The attorney general has negotiated an extension of a discount with naloxone maker  Amphastar Pharmaceuticals through January 2018. Under the deal, Amphastar will provide state agencies and municipalities with a $6 rebate per dose, a discount off the retail price of about 20 percent. More than 200 state municipalities have saved $1.6 million on 278,000 syringes of naloxone since the original deal with Amphastar went into effect in February 2015, according to the attorney general's office.

Naloxone reverses the effects of an overdose of heroin or other opioid, including prescription painkillers like oxycontin and hydrocodone. The state has been grappling with an epidemic of heroin and opioid abuse.

The rebate is available to all public entities, including the state  Health Department, county governments, and the drug treatment centers and harm reduction programs they fund.

--Albany Times Union

The New York State Office of Mental Health last week announced the grand opening of the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center Child and Adolescent Crisis Respite House, a new short-stay residential program for children in Ogdensburg, New York. The program provides a safe reprieve for children in crisis, as an alternative to inpatient psychiatric admissions. This program addresses an identified need for alternative and community-based mental health services in the North Country and builds upon the success of other crisis-respite programs developed throughout the state.

Read more here .

States currently either terminate or suspend Medicaid coverage upon incarceration as law prohibits people in prison from receiving Medicaid federal funds. There is a provision that covers inpatient treatment provided by a medical facility not associated with the prison.

This scenario occurs in instances where a person goes to a hospital while in prison and remains there for over 24 hours.

Under a waiver request, New York state's Health Department wants federal Medicaid matching funds to provide care management and other supportive services to incarcerated individuals in the 30 days prior to their release. Eligible individuals would receive care management, clinical consultation services, and coverage of certain medications, including those treating behavioral health and substance use disorders. 

These changes aim to enable continuity of care and an easier transition to community-based services and health home enrollment upon release. The CMS is taking comments on  the waiver request through Nov. 20.  Read more here .

Forensic Interviewing Best Practices for Vulnerable Populations was developed by the Justice Center's Office of the Special Prosecutor/Inspector General and Office of Incident Reporting and Investigations along with well-known experts in the fields of working with people with disabilities and forensic interviewing. Recognized and approved by the NYS Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), the training program is part of the Justice Center's ongoing effort to change the way the criminal justice system responds to allegations of abuse and neglect involving vulnerable victims to ensure these individuals have the same protections as the general population. Since the training began in the fall of 2014 many representatives from local law enforcement agencies and district attorney's offices, along with many of the Justice Center's investigative and prosecutorial staff, have attended the course.

Twenty-four BCI investigators who work in regions across New York State participated. The Justice Center's Forensic Interviewing Best Practices for Vulnerable Populations program is part of the agency's ongoing training and education efforts to help to ensure successful investigations and prosecutions of cases of abuse and neglect of vulnerable New Yorkers. Read more here.