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Recognizing and honoring Joan Erney, on the occasion of her retirement as Chief Executive Officer of Community Behavioral Health, for her decades of service in the field of behavioral health.
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WHEREAS, Joan Erney, JD, has dedicated over 30 years to the behavioral health field. She has served in leadership roles at both the federal and state levels, including the Director of the Office of Planning, Policy, and Innovation at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and as the Pennsylvania Deputy Secretary for the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS); and
WHEREAS, During her tenure at the State, Erney was most proud of supporting the development of Certified Peer Specialists in the State Medicaid Program; expanding the behavioral health HealthChoices Program statewide; launching a major permanent supportive housing initiative; and jointly initiating a criminal justice partnership with the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency; and
WHEREAS, In 2013, Erney began her role as the Chief Executive Officer of Community Behavioral Health (CBH), a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit division of the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services in Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Under Erney, CBH fostered strategies for cross-system collaboration, working extensively with all child-serving and human services systems in the City. As a result, CBH was successful in expanding the use of evidence-based interventions in behavioral healthcare delivery and bolstering the availability of community-based services. With Erney at the helm, CBH also increased the use of trauma-informed care; strengthened services for individuals with serious mental illness; created tobacco-free psychiatric and drug treatment settings; and embedded behavioral health clinicians into the City’s health centers; and
WHEREAS, It was during Erney’s tenure that the number of Philadelphians eligible to receive behavioral healthcare coverage through CBH ballooned to an all-time high of more than 700,000 individuals. Also, during this time, Philadelphia’s opioid crisis continued to grow, and CBH played a critical role in reducing barriers to treatment, expanding addiction services, and impacting prescribing practices; and
WHEREAS, CBH’s commitment to accessible, quality behavioral health services was strengthened by Erney’s leadership, and in 2019 CBH was awarded the National Committee for Quality Assurance’s (NCQA) Managed Behavioral Health Organization (MBHO) Full Accreditation for the first time. Additionally, through her leadership, CBH was able to reduce the number of children in residential placement, boost services for children on the autism spectrum, and strengthen school-based behavioral health services; and
WHEREAS, Throughout her career, Erney has remained a passionate advocate for the underserved. Today she works tirelessly to help reduce stigma around mental health and strives to create lasting change in behavioral health treatment delivery to assist individuals in their journey toward recovery; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That Council does hereby recognize and honor Joan Erney, on the occasion of her retirement as Chief Executive Officer of Community Behavioral Health, for her decades of service in the field of behavioral health.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Joan Erney, evidencing the sincere admiration and respect of this legislative body.
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