Cover image 5
March 15, 2019

Advancing Public Policies for People with Mental Illness, Chemical Dependency or Developmental Disabilities   

Connect With Us:
Like us on Facebook   Follow us on Twitter    View our profile on LinkedIn
Francine Sinkoff, Editor
fs@clmhd.org
Assemblyman pushes for autism-friendly emergency rooms

Citizen Advocates opening new Massena clinic for mental health and addiction prevention, treatment, recovery services - Franklin County

North Colonie School District opens mental health clinic - Albany County

Band of Behavioral Health Care Agencies Form Independent Practice Association - NYC

How we help the mentally ill: Those claiming the city is failing to aid people in serious psychological distress are just wrong - NYC

New York City announces $1.7 million geriatric mental health expansion

Rehabilitation Nonprofit Awarded $4M To Upgrade Facilities - Suffolk County


Governor Cuomo Announces Opening of $17 Million Affordable Housing Development in the Village of Geneseo - Livingston County


BestSelf opens Hamburg methadone clinic - Erie County

Funding Opportunity: First Responders - Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act

SAMHSA is accepting applications for First Responders-Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (FR-CARA) Grants. Recipients will train and provide resources to first responders and members of other key community sectors at the state, tribal, and local governmental levels on carrying and administering a drug or device approved or cleared under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose. Recipients will also establish processes; protocols; mechanisms for referral to appropriate treatment and recovery communities; and safety around fentanyl, carfentanil, and other dangerous licit and illicit drugs.

SAMHSA plans to issue 45 grants of up to $800,000 per year for up to 4 years. 

Application Due Date: Monday, May 6, 2019
Funding Opportunity: Rural Communities Opioid Response Program

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has announced the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) initiative's funding opportunity. Up to 75 rural consortiums of public and private entities can receive up to $1 million each for a three-year period to enhance and expand opioid use disorder treatment and prevention services in high-risk rural communities. 

A webinar for applicants is scheduled for 11:30 am -1 pm (EST) Wednesday, March 27. Grant applications are due May 6, 2019. Read more  here .

SAMHSA Guide: Principles of Community-Based Behavioral Health Services for Criminal Justice Involved Individuals
SAMHSA has recently released a new guide, Principles of Community-Based Behavioral Health Services for Criminal Justice Involved Individuals: A Research-Based Guide . The Principles provide a foundation for realizing a quality, community-based behavioral health treatment system that is responsive to all individuals with mental and substance use disorders. The Principles guide is composed of eight guiding principles, frequently asked questions, resources for further reading, and a glossary of terms for behavioral health providers and criminal justice professionals.
SAVE THE DATE: Local Services Planning Webinar for LGUs

A training webinar for LGUs is scheduled for Friday, March 22 from 11 am to 12:30 pm.  The planning forms are mostly are the same as last year, however there are some minor changes to the Goals and Objectives Form as well as new, brief surveys on value-based payments and the New York State Prevention Agenda 2019-2024.  The first part of the webinar will cover the changes and be geared towards all planners; the second part of the webinar will go into more detail and is aimed at those new to the planning process. 

Please use the following link to register for this training: http://bit.ly/LSP2020. If you cannot attend this training live, it will be recorded and available for playback.
UPCOMING TRAININGS

Housing as a Critical Component of Reentry
March 18, 2 - 3:30 pm, SAMHSA's GAINS Center

Conversations on Defining Evidence in Clinical Practice
March 19, 12 - 1 pm, CTAC/MCTAC

The Role Of Glutamate In Mood Disorders & Schizophrenia
March 19, 12 - 1 pm, PsychU

Using PSYCKES Recipient Search
March 21, 1 - 2 pm, OMH

March 27, 1 - 2 pm, Manatt Health

Enable Access to Client-Level Data in PSYCKES
March 28, 2 - 3 pm, OMH

SAMHSA's Eight Guiding Principles for Behavioral Health and Criminal Justice
March 28, 3 - 4:30 pm, SAMHSA's GAINS Center

 
CALENDAR OF EVENTS

MARCH 2019

Children & Families Committee Meeting
March 19: 11:30 am - 1 pm, GTM

CLMHD Membership Call
March 20: 9 - 10:30 am, GTM

CSPOA/DOH/OMH Call
March 20: 3 - 4 pm, GTM

CLMHD BH Portal Webinar: OASAS Admissions
March 27: 12 - 12:30 pm, GTM

APRIL 2019

Executive Committee Call
April 3: 8 am

CLMHD BH Portal Webinar: OPWDD Enrollment Summary
April 10: 12 - 12:30 pm, GTM

Children & Families Committee Meeting
April 16: 11:30 am - 1 pm, GTM

Developmental Disabilities Committee Meeting
April 18: 1 - 2:30 pm, GTM

CLMHD BH Portal Webinar: Juvenile Justice
April 24: 12 - 12:30 pm, GTM

Contact CLMHD for all Call In and Go To Meeting information, 518.462.9422 
NYS Office of Mental Health Launches New Electronic Tracking System to Reduce Wait Time for Inpatient Care

The NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH) this week announced the launch of a new bed tracking system that will improve the way information about inpatient bed availability is collected and maintained statewide.

The Bed Availability System (BAS) will expect all hospitals in New York State to report psychiatric inpatient bed availability twice daily. OMH Field Offices, County Mental Health Directors and all general hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, and OMH State-operated hospitals will have access to the search tool for immediate, up-to-date information.

OMH plans to use $150,000 in federal funding to provide in-person training and remote assistance to hospital staff to complete  and maintain the BAS. Individual assistance will be available to each hospital statewide to assure sufficient staff are trained and have access to the BAS application. Read more here.
A New Study Examines How New York State has Decreased Funding for Human Services Since the Great Recession  

The Center for New York City Affairs reports that the state has decreased such funding by 26% in recent years, despite a growing economy. A 2% cap on state spending has not been evenly applied. While Medicaid and education have both grown by about 4% each year, aid has nonetheless decreased for local governments to support foster care, homeless shelters, senior programs, and other services. Here are a few key findings, taken verbatim from the report:
  • Recovery from the recession has been uneven and many areas contend with continued economic hardship and child poverty. 
  • Downstate suburban counties have been hit the hardest by decreases in local aid. 
  • The reduction in State local aid means counties have had fewer resources to fund services. 
  • If State human services funding to localities had grown at the same rate as the overall State budget since Fiscal Year 2011, the proposed Fiscal Year 2020 budget would be 44 percent higher.
Click here to read the full report.
Funding Opportunity: Opioid Workforce Expansion Program (OWEP) - Professionals and Paraprofessionals

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is accepting applications for the fiscal year (FY) 2019 Opioid Workforce Expansion Program (OWEP) funding opportunities. 

The Opioid Workforce Expansion Program for Professionals's (OWEP) purpose is to build upon existing HRSA investments to enhance community-based experiential training focused on Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and other Substance Use Disorders (SUD) for students preparing to become behavioral health professionals. The OWEP for Paraprofessionals NOFO funds this same training for peer support specialists and other types of behavioral health-related paraprofessionals.

FY 2019 funding for professionals is $39.3 million for approximately 29 awards and for paraprofessionals is $29.8 million to fund about 33 awards.  The application cycle closes on May 5, 2019.
NIH Study Shows Many Preteens Screen Positive for Suicide Risk During ER Visits

A research team found nearly one-third of youth ages 10 to 12 years screened positive for suicide risk in emergency department settings. As part of a larger study on youth suicide risk screening in emergency departments, researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health, and collaborators sought to explore how frequently preteen youth ages 10 to 12 screened positive for suicide risk. Notably, 7 percent of the preteens who screened positive for suicide risk were seeking help for physical - not psychiatric - concerns. The study appears online in the March 11 issue of Hospital & Pediatrics. Read more here.

National Council for Behavioral Health Board of Directors Appoints Chuck Ingoglia Next President and Chief Executive Officer

The National Council for Behavioral Health, today announced that its board of directors unanimously selected Chuck Ingoglia as the next president and CEO for the organization. He will succeed Linda Rosenberg, the current president and CEO on June 1, 2019. 

Since joining the organization in 2005, Ingoglia has served as the National Council's senior vice president of policy and practice improvement. He has directed federal and state policy efforts and overseen practice improvement programs offered to behavioral health professionals across the U.S. His efforts have centered on key issues such as parity, health care reform and improving access to behavioral health treatment in communities. 
United Hospital Fund: Achieving Payment Reform for Children Through Medicaid and Stakeholder Collaboration

Overhauling payments for children's health care so that quality and outcomes are rewarded-rather than the quantity of care delivered-could have a profoundly positive impact on children's health. But implementing such highly complex payment reform requires close collaboration between state Medicaid agencies and children's organizations.

Two United Hospital Fund reports - 
Achieving Payment Reform for Children through Medicaid and Stakeholder Collaboration and its companion  Guide for Action - examine this critical issue and outline rationales and specific steps that can help children's health champions and state Medicaid programs work together to refocus health care payments. This can in turn improve the health and well-being of children. The reports also provide a framework that can form the basis for collaborative efforts between non-governmental organizations and public agencies. Read more here.
How Evidence Can Inform Contracting for State, Local Governments

State and local governments collectively spent more than $116 billion in 2012 on contracts and grants to a range of organizations that provide health and human services, according to a 2013 brief from the Urban Institute. These governments typically consider factors such as past performance, price, and organizational capacity-but often do not prioritize other crucial factors, including whether a program meets the needs of a particular community or has been proved effective in achieving the desired outcomes.

But over the past 10 years, a wealth of data and research on the effectiveness of programs has become available and is increasingly accessible through tools such as online research clearinghouses. Governments can use these tools to embed such evidence into contracting processes, thereby improving the likelihood that the services achieve desired results.  This process, known as evidence-informed contracting, can vary across jurisdictions but includes some consistent core principles. 

This issue brief   highlights those principles and provides examples from states and counties that are putting them to work.
The Medicaid Vertical Carve-Out Model Comes To I/DD

A couple of weeks ago, Open Minds 
published a new analysis of Medicaid behavioral health carve-outs. These primary "horizontal" carve-outs are on the decline in Medicaid - nine states have primary carve-outs to care management organizations (CMOs) compared to 13 states in 2011. This change is driven by a policy preference for "integration" and "whole person care" models.

At the same time, we're seeing an increase in the "vertical carve-out" model in Medicaid. Under a vertical carve-out, the state Medicaid program delegates responsibility for all benefits (physical health and behavioral health) for consumers with behavioral health disorders-or other specific disorders or needs-to a specialty CMO. Examples of populations served by this model include foster care children, consumers with serious mental illness (SMI), children who are medically fragile, and consumers with HIV/AIDs. And for the first time, we are seeing the use of this model for the intellectual and developmental disability (I/DD) population. The statistics tell the story of this emerging change. Read more here.
The Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors advances public policies and awareness for people with mental illness, chemical dependency and developmental disabilities.  We are a statewide membership organization that consists of the Commissioner/ Director of each of the state's 57 county mental hygiene departments and the mental hygiene department of the City of New York.

Affiliated