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Honoring and recognizing David T. Jones for his accomplishments and numerous contributions to the City of Philadelphia on the occasion of his departure from the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services, and congratulating him on his new position as Director of the Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery for the State of Illinois Department of Human Services.
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WHEREAS, David T. Jones is the Commissioner of Philadelphia's Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services (DBHIDS) - an integrated system that empowers a network of providers, partners, and community members to help create a Philadelphia where every resident can thrive. He has held this position since 2017; and
WHEREAS, Under Jones, DBHIDS prioritized increasing ease of access to treatment and removing the stigma associated with seeking treatment, resulting in a record number of Philadelphians receiving the life-saving treatment they need, and with growth exceeding 50,000 new participants in treatment from 2016-2018; and
WHEREAS, Jones ensured, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, that Philadelphians would continue to have life-saving access to behavioral-health treatment, intellectual disability services, and birth-to-three support; and
WHEREAS, Jones led DBHIDS to reimagine policy, improve infrastructure and business intelligence, and develop innovative services and programs to successfully meet the needs of the more than 1.5 million individuals that live in the City of Philadelphia and the 718,000 children, adults, and families eligible for Medicaid Services; and
WHEREAS, Jones oversaw the establishment of the DBHIDS Community Wellness Engagement Unit, a multilingual team designed to meet people most in need and to make sure they get access to the services the City has available to them; launched the Treatment Availability Database, which provides real-time information about available treatment capacity as well as a list of communi...
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