ADDICTION MONEY RESTORED

CORE-Illinois: Advocating for Recovery Be the Voice ADDICTION MONEY RESTORED!   -      NOVEMBER 30, 2011  CORE LINKS    CORE'S BLOG    CORE-ILLINOIS WEB PAGE    MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION     CONTACT CORE     FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE HERE   LOCATE LOCAL NEWS PAPERS     CORE SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS FACT SHEET     CORE ROI-TREATMENT A GOOD RETURN ON INVESTMENT FACT SHEET      CORE IS THIS THE ILLINOIS WAY TO SAVE MONEY? FACT SHEET     SAMPLE LETTER TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVE     SAMPLE LETTER TO  THE EDITOR   Dear Fred, MONEY RESTORED Last night both the Illinois House (HB 2412) and the Senate (SB 2412) passed a bill restoring 28 million dollars to the ADDICTION SERVICES BUDGET for FY 2012! The Governor is expected to sign the bill. According to the Illinois issue blog, the plan combines money from the governor's budget vetoes with cash transferred from various state funds and Medicaid reimbursements brought in from the federal government. The total amount of dollars shifted would be more than $270 million, and a strategy called "churning" is projected to bring in an additional $136 million in Medicaid dollars from the feds.  Just over $200 million is slated to keep state facilitates open. Additional money would be spent on human services and other programs that Quinn and some lawmakers did not want to see cut in the budget that was approved in the spring. In addition to the 28 Million for substance abuse services 30 million was restored for community mental health programs, 4.7 for homeless programs. Money was also included for indigent burials and grants for college students. Of the 28 million earmarked for addictions services the breakdown of the dollars is: Treatment-Special Populations           1.5 Million Treatment-DCFS clients                     2.0 Million Treatment-Medicaid                           7.6 Million Treatment Services                              16.9 Million Bill Johnson, Executive Director of CORE-Illinois stated that he is gratified with the funding restoration, and lives will be saved because of the actions the lawmakers took last night. This would not have happened had it not been for the efforts of our membership calling, writing and visiting their representatives. Johnson said: "The efforts of CORE in conjunction with the efforts of other mental health and human Services organizations lead to this victory." Johnson also pointed out that this is only a restoring of most of funding lost last year, and does not represent new dollars to enhance the amount or quality of current addiction services. He also pointed out there was no restoration of funding for prevention, and that was disappointing. On the positive side, Johnson also pointed out that the restoration of funding is a strong signal that the legislators understand that service to people affected by addiction is important and necessary.     Thank you to all who helped-you made a difference in someones life!  Now what we are asking you to do.  Please look up on the HOW DID THEY VOTE page, and learn how your legislator voted.  If they supported restoration, call or send them a letter thanking them for their important and enlightened vote.  Legislators far to often only hear complaints-tell them they are appreciated for this vote, and keep working on building your relationships.     CORE SURPASSES MILESTONE! November was a banner month for CORE-ILLINOIS! Our membership crossed the 585 mark, making us the largest addiction advocacy group in Illinois-thank you for your support! CONTACT US : E-Mail COREILLINOIS@AOL.COM Phone 217-544-1251      Fax  217-698-8234 By Mail CORE-ILLINOIS   401 E. Sangamon Ave. Springfield, IL 62702 Below and to the left is a link that will allow you to forward this CORE-ALERT to your FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS.  All information is this ALERT is public and we are asking you to please engage others in your life to our cause.