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Board of Directors Elected to NYS Regional Planning Consortiums - Local Collaboration to Improve Behavioral Health

The NYS Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors is pleased to announce that a Board of Directors has been elected to each of the 11 Regional Planning Consortiums (RPC) across New York State.  Organized within 11 distinct regions, the RPC boards are comprised of representatives from behavioral health providers (mental health and substance abuse), hospitals and health systems, local and state government, peer and family advocates, and Medicaid Managed Care Organizations. 

New York State is currently in the process of moving all behavioral health services into Medicaid Managed Care, with the goal of improving clinical and recovery outcomes for people who are diagnosed with a mental health and/or substance use disorder.  As the State began the behavioral health transition, CLMHD recognized the importance of taking a regional and collaborative approach to provide support for the managed care implementation, and proposed the formation of RPCs across the state.  The 11 RPC regions include:  Capital, Central, Finger Lakes, Long Island, Mohawk Valley, Mid-Hudson, North Country, New York City, Southern Tier, Tug Hill Seaway, and Western NY. 

The mission of the RPC boards is to collaborate and problem solve around regional service delivery challenges that arise during the behavioral health transition.  Recommendations are then relayed by the regional boards to state government (OMH, OASAS, OCFS and DOH) in an effort to help guide behavioral health policy across New York State.

“The RPCs function as a vehicle through which each region can share information about the local impact of the behavioral health transformation agenda with our partners in state government.  We are excited to be able to provide this opportunity to impact service access and delivery to adults and kids with mental health and substance use disorder needs in our communities,” states Joseph A. Todora, LMSW, MSW, Chair, NYS Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors.

Please visit www.clmhd.org/RPC to view a map of the RPCs, as well as a complete list of your region’s RPC Board of Directors.  Regional board meetings are open to the public.