AND the benefits from funding your asks.
  • Continue the conversation – tell them you want to be in close dialogue, schedule another visit while there. If you didn’t speak with the representative, try to go up the chain on your follow up visit.
  • Get the cell/contact numbers for the legislative aids and schedulers. These folks hold a lot of influence, sometimes they need input or guidance on an issue, sometimes they can move things around. AND be available – become a go-to for them when they need community support – this is a two way street.
  • Keep doing it.

Go State!

• Call your state association and ask who the true advocates are for behavioral health at your state house and go visit them, or call, or text, or connect on social media..
  • Try to get time with leadership at your local:
  • County health board
  • Department of behavioral health
  • Department of public health
• Wild cards: Contact school boards, departments of public works, local law enforcement leadership, the chamber of commerce. You never know who has a pool of funding, settlement dollars, or the influence needed to back up some of your legislative advocacy.

Go National!

• Try to meet with your federal (state) Representatives and Senators; if you cannot meet, log your support. Make it clear that supporting safety net programing for behavioral health and other social services is a popular and critical issue; you might even say it is nonpartisan.
• Get a support system in place. That other exec a few states over you spoke with at the last MHCA conference? Email them. Ask them to add anyone else to the email thread that comes to mind as well. Create a space where you can share tips, successes and even fears

You might have already done some of these things. Fantastic. Keep doing them. You may never have done some of these things. Fantastic. Consider this your call to action to start. This will likely be a protracted fight and the time to get in the game is right now.