Children's System of Care Advisory Council

The Origins of the Children's System of Care Advisory Council

In recent years, the Children's Behavioral Health Collaborative has driven broad policy change at the state level. Building on those wins and system-wide improvements, the CBHC's Steering Committee members reshaped the Collaborative's operating structure to be more effective, more efficient, and better aligned with System of Care values. The System of Care Advisory Council now replaces the CBHC Steering Committee, offering leadership and coordination across the System of Care.

From the start, the Collaborative has worked to build awareness, political will, and state leadership so the resources and infrastructure exist for a comprehensive, integrated System of Care that is youth- and family-driven, community-based, culturally and linguistically competent, and trauma informed. The CBHC has also sought to build a network of people and agencies that exchange ideas and information, breaking down silos among service organizations so the system operates in a coordinated way and reflects the real needs of youth and families.

To that end, the Collaborative has successfully advanced a series of comprehensive state-level policy changes in recent years, including:

· In 2016, the NH Legislature passed Senate Bill 534, which wrote the System of Care approach and values into RSA 135-F. The law directs the State to build and sustain an integrated, comprehensive service delivery system for children with behavioral health needs.

· RSA 135-F also established a new government infrastructure and created the Bureau of Children’s Behavioral Health, and over time it added substantially more staffing capacity within the NH Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the NH Department of Education (DOE), which also houses the Office of Student Wellness.

· The State’s 10-year mental health plan, released in January 2019, places a focus on children and youth.

· Senate Bill 14, signed into law in 2019, expands the System of Care further and links it to NH’s other child-serving systems. SB 14 also created a Children's System of Care Advisory Council within state government, recently launched to bring partners and stakeholders together to monitor the System’s implementation, spot gaps, and encourage state agencies and community partners to collaborate in support of a comprehensive System of Care.

The new operating structure works as follows:

· The System of Care Advisory Council now replaces the CBHC Steering Committee, providing leadership and coordination across the System of Care.

· The CBHC's Equity and Workforce Development workgroups will carry on their work as official subcommittees of the System of Care Advisory Council.

· Ongoing work such as policy implementation, systems transformation, stakeholder collaboration, and gap identification will take place through the Children's System of Care Advisory Council, whose membership of more than 100 individuals includes all current CBHC Steering Committee members and many others.

· With leadership and support from DHHS and DOE, the System of Care Advisory Council will educate and engage stakeholders; and

· maintain regular stakeholder communication and engagement throughout the year.

· Legislative policy work will be fully managed under New Futures and directed by a newly formed Children’s Behavioral Health Policy Advisory Committee. This Committee was appointed by the outgoing CBHC Steering Committee through an open application process. The Committee is comprised of content experts, providers and individuals with lived experience and will be guided by core System of Care values: youth and family driven, community based, culturally and linguistically competent, and trauma informed.

· Partners and subcommittees advancing the System of Care framework for Children’s Behavioral Health will use the CBHC logo (without the CBHC title).

· Other aspects of how current CBHC partners will keep meeting and working together are still evolving.

To learn more about the System of Care, the System of Care Advisory Committee, or New Futures’ CBH Policy Advisory Committee, please review the documents below:

· System of Care guiding framework

· 135-F: System of Care Advisory Committee

· New Futures Children's Behavioral Health Policy Advisory Committee Charter

· Application scoring rubric that will be used to score applications