 |
 |
|
 |
||
Print 
Download Reader 
|
|
|
|
||
Print Download Reader
 |
FACILITATORS/PRESENTERS
HONORABLE MARGARET J. GIANNINI, M.D., F.A.A.P. was appointed October 1, 2002, Director of the Health and Human Service Office on Disability by Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. She serves as advisor to the Secretary on HHS activities relating to disabilities. Prior to becoming Director of the Office on Disability, Dr. Giannini was appointed by President George W. Bush as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aging at the Department of Health and Human Services. From 1981-1992, Dr. Giannini was Deputy Assistant Chief Medical Director for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C. There her work focused on technology transfer and assistive technology involving all disabilities. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter appointed Dr. Giannini as the first Director of the National Institute of Handicapped Research, which was confirmed by the Senate in January of 1980. Dr. Giannini, in 1950, was the first to create the largest facility for mentally retarded and the developmentally disabled for all ages and etiologies in the United States and the world, which became the first University Center of Excellence on Developmental Disabilities.
Dr. Giannini is the recipient of many national and international awards from various organizations in recognition of her professional and humanitarian services and achievements. She was saluted by the Association for Pediatric Research; selected �Woman of the Year� for Achievement in Medicine and �Woman-Doer� by President and Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson; received the Wyeth Medical Achievement Award; the Seal of the Inner London Education Authority for Contributions in the Field of Mental Retardation at the House of Parliament London; and the Governor Hugh Carey Citation for Leadership and Medical Contributions to the State of New York; presented the First Honorary Degree by Mercy College Doctor of Humane Letters; the Meritorious Honor Award in Mental Retardation and awarded the Key to the City of Bologna, Italy; received the Bronze Medal Award by the American Academy of Pediatrics; the National Italian-American Foundation Award for Distinguished Achievements in Science and Medicine; �Recognition Plaque� from the City of San Francisco; Seton Award from Seton Hall College, Pittsburgh, PA; the First Presidential Award for Design Excellence from President Reagan; the N. Neal Pike Award for Service to the handicapped from Boston University; the Isabelle and Leonard H. Goldenson Award for Technology Application to Cerebral Palsy; President Reagan�s Distinguished Service Award, Committee on Employment of the Handicapped; Silver helmet Award by AMVETS; is in the New York Hall of Fame (AHRC, �98); and was honored by the naming of the �Hon. Margaret J. Giannini, M.D. Physical Rehabilitation Pavilion� in 1997 at Westchester Special School, N.Y. First International Leadership Scholars Award by the University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland in recognition for �International Programs in Rehabilitation and Disability.�
Dr. Giannini has served on numerous national and international boards and chaired more than 61 international conferences on rehabilitation and developmental disabilities in many countries, including Israel, Italy, Spain, China, Russia, Argentina, India, Egypt and others. She also has served for many years as Chair of the Board of Trustees, the American University of Rome, Italy. She has published extensively and lectured nationally and internationally. Dr. Giannini has most recently edited �Behavioral Neurology in the Elderly,� December 2001. She is also a Member of the Institute of Medicine of The National Academy of Sciences and Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
PATRICIA MORRISSEY, PH.D. was appointed by the President in August 0f 2001, to serve as the Commissioner of the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, Administration for Children and Families U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She oversees four discretionary grant programs authorized by the Developmental Disabilities Services and Bill of Rights Act of 2000.
Prior to Pat�s appointment she was the Senior Associate, Booz-Allen & Hamilton, Worldwide Technology Business, Disability Consulting Services, advise clients on effective and compliant means to provide opportunities for and services to individuals with disabilities.
While in government and working in the private sector, Pat has worked tirelessly for over 30 years to change perceptions, attitudes and living conditions of the disabled community through changes to national legislation. She served as the senior disability policy advisor for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and was responsible for legislation on federal disability policies such as The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997, The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998, The Education of the Deaf Act Amendments of 1998, The Assistive Technology Act of 1998, The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 and the Developmental Disabilities and Bill of Rights Act Amendments of 1999. Pat has written extensively on a variety of disabilities issues including A Primer for Corporate America on Civil Rights for the Disabled (1991) and Employer�s Guide to the Americans with Disabilities Act (1991, supplements in 1992, 1993, and 1994).
She received her A.A. in liberal arts (1964) from Harford Community College, her B.A. in psychology (1966) from Stetson University and her M.Ed. (1971) and Ph.D. (1974) in special education from Pennsylvania State University.
GARY M. BLAU, PH.D. is a Clinical Psychologist and is currently the Chief of the Child, Adolescent and Family Branch of the Center for Mental Health Services. In this role he provides national leadership for children�s mental health and is responsible for implementing the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Program, the Circles of Care Program, the National Children�s Mental Health Social Marketing Campaign, the National Technical Assistance Programs, and a wide variety of other programs designed to improve the lives of children and families. Through the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services and the SAMHSA Administrator, he is also responsible for translating the President�s New Freedom Commission Report for children and families, and for implementing the children�s portion of the CMHS Action Plan.
Prior to this, Dr. Blau was the Bureau Chief for the Bureau of Quality Management at the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF). In this capacity Dr. Blau had responsibility for DCF�s oversight of child welfare, juvenile justice, substance abuse and mental health service providers, including outpatient psychiatric clinics for children, extended day treatment programs, emergency shelters, group homes and residential treatment centers. Dr. Blau was also responsible for DCF�s administrative case reviews, child fatality investigations, program planning and development, policy and regulation and the DCF Training Academy. Dr. Blau also served as DCF�s Director of Mental Health and provided leadership and oversight to Connecticut�s mental health service delivery system for children and adolescents.
Dr. Blau was formerly a member of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Director�s Division of Children, Youth and Families, and from July 1, 1998 through June 30, 2000 he was the Division�s Chairperson. Dr. Blau has received several awards including the prestigious Governor�s Service Award, the Phoebe Bennet Award for outstanding contribution to children�s mental health in Connecticut, and the Making a Difference Award presented by Connecticut�s Federation of Families for Children�s Mental Health. He currently holds a clinical faculty appointment at the Yale Child Study Center. Since receiving his Ph.D. from Auburn University (Auburn, Alabama) in 1988, Dr. Blau has worked in children�s mental health with a primary emphasis on issues of victimization, child custody, permanency planning and innovative service models. He has held an appointment on the editorial board of the Journal of Primary Prevention, and has numerous publications and presentations in the areas of child custody, primary prevention, managed care and clinical service delivery.
SYBIL K. GOLDMAN, M.S.W., is the Senior Advisor for Children, within the Office of the Administrator and the Office of Policy, Planning and Budget in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an Agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Prior to serving in this position, Ms. Goldman was the Director of the National Technical Assistance Center for Children�s Mental Health at the Georgetown University Child Development Center, Georgetown University Medical Center Department of Pediatrics where she is an Assistant Professor. Ms. Goldman has over 30 years experience in health, mental health, substance abuse, and human services at the national, state, and local levels involved in policy, administration, research, training, service delivery, and advocacy. She is the author of numerous publications on child health and mental health policy and service delivery. At the Georgetown National Technical Assistance Center for Children�s Mental Health she assisted states and communities in building systems of care and improving service delivery for children and adolescents with behavioral health problems and their families. She has staffed and served on many task forces and coalitions including the President�s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health and the Surgeon General�s National Action Agenda for Children�s Mental Health.
Ms. Goldman received her B.A. degree from Tufts University, M.S.W. from Rutgers University, Post Master�s in Health Services Administration from George Washington University, and completed the Senior Managers in Government Program at Harvard University�s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
PHYLLIS R. MAGRAB, PH.D., Professor of Pediatrics, has dedicated her career to improving the quality of life of vulnerable children and their families. For the past forty years she has provided service, conducted research, and trained other future professionals in the care of children with chronic illnesses, disabilities and mental health needs and their families. She has been Director of the Center for Child and Human Development Center, a major research and training and public policy program since 1975 and also has been Chief of Pediatric Psychology since 1969. Dr. Magrab has written/edited ten major books as well as written numerous articles and chapters that reflect her personal commitment and philosophy of caring.
She was one of the founders of the field of pediatric psychology and her text, Psychological Management of Pediatric Problems, represents one of the firsts works in the field that established its academic presence. She received the Distinguished Contributions Award from the American Psychological Association, Society of Pediatric Psychology for her efforts in 1985.
She has contributed significantly to the field of training clinical psychologists and has served as chairperson of both committees and conferences that have further defined the field. For these contributions, she received the Distinguished Service Award from the Division of Clinical Psychology of the American Psychological Association in 1991. In 1999, she was honored by Georgetown University for her teaching when she received the inaugural Estelle Ramey Medical Women Faculty Award, a tribute to her commitment to sharing knowledge and creating a community of caring professionals.
Over the past two decades she has been actively involved in developing public policy to insure society�s commitment to children and youth with special needs. She was one of the pioneers in the field of maternal and child health and children�s mental health to establish community-based, family-centered systems of care for children and youth with disabilities, chronic medical conditions and mental health needs. She has consulted with professionals and public health leaders in practically every state in this country around developing policies and implementing systems change towards this goal. She was the recipient of the Surgeon General�s Award for Distinguished Service for this work in 1988 and the John C. Mac Queen Award of the Association of Maternal and Child Health in 2002. In the early 1990�s she was asked to work with the Ministries of Health in Hungary and Czechoslovakia to apply these concepts to the decentralization of health care that has taken place in Central and Eastern Europe. One of her recent books, Where Children Live, is a compendium of effective community solution to serving children and their families, both nationally and internationally.
Currently, Dr. Magrab is actively involved in global issues related to social exclusion. She is working with UNESCO on their agenda of Education For All and with the OECD on policies for serving at-risk children in their communities. She is especially concerned with the social justice issues surrounding global initiatives that relate to children and the human rights agenda.
PANELISTS
PANEL I
GERALDINE TONICH is a parent representative from Family Ties in Westchester County, New York. She is the mother of three sons, ages thirteen, nine and six. For the last year and one-half, she has worked as a Personal Assistant to a child with Asperger�s Disorder. She has recently been promoted to the position of Family Ties Resource Specialist, with responsibility for family support activities in two northern Westchester Resource Centers.
MYRA ALFREDS, CSW, is the Director of Children�s Mental Health Services in the Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health. She is also the Project Director and Principal Investigator for the Westchester Community Network, a federally funded, nationally recognized, community based system of care for children with serious social, emotional and behavioral difficulties and their families. Network is built on principles and values that promote cross-systems, culturally competent, individualized care that is family and youth driven and supports child and family strengths. The Westchester Community Network is known for its community-based Network system, its county-wide family and peer support movements, its use of respite and therapeutic recreation and its specialized services for youth with high risk behaviors, such as sexual reaction/aggression and fire setting. The Westchester Community Network has been designated by the federal government as one of three Team Learning Collaboratives that welcomes visitors from other communities and states from throughout the country to learn about System of Care work. Ms. Alfreds has worked extensively in many different systems, including adult and youth education and employment, social services, youth parole, drug and alcohol prevention and treatment, runaway and homeless youth services, and children�s mental health. She speaks widely on a variety of topics that reflect the innovative work that occurs in Westchester County. Recent topics have included, �Leadership within the System of Care,� Development of Community-based Networks,� �Inter-agency Collaboration for Children with Co-Occurring Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities,� and �The Use of Evidence-based Practices within the System of Care.� She is the recipient of the New York State Department of Social Services �No Time to Lose Award� for Outstanding Community Services for promoting and expanding the Network Model.
CHARLIE BISS, M.S.W. Charlie has been with the Vermont State Department of Developmental and Mental Health Services� Division of Mental Health for the past 18 years. He has been the Director of the Child, Adolescent and Family Unit for the past 13 years. He has 32 years of Human Services experience as a clinician, local program developer, and a state level implementer of systems of care. This experience has taught him the importance of consumer and family involvement, building local community-based services and supports, and focusing on prevention and early intervention.
CHERYLL BOWERS-STEPHENS, M.D., M.B.A. is the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Mental Health in the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. She is a graduate of Spelman University, with an undergraduate degree in psychology and computer science. She also holds a MBA from the University of New Orleans and an MD from Louisiana State University in New Orleans. Her general psychiatry residency was at the Ochsner Medical Foundation, followed by a child and adolescent fellowship at Tulane University. Her clinical area of expertise is treatment of youth with co-occurring mental illness and developmental disability. She has served for the past ten years in program administration and program development. In this role, she has emphasized the importance of infant mental health, services to at-risk youth ages 0-5 and their families, and collaboration at the community level. She is currently engaged in Project Legacy, an effort to transform mental health for the State of Louisiana.
PANEL II
PEGGY NIKKEL is the Executive Director of UPLIFT, Wyoming�s Federation of Families for Children�s Mental Heath. She is also the parent of a son with emotional and learning disorders. Mrs. Nikkel has worked closely with government officials, researchers and clinicians to improve services for children, particularly to institute early screening and intervention programs. Her advocacy efforts led to the development of Wyoming�s Early Start Program in 1998.
She actively participates on a number of state and national initiatives. Her current work in Wyoming is focused on system of care development through the Governor�s Mental Health Planning Council and the Governor�s Children and Families Initiative Advisory Council. She has partnered with the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development on several projects related to early childhood mental health. She also serves as a consultant for other family advocacy organizations across the country through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration�s Statewide Family Network Program. Additionally, Peggy has served as a conference presenter for a number of state and national conferences and in 2002 she was awarded the Claiming Children Award by the National Federation of Families for Children�s Mental Health.
STEVE LAFRENIERE, M.S. has worked for the Alabama Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (DMH/MR) since 1997 and has served as the Director of Children�s Services Office since 2001. This Office was created to administer the specialized Children First Funds that come to the DMH/MR; to provide comprehensive planning for children�s services across the three (3) service divisions; and serve as a single point of contact in the department for children�s services. Before serving as Director, he held the positions of Coordinator of Child and Adolescent Services and a Resource Specialist within the Mental Illness Division.
Prior to his service at DMH/MR, he was worked at a community mental health center in Montgomery Alabama as a Children�s Outpatient therapist and Lead Therapist for an In-Home Intervention Team. The in-home team served children and adolescents with Serious Emotional Disturbances and their families. He is a graduate of Auburn University and received his Master�s in Clinical Psychology from Auburn University at Montgomery in 1992, where he taught as a part-time Adjunct Instructor in the Psychology Department until 2001. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Wetumpka Alabama.
KENNETH W. RITCHEY is the Director of the Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. Governor Bob Taft appointed Kenneth W. Ritchey director of the Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (MR/DD) on February 11, 1999.
Director Ritchey oversees the human service agency that provides funding, oversight and technical assistance to Ohio�s 88 County Boards of MR/DD. More than 68,000 Ohioans receive services and supports through Ohio�s MR/DD system.
Director Ritchey received his Bachelor�s degree from Shippensburg University (Pennsylvania) and has his Master�s degree from the Curry School of Education, University of Virginia. He has a second Master�s in Education Administration from the University of Dayton and participated in the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government sponsored by the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Director Ritchey has guided the Department of MR/DD through a number of significant changes and accomplishments. Some of the major initiatives under his leadership include: a complete redesign of Ohio�s Medicaid system for people with disabilities; major health and safety initiatives; restructuring of the department�s table of organization; expansion of Ohio�s Self-Determination project; development of important Interagency Agreements and collaboratives; settlements of long-standing lawsuits; consolidated State developmental services and the implementation of Ohio�s MR/DD Vision Paper.
PANEL III
SHEILA A. PIRES, M.P.A. is a founding partner of the Human Service Collaborative of Washington, D.C., a policy and technical assistance group specializing in child and family service systems. Ms. Pires has 30 years of experience in national, state, and local government and non-profit agencies serving children and families at risk. She has held senior staff and management positions in the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare and the Carter White House. She co-chaired the children�s mental health and substance abuse committee of President Clinton�s Task Force on Health Care Reform, and co-authored the children�s issue brief and policy recommendations for President Bush�s New Freedom Mental Health Commission. She is a co-Principal Investigator of the only national study analyzing the impact of Medicaid managed care on children with behavioral health disorders and their families and serves as the Senior Consultant to the Children in Managed Care Program at the Center for Health Care Strategies. At the state and local level, Ms. Pires served as Deputy Commissioner of Social Services for the District of Columbia and, prior to that, led a reorganization of the city�s mental health system as head of child mental health services. She has consulted with states, counties, cities, neighborhoods, and family organizations and has authored numerous publications on systems change, including Building Systems of Care: A Primer. Ms. Pires received her B.A. from Boston University and a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University.
KATHLEEN BETTS, M.P.H. is currently Deputy Assistant Secretary for Children, Youth and Families in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Children,Youth and Families oversees the following agencies: child welfare, juvenile justice, welfare, children�s trust fund and refugees and immigrants. Kathy is a graduate of Boston College and has a Master�s Degree in Public Health from Boston University. She has over 20 years of experience in program development and analysis in state government. Prior to her recent return to state service, she was the director of child and adolescent services for the Medicaid Mental Health Carve- Out Program.
MARC CHERNA was appointed the Director of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) in January 1997. As DHS Director, he is responsible for overseeing the ongoing operations of this Department, which brings under one umbrella, with a shared vision and goals, five programmatic offices: Children, Youth and Families, Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities, Community Services, Behavioral Health, and the Area Agency on Aging. The Department operates with a combined budget of $715 million, approximately 1200 employees, contracts with over 500 service provider agencies, and serves approximately 250,000 county residents a year.
Marc first came to Allegheny County in February 1996 as a result of a national search to take charge of the county�s child protective service agency and immediately implemented system-wide changes that have resulted in better permanency outcomes for children. These reforms received national recognition and were showcased by CNN on NewsNight with Aaron Brown.
Marc�s innovative practice and leadership abilities have also garnered him prestigious awards by numerous child welfare, humanitarian, and civic organizations such as; the Betty Elmer Outstanding Professional Award from Family Resources; the Urban League�s Ronald H. Brown Civic Leadership Award; the Good Government Award from the League of Women Voters. He serves on many boards and committees such as the University of Pittsburgh�s School of Social Work�s Board of Visitors, the Executive Committee of the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators and the Child Welfare League of America�s National Advisory Committee on Foster Care, The United Way of Allegheny County and the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board.
Marc began his career in human services as a youth worker over 30 years ago. He has extensive work experience in the field, including four years as the Director of Planning, Allocations and Agency Relations with the United Way of Union County, New Jersey and almost 14 years with the New Jersey Department of Human Services as an Assistant Director with the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services in the areas of Policy, Planning and Support and Program Operations and as a Special Assistant to the Deputy Commissioner.
Marc received his B.A. degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton and an M.S.W. from the Hunter College School of Social Work in New York. He has three children and three grandchildren.
Last Revised: May 9, 2006
|
