Technical Assistance Collaborative, Inc. Announces the Winner
of the 2005 Thomas M. Wernert Award for Innovation in Community Behavioral Healthcare

Boston, MA – Monday, September 19, 2005. The Technical Assistance Collaborative, Inc. (TAC) announces the winner of the 2005 Thomas M. Wernert Award for Innovation in Community Behavioral Healthcare to be presented on October 21, 2005, in Portland, Oregon.  The Technical Assistance Collaborative and the David and Lura Lovell Foundation, in collaboration with the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors (NACBHD) will present the $10,000 award to the Institute for Community Living’s (ICL) Integrated Behavioral Healthcare Network in New York, New York. 

The ICL Integrated Behavioral Healthcare Network is a program designed specifically for treating persons with serious mental illness with co-occurring healthcare conditions.  The Integrated Behavioral Healthcare Network is a service delivery model that coordinates and integrates mental health and healthcare services into its outreach, clinic and residential programs for consumers with serious mental illnesses.     

Programs receiving honorable mention are: Peer Bridger Project – New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (NYAPRS) in Albany, New York; Crossroads Early Childhood Services – Crossroads Lake County Adolescent Counseling Service, Lake County, Ohio; and Pathways to Housing, New York, New York. 

The Thomas M. Wernert Award for Innovation in Community Behavioral Healthcare is an annual award that grants $10,000 to a state, county, or community-based non-profit organization providing exemplary behavioral health services.  TAC, the Lovell Foundation, and NACBHD are committed to supporting and honoring innovation in community behavioral health.  The annual award program seeks to identify and give national recognition to a program demonstrating innovation and creativity while ensuring community and consumer participation.

This award is given in memory of Thomas M. Wernert, former Executive Director of the Lucas County Mental Health Board in Toledo, Ohio.  The winning programs embody the ideas and ideals that Mr. Wernert exercised in his leadership in public behavioral healthcare.

For additional information please contact Evette Jackson at the Technical Assistance Collaborative, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts at (617) 266-5657.  Applications for the 2006 award will be available on the TAC website in February 2006.


Past Wernert Winners and Honorees
To read more about past award winners, click here.