About Us
The Network of Behavioral Health Providers (the Network) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) agency composed of the leadership of over 30 of Houston area's public and private, profit and nonprofit, mental health and substance use provider agencies. Agreeing to a vision of communication, cooperation, and collaboration, the member agency representatives meet on a monthly basis to identify common concerns, emerging needs, and public policy issues and work together to address those shared agendas. Because networking was a primary goal expressed by the initial creators of the organization, meetings are structured but informal enough to provide opportunities for member-to-member connections.
While the Network’s by-laws dictate that it does have a Board of Directors, the Network is committed to having the full membership serve as the decision-making body. All dues-paying member organizations are allowed one vote. The group meets on a regular basis (the second Wednesday afternoon of each month) to consider all items of interest. The Board meets as needed and generally no more than once a year, for the purpose of reviewing and focusing specific agenda items for time saving purposes, prior to bringing them to the full group for discussion/action.
NBHP’s program emphases are selected by the membership and focus on system level initiatives in areas such as:
The Network has implemented a major, multi-faceted project, "The Greater Houston Behavioral Health Affordable Care Act (BHACA) Initiative." In partnership with Mental Health America of Greater Houston, this effort was designed to provide educational opportunities and more intensive personalized technical assistance on key administrative aspects of the Affordable Care Act to local behavioral health providers.
The Network also successfully completed a workforce development initiative, “The Pathways Project”, an effort focused on increasing the number of persons entering one of the many behavioral health workforce career educational tracks. Beginning with an awareness-building curriculum at the high school level through special educational and experiential opportunities in post secondary and graduate level educational programs, The Pathways Project seeks to increase the number of individuals who choose careers in mental health and substance use service provision.
Finally, the Network membership continually monitors public policy, and when an issue arises on which the voice of the behavioral health community in greater Houston needs to weigh in, the organization can and does respond quickly, whether it be a local, state, or national policy impacting the ability of providers to serve the Houston population.
While the Network’s by-laws dictate that it does have a Board of Directors, the Network is committed to having the full membership serve as the decision-making body. All dues-paying member organizations are allowed one vote. The group meets on a regular basis (the second Wednesday afternoon of each month) to consider all items of interest. The Board meets as needed and generally no more than once a year, for the purpose of reviewing and focusing specific agenda items for time saving purposes, prior to bringing them to the full group for discussion/action.
NBHP’s program emphases are selected by the membership and focus on system level initiatives in areas such as:
- Workforce development
- Health care policy changes
- Coordination of Care
- Educational and training opportunities that increase the quality of behavioral health care in the community
- Public policy advocacy aimed at improving access, affordability, and delivery of behavioral health care
The Network has implemented a major, multi-faceted project, "The Greater Houston Behavioral Health Affordable Care Act (BHACA) Initiative." In partnership with Mental Health America of Greater Houston, this effort was designed to provide educational opportunities and more intensive personalized technical assistance on key administrative aspects of the Affordable Care Act to local behavioral health providers.
The Network also successfully completed a workforce development initiative, “The Pathways Project”, an effort focused on increasing the number of persons entering one of the many behavioral health workforce career educational tracks. Beginning with an awareness-building curriculum at the high school level through special educational and experiential opportunities in post secondary and graduate level educational programs, The Pathways Project seeks to increase the number of individuals who choose careers in mental health and substance use service provision.
Finally, the Network membership continually monitors public policy, and when an issue arises on which the voice of the behavioral health community in greater Houston needs to weigh in, the organization can and does respond quickly, whether it be a local, state, or national policy impacting the ability of providers to serve the Houston population.
| NBHP Organizational Overview |