National Rehabilitation Association: Legislative Alert

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[an error occurred while processing this directive] Governmental Affairs: Advocacy in action. Read current and previous Legislative Network Alerts. View a listing of the Legislative Network Members. Frequently asked questions about the Legislative Network.		Legislative Network Alerts Alert Number 167 June 16, 2006 For Your Information Republicans Pull Labor-HHS-Ed Bill From Floor and More To: Members of the Legislative Network From: Patricia Leahy, Director of Governmental Affairs For those who read on the run, this Washington Wire addresses two issues of importance to the National Rehabilitation Association. First, late yesterday House Republicans pulled the Labor-HHS-Ed Appropriations bill (hereinafter referred to as the Labor-H bill), which had been scheduled for Floor action sometime next week. As House reports have it, there is now speculation on the Hill and elsewhere that some in Congress will try to keep this bill from coming to the Floor until after the November midterm elections. Why is this important? This delay -- should it occur long term -- is important because if the bill does not come to the Floor for a vote and successfully conferenced with the Senate version (which is unlikely) and signed by the President into law before September 30, 2006, the bill would be part of a Continuing Resolution (CR) at lower funding levels or possibly even an omnibus spending bill. The Labor-H bill is always the most contentious of all of the Appropriations' bills and this year is no exception. In addition to the internal division among Members of Congress about how much to spend on what, one of the many issues surrounding this bill is the attachment this week of an amendment to raise the hourly minimum wage by 2.10 which was adopted in Committee this week. All programs authorized under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, were funded in the House at 2006 levels, including four programs (in Titles III and VI, respectively) that the President's 2007 budget had slated for elimination. These programs, Supported Employment, Projects With Industry (PWIs), Migrants and Seasonal Farmworkers and Recreation are important, non-duplicative programs which the National Rehabilitation Association feels strongly must be discretely and adequately funded. Title I of the Rehab Act is mandatorily funded and will receive the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). We will keep you advised as additional developments become known to us in this regard. The second issue of importance is a Request for Comments from the Center for Mental Health Services, a component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), on the Proposed National Outcome Measures for Consumers Receiving Mental Health Services. We are attaching immediately below this important Notice for your information and input. All information on the House Labor-H bill is deemed reliable as of this time and date and could change quickly. Consumer Affairs News from the Center for Mental Health Services http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/consumersurvivor/ ______________________________________________________ CMHS Consumer Affairs E-News June 15, 2006 Vol. 06-68 ______________________________________________________ SAMHSA REQUESTS COMMENTS ON PROPOSED NATIONAL OUTCOME MEASURES On June 9th, SAMHSA published a Federal Register Notice to solicit comments on proposed National Outcome Measures (NOMs) for Consumers Receiving Mental Health Services. The purpose of this proposed data activity is to promote the use of consistent measures among Center for Mental Health Services grantees and contractors funded through the Program of Regional and National Significance (PRNS) and Children's Mental Health Initiative (CMHI) budget lines. A separate data collection form will be used for adults and children but will be parallel in design. NOMs data will be collected at baseline with a periodic reassessment being conducted every six months as long as the client remains in treatment. The proposed data collection will cover eight of the ten domains in NOMs. The Cost-Effectiveness and Evidence-Based Practices domains are under development. Completion of these domains will require input from other sources and is anticipated for Summer 2007. The 8 proposed domains are: access/capacity, stability in housing, education and employment, crime and criminal justice, perception of care, social connectedness, and retention. Data sources and burden estimates are also provided. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collections of information are necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection. Written comments should be forwarded by August 8th to Summer King, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, Room 7-1044, One Choke Cherry Road, Rockville, MD 20857. You can view the complete Federal Register notice by clicking on: http://origin.www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/ and searching the June 9th issue, Vol. 71, No. 111, for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration on pages 33476-7. To request more information on the proposed projects or to obtain a copy of the information collection plans, call the SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer on (240) 276-1243. ************************************************* The Center for Mental Health Services is a component of the Substance Abuse and Mental

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