A BIT ABOUT US
The member organizations of the Behavioral Health Community Collaborative (BHCC), and the dedicated employees we represent, serve thousands of children and adults across Maine each year through an array of statewide programs including residential programs, therapeutic foster care, addiction and recovery, out-patient mental health services, and operating PNMIs (Private Non-Medical Institution). We are committed to ensuring that all Mainers have access to quality services, as close to their home communities as possible.
As a Collaborative we pride ourselves on working with the legislature and the DHHS to “get to yes”. We are willing players and understand the need for a balanced budget as well as the need to provide efficient, effective services for those Mainers who need them.
BHCC PRIORITIES
From 2020-21 we are working with a coalition of consumers, providers, law enforcement, and community members to put forward an agenda for behavioral health services.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
COVID-19 AND MENTAL HEALTH
THE INTERSECTION BETWEEN BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND THE OPIOID CRISIS
In Maine, it is extremely difficult to
recruit and retain workers for our service industry. Because of
the pay we are able to offer, now compounded with the increase in
the minimum wage and the federal requirement to provide overtime,
we are finding it hard to compete with other jobs that pay similarly or more than we are able to. We have services and bed capacity available, but have waiting lists because we cannot staff the positions. We are submitting legislation to address this.
As we move into our eighth month of dealing with the COVID pandemic, people are experiencing serious mental health challenges. Those who live with severe and persistent mental illness find that many of their symptoms have increased and their access to supports and services have diminished because of the pandemic. Others who experience mild or occasional issues find the more frequent and severe. And many who have never experienced anxiety, depression, and mood disorders are finding themselves in the midst of those issues. It is critical that there are adequate community-based services and that we have a Mental Health First Aid kit for every Mainer.
The lack of good mental health and mental health services is often where opioid use begins. For many, it begins in childhood and others as they age. But we will never get the opioid crisis under control without adequate community behavioral health services.
THE MENTAL HEALTH TO PRISON PIPELINE
RATES
BUDGET
Many Mainers who cannot access substance abuse or mental health treatment end up interacting with law enforcement and then jail. This pipeline is the most expensive and least effective option we have, but it is what we continue to fund.
With few exceptions, behavioral services have been flat funded or cut over the last ten years. We intend to submit legislation
that will assure that our rates have kept pace with the CPI, and that there is a COLA going forward. Rates = access and quality
We will work with the Legislature and the Executive Branch to assure that there is adequate funding for Maine’s most vulnerable citizens ~ many of whom require behavioral health services.