Advocacy Updates - ADAMH Board of Franklin County

November 2023

Election Day Recap

State Issues

  • Issue 1 – Abortion Rights – PASSED
    • Goes into effect on December 7 (30 days after passage)
  • Issue 2 – Recreational Marijuana – PASSED
    • Goes into effect on December 7 (30 days after passage)

Local Issues/Levies

  • Issue 10 – Canal Winchester Local School District – Levy (Substitute) - PASSED
    • 10.2 mills, $357 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value, 5 years, commencing in 2024
  • Issue 11 – Columbus City School District – Levy (Additional) – PASSED
    • Operating expenses (3 mills) and Permanent Improvements (4.7 mills)
    • 7.7 mills, $269.50 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value; continuing period of time; commencing 2024
  • Issue 12 – Dublin City School District – Levy (Additional) - PASSED
    • Bond – Facility construction
      • $145,000,000; 1.99 mills; $70 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value; 30 yeas
    • Levy – Current operating expenses
      • 7.9 mills; $277 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value; continuing period of time; commencing 2023
  • Issue 14 – Groveport Madison Local School District – Levy (Renewal) - PASSED
    • 6.68 mills, $170 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value; continuing period of time; commencing 2024
  • Issue 16 – Columbus Metropolitan Library – Levy (Additional) - PASSED
    • 1.5 mills; $53 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value; continuing period of time; commencing 2023

Issue 2 - Recreation Marijuana

Following the passage of Issue 2, the measure will allow the adult-use sale, purchase and possession of cannabis for Ohioans who are 21 and older. Going into effect on Dec. 7, it will permit adults to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana, up to 15 grams of marijuana concentrate and grow up to six plants at home. However, recreational marijuana will not be immediately available to purchase in dispensaries, as the first sales cannot occur until the newly established Division of Cannabis Control completes the rulemaking and licensing processes. The division has nine months to outline the criteria for certifying facilities.

Governor Mike DeWine and legislative leaders have indicated that they intend to make changes to the approved ballot measure language. Specifically, DeWine said he had several goals for changes to Issue 2:

  • Protect children from marijuana advertising and edibles
  • Ensure the state does not see an increase in cases of impaired driving
  • Protect the public from exposure to marijuana smoke

We will be monitoring this issue closely and will be sure to keep ADAMH providers updated on the proposed changes.

May 2023

State Budget Update

House Bill 33 has officially made its way over to the Senate and budget hearings continue to take place in Senate committees. The House passed version of the budget made significant funding cuts to the OhioMHAS budget. ADAMH is advocating to senators for the following requests:

  • Increase funding in the Continuum of Care line (ALI 336-421) so that there is enough funding available, outside of set asides and earmarks, to ensure that ADAMH Boards receive a base allocation of at least $71,989,846 in each year of the biennium. This would represent flat funding for the ADAMH Board allocations, which have not been increased for several years.
  • Support an additional $143 million investment in Medicaid community behavioral health services to stabilize and strengthen the behavioral health workforce.
  • Restore the Hospital Services line (ALI 336-412) to the as-introduced amount to ensure continuation of state hospital operations at current capacity levels and allow for planned expansion of necessary bed capacity in the amount of 80 new beds.
  • Restore the Criminal Justice Services line (ALI 336-422) to the as-introduced amount to ensure that local services, including services in local jails, are able to continue. The increased investment will also allow for enhancing forensic services.
  • Restore the investment in the Residential State Supplement line (ALI 336-510). Returning to the as introduced amount would ensure that adult care facilities (ACFs) are able to continue operations to provide housing for individuals with mental illness.
  • Restore the Prevention and Wellness line (ALI 336-406) to the as-introduced amount in order to maintain and expand prevention activities, with a specific focus on suicide prevention.

Ohio Senate Delegation - Central Ohio

Franklin County

Outside Franklin County

  • Senator Andrew Brenner (R-19) *
    • Represents Delaware, Knox, Holmes, and Coshocton Counties
    • Sits on Senate Finance Committee
  • Senator Bill Reineke (R-26)
    • Represents Union, Marion, Morrow, Wyandot, Crawford, Seneca and Sandusky Counties
    • Sits on Senate Finance Committee
  • Senator Stephanie Kunze (R-16)
    • Represents Madison and Pickaway Counties and a portion of Franklin County
  • Senator Tim Schaffer (R-20)
    • Represents Fairfield and Licking Counties and portion of Perry County
    • Sits on Senate Insurance Committee

April 2023

State Budget Advocacy: Join Our Efforts

ADAMH is advocating for a number of items in the proposed State of Ohio FY 2024-2025 Operating Budget that present tremendous opportunity to support our work in the behavioral health field.

  • 988: Maintain the 988 funding of $46.5 million across the biennium to fully support the 988 call, text and chat capabilities across the state.
  • Workforce: Support amendment HC0294 to increase Medicaid rates for community behavioral health services by an additional 10 percent, for a total of a 20 percent increase, to stabilize and strengthen the behavioral health workforce.
  • Housing supports: Maintain the increased investments in Residential State Supplement to support the expansion of recovery housing and supports services.
  • Youth mental health: Maintain the Student Wellness and Success Fund spending requirements to ensure 50 percent of funds are used towards physical and mental health services of students.

Want to help advocate for these budget items? There are several ways you can get involved. View key budget advocacy opportunities. Access a sample state budget advocacy letter.

Legislative Day

On March 29, the ADAMH Board of Franklin County participated in a joint legislative day hosted by the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities, NAMI Ohio and the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation. ADAMH, along with representatives from NAMI Franklin County and the Franklin County Suicide Prevention Coalition, met with a total of nine Franklin County legislative offices.

March 2023

State Budget Update

The House continues to hold committee hearings on the state budget bill. We will keep you updated as it continues to move through the legislative process.

Medicaid Unwinding

As a reminder, the State of Ohio has returned to resuming routine Medicaid eligibility operations. It is critical that Medicaid members take the necessary steps to update their contact information, respond to requests for information (including renewal packets), or transition to other coverage if they are no longer eligible for Medicaid.

For additional resources about the Medicaid Unwinding process, please check out the Ohio Department of Medicaid’s Communications Partner Packet.

Ohio Chemical Dependency Board: Changes Coming to Grace Periods

Beginning April 6, the grace period to reinstate an inactive/lapsed certificate or license with the Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals (CDP) Board, with a late fee, will move to one year from its expiration date. This grace period begins once a credential expires and only applies to those certificate/licenses which are renewable.

If you currently have a certificate/license with an expiration date of April 5, 2022, or earlier in inactive/lapsed status and you do not renew by April 5, 2023, your certificate/license will move to inactive, expired statue. Questions? Please call the CDP Board at 614.387.1110 or email Jill.Smock@ocdp.state.oh.us.

Ohio Launches Data Dashboards to Report Overdoses and Substance Use

The State of Ohio is making behavioral health data from multiple agencies accessible in a single location for the first time. This dashboard provides a county and state-level picture of long-term trends in opioid use disorder, overdoses, and treatment. Franklin County data is included as part of the dashboard. View the Data Dashboard.

February 2023

Medicaid Unwinding Process Underway

The Ohio Department of Medicaid has begun the Medicaid Unwind process as of Feb. 1. As every Medicaid client will need to go through the process of redetermination, it is critical that Medicaid members ensure that their contact information is up to date and that they respond to requests for information and their renewal packets that will be mailed to them.

How to Update Contact Information

  • Phone: 1-844-640-6446. Help is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Online: Members with an existing Ohio Benefits Self-Service Portal (SSP) account can report changes online https://benefits.ohio.gov. After logging in, they should click the “Access my Benefits” tile, then click “Report a Change to my Case” from the dropdown and follow the prompts.
  • Contacting their County JFS: Ohio Medicaid members can find their CDJFS by selecting their county from the dropdown at https://medicaid.ohio.gov/dropdown.

For more information about Ohio’s Medicaid Unwind Process, check out the Ohio Department of Medicaid’s Communications Partner Packet. It includes information and graphics that you can socialize with your networks.

State Budget Process Underway

The House Finance Committee has begun hearings on the State Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Operating Budget. Directors from the Departments of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Medicaid, Aging, and Developmental Disabilities testified as a panel on Feb. 8 about their respective budget proposals. Highlights of their proposals include:

  • Increased Medicaid reimbursement rates for community behavioral health services
  • Funding to support 988 for the next two years
  • Enhancing forensic center capacity for court-ordered evaluations and monitoring
  • Creation of the State of Ohio Action for Resiliency Network (SOAR), which is charged with leading groundbreaking research to better understand risk factors, prevention efforts, and treatment practices for mental illness and addiction

Budget Resources and Links

January 2023

Get to Know Your Franklin County Statehouse Delegation

The members of the 135th Ohio General Assembly were officially sworn into office on Jan. 3. While there are many familiar faces, we have a few new members who were elected in 2022 to represent Franklin County.

Ohio Senate

* Denotes newly elected member

Ohio House of Representatives

* Denotes newly elected member

Review Timeline for Ohio's Stage Budget Process

As Gov. DeWine is expected to introduce his proposed state budget at the end of January, it’s important to know the timeline as the budget process unfolds.

  • By Jan. 31: Governor Releases the Executive Budget
  • February - April: Budget Deliberated in House of Representatives
  • April - June: Budget Deliberated in Senate
  • June: Conference Committee Meets to Reconcile Differences
  • By June 30: Governor Signs Budget Bill

Keep a look out for more information about the state budget in the coming weeks. In the meantime, check out The Center for Community Solutions Ohio Budget Process 2024-2025: Primer and Timeline for more information about the state budget process.

Lame Duck Update

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