Performance Pay Reduction The state budget that was recently signed included an indefinite (probably permanent) suspension of performance pay (2.75%) beginning May 29. The effective date of the bill (HB2003) is June 15- so that's the day that the reduction will be actually implemented. But since this is in the middle of a pay period, we won't begin to actually [...]
Our Licensing & Operations Divisions went live with our new Online Complaint Form system. It took some old fashioned elbow grease and creativity to put together this new time saving application- that will allow our licensing folks to more efficiently take and track complaints- and to more efficiently get back with folks that file them. [...]
Pima County will receive a $16 million grant as part of the national Communities Putting Prevention to Work efforts funded through the federal Stimulus program. They’ll be creating a community-wide set of strategies and interventions to reduce obesity by ensuring safe, attractive accessible places for physical activity and making healthy foods available, accessible, and affordable. [...]
Thursday afternoon the Governor signed the budget bills that the Legislature passed that prescribed budgets for the remaining part of FY 2010 and FY 2011. The deal is complicated and contains lots of details. Most of the provisions for our agency pertain to reductions in services that will begin next fiscal year (which starts July 1)- including orders to [...]
Today, we announced who will handle behavioral health care in Arizona except for Maricopa County starting in July. Northern Arizona Behavioral Health Authority, Cenpatico Behavioral Health of Arizona, and Community Partnership of Southern Arizona won the contracts. We're excited about the content in these new contracts. They are taking consumer choice and voice to a [...]
I haven't written much about the Arnold v. Sarn lawsuit because its so complicated and difficult to explain. Basically, it's a lawsuit filed against ADHS in 1981 (adding the Governor as a defendant in 2000) that has held the Department accountable to certain court orders about community-based behavioral health services for adults with serious mental illness in [...]
I met with the staff of most of the members of Arizona’s congressional delegation Wednesday in Washington DC at an event called Hill Day sponsored by the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation. I used the opportunity to talk to them about nutritional policy issues like boosting the nutritional strength of the foods that are served under the free and reduced lunch [...]
Folks that face challenges with mental & behavioral health tend to smoke at a higher rate than others. That makes this group a high priority for interventions to reduce their smoking rates. Throughout 2010, we’ll be focusing on various intervention strategies for important health topics along these lines- and March is the final month of [...]
Folks that face challenges with mental & behavioral health tend to smoke at a higher rate than others. That makes this group a high priority for interventions to reduce their smoking rates. Throughout 2010, we’ll be focusing on various intervention strategies for important health topics along these lines- and March is the final month of [...]
The federal Healthier US Schools Challenge Program establishes rigorous standards for schools’ food quality, participation in meal programs, physical activity, and nutrition education – key components that make for healthy and active kids – and provides recognition for schools that meet these standards. In the next school year, the USDA’s goal is to double [...]
