Advancing Public Policies for People with Mental Illness, Chemical Dependency or Developmental Disabilities
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AJPM Releases Special Supplement:
The Behavioral Health Workforce: Planning, Practice, and Preparation
The American Journal of Preventive Medicine has released a
Special Supplement
on workforce developments in behavioral healthcare.
Articles in this special issue cover a broad range of topics.
Specifically,
they address research on workforce planning, service delivery and practice, and workforce preparation. They also advocate for intelligent allocation of resources to ensure all clients have access to behavioral healthcare.
No more important topic surrounds the field of behavioral health than the current and growing crisis in the availability of well-trained providers. Baby boomers are retiring, and too few millennials are joining the field. This special supplement focuses a spotlight on our human resource issues and provides an important glimpse into new developments that can allay this problem.
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Health and Recovery Plans (HARP) Now Available on the NYS Marketplace
Individuals eligible to enroll in Health and Recovery Plans (HARPs) now have the option to select a HARP on New York State's Official Health Plan Marketplace,
New York State of Health (NYSoH), also known as The Exchange.
Enrolling in a HARP on the NYSoH Online Marketplace:
- Individuals who are eligible for HARP can log on to their NYSoH account and the HARP option will be displayed for plan selection.
- Individuals who are eligible for HARP who are not NYSoH account holders will need to update their consent through a Life Status Change (LSC) before the HARP option will display.
- Individuals who are eligible for HARP and who are the NYSoH account holder will receive a written notice about enrolling in a HARP. Individuals must respond to this notice if they do not wish to enroll in a HARP.
Questions?
Individuals currently enrolled in Medicaid through
New York State of Health
can contact NYSoH for assistance at 1-855-355-5777
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NYSAC News Magazine - Spring/Summer 2018
Published three times a year,
NYSAC
News
magazine is the official publication of NYSAC. Each issue features in-depth articles about timely issues of interest to New York's county leaders. County leaders, researchers, academics, association leaders, state lawmakers, NYSAC staff, and other experts contribute articles to each issue. The current issue focuses on "Healthy Counties" and includes an article from the Conference about funding for addiction treatment and transition services in county jails. Click
here to view the magazine.
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June 18, 12 - 1 pm, PsychU
Motivational Interviewing: Clinical Updates within Substance Abuse Treatment
June 19, 12 - 1 pm, CTAC
Clinical Strategies to Promote Medication Adherence
June 19, 2 - 3:30 pm, SAMHSA-HRSA
June 19, 3 - 4 pm, National Council for Behavioral Health
June 21, 2 - 3 pm, National Council for Behavioral Health
Using PSYCKES for Clinicians
June 21, 3 - 4:30 pm, OMH
June 26, 11 am - 12 pm, OMH
Bringing Forensic-Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) To Local Behavioral Health Systems
June 26, 1:30 - 3 pm, SAMHSA GAINS Center
Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Children with Incarcerated Parents
June 27, 12 - 1 pm, CTAC
June 27, 1 - 2 pm, Manatt Health
June 28, 12:30 - 2 pm, SAMHSA
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
JUNE 2018
Mental Hygiene Planning Committee Meeting
Children & Families Committee Meeting
June 19: 11:30 am - 1 pm, GTM
Directors/Executive Committee Meeting
June 20: 9:30 am - 12:30 pm, GTM
JULY 2018
Office Closed: Independence Day
July 4
Officers, Chairs & Regional Reps Call
July 11: 8 am
Developmental Disabilities Committee Meeting
July 12: 1 - 2:30 pm, GTM
Children & Families Committee Meeting
July 17: 11:30 am - 1 pm, GTM
Contact CLMHD for all Call In and Go To Meeting information, 518.462.9422
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CLMHD Announces Board Leadership Transition and Appointment of New DCS in Sullivan County
Commissioner Joseph Todora, MSW, LMSW, is pleased to announce the appointment of Melissa Stickle as Director of the Sullivan County Department of Community Services effective June 1, 2018. Joe continues to be the Commissioner of the Division of Health & Family Services where he oversees many departments, including the Office of the Aging, Youth Bureau, Public Health Services, Care Center, and Community Services, as well as Health & Family Services which include Child Protective Services, Medicare, Food Stamps & Public Assistance, the fraud unit, child support, SNAP.
Melissa Stickle, LCSW, CASAC has served as the Deputy Director of the Department of Community Services and has worked with Joe for over 15 years. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and is a credentialed CASAC, having been employed with the County for the last 18 years. Melissa started in August 2000 as a Staff Social Worker in the Chemical Dependency unit, was promoted in 2006 to Community Services Coordinator, then advanced as the Deputy Director in January 2011. When Joe was appointed Acting Human Services Commissioner in February 2015, Melissa took a more active role in the department. Joe said "I am pleased and honored to appoint Melissa as Director, a title I've been privileged to have for over 17 years. I look forward to working with her in her new role."
Joe was very active in the Conference as a member of the Mental Hygiene Planning, Developmental Disabilities and Finance Committees. He has contributed his time and talents in multiple ways and most recently as Chair of the Conference. On behalf of all the DCS in the state, we extend our appreciation for his leadership and our best wishes to Joe as his 18-year participation with the Conference comes to a close. Joe will be missed for all the right reasons.
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Mid-Hudson region DCSs presented Joe Todora with a special thank you gift from CLMHD. Joe is pictured here with Mike Piazza, DCS of Putnam County.
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 We are pleased to announce that former First-Vice Chair, Katherine Alonge-Coons, LCSW-R (Rensselaer) has assumed the role of Chair. Kathy looks forward to her new role at the Conference and we wish to congratulate all!
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Suicide Rates Rise Sharply Across the United States, New Report Shows
Suicide rates rose in all but one state between 1999 and 2016, with increases seen regardless of age, gender, race and ethnicity, according to a
report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In more than half of all deaths in 27 states, the people had no known mental health condition when they ended their lives.
In North Dakota, the rate jumped more than 57 percent. In the most recent period studied (2014 to 2016), the rate was highest in Montana, at 29.2 per 100,000 residents, compared with the national average of 13.4 per 100,000.
Only Nevada recorded a decline - of 1 percent - for the overall period, although its rate remained higher than the national average.
Increasingly, suicide is being viewed as not just a mental health problem but a public health one. Read more
here.
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NYS to Launch First-In-The-Nation Suicide Prevention Program
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo last week announced New York will be the first state in the nation to launch an innovative pilot program aimed at reducing new suicide attempts among individuals who had previously attempted suicide.
Funded through the $3.5 million federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant, the Attempted Suicide Short Intervention Program reframes how suicide attempts are examined in order to develop individualized prevention strategies.
Developed in Switzerland, the Attempted Suicide Short Intervention Program is based on the belief that it is more helpful to view suicide as an action taken in order to reach a goal, rather than simply a symptom of mental illness. Only by understanding the very individualized path to a suicide attempt can one develop effective prevention strategies. Clinicians at Hutchings Psychiatric Center in Syracuse have already received training on this new method and are prepared to begin implementation. Read more
here
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CMS Releases Guidance to States on Using Medicaid to Address Opioid Crisis
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Monday released guidance aimed at helping states leverage Medicaid to combat the opioid epidemic.
Specifically, the guidance focused on information related to covering services for infants born exposed to opioids and how to enhance federal funding for telemedicine and programs that keep tabs on patients' prescriptions.
The opioid epidemic has caught the attention of both lawmakers and administration officials, both of which are working to combat a growing crisis that has shown no signs of slowing down.
From 2000 to 2012, there was a nearly five-fold increase in the number of infants born exposed to drugs. This is a "significant and rapidly growing public health concern,"
the information bulletin states.
CMS says that Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income and disabled Americans, can help infants access treatment. Read more
here.
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NIH Outlines Plans for $500M to Combat Opioid Epidemic
Leaders of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Tuesday published an outline of how the nation's medical research agency plans to spend the $500 million Congress gave it to fight the opioid epidemic.
Specifically, the NIH will focus on improving treatments for opioid misuse and addiction and bolster strategies to manage pain, heads of the NIH wrote in an
opinion piece published in the American Medical Association's JAMA.
The effort will be conducted through the NIH's Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) initiative. Read more
here.
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NYSHealth Report: Follow the Money -Pharmaceutical Manufacturer Payments and Opioid Prescribing Patterns in New York State
This NYSHealth report examines how payments from opioid manufacturers to physicians may have influenced opioid prescribing in New York State.
Opioid misuse is an ongoing public health emergency in New York State, killing more than 3,000 people in 2016 alone. Both legally prescribed opioids and illicitly manufactured drugs are at the root of this epidemic. In 2016, nearly 9 million opioid prescriptions were dispensed in New York State.
The report finds roughly 1 in 10 physicians who prescribe opioids received a payment, and physicians who prescribe more opioids got more opioid-related payments. Read more here.
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