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June 21,  2019

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

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Francine Sinkoff, Editor
fs@clmhd.org
Schenectady County, Saratoga Springs proceeding with suits against drug manufacturers

Governor Cuomo Announces Start of Construction on $72 Million Mixed-Use Affordable Housing Development in Downtown Brooklyn

Provider shortages and geographic gaps plague the early intervention system for NYC's youngest learners

Longwood drug rehab plan stirs community opposition - Suffolk County

Onondaga County hopes to prevent suicide by investigating causes

Health care, not jail for some suspects - Monroe County

Steuben Public Health plan tackling substance abuse

How this CEO took Person Centered Services from 1 to 745 employees - Western NY & Finger Lakes
CLMHD is Hiring: NORTH COUNTRY Regional Planning Consortium (RPC) Regional Coordinator

The Conference is seeking a North Country RPC Coordinator to lead the day to day operations of the North Country Regional Planning Consortium (RPCs), comprised of the following counties: Clinton, Franklin, Essex, Hamilton, Warren and Washington. The RPCs are an innovative and NYS-endorsed statewide initiative that is closely tied to the behavioral health Medicaid Managed Care Transition in 10 regions of the state.   For more details about this opportunity, click here .
California Tests Mental Health App That Tracks Everything Patients Do On Their Phones

Hospitals are a missing link in easing the opioid crisis

'He treats us like his own kids' | School social worker becomes father figure for kids facing trauma

Suicide rates among America's young people continue to soar, study shows

The New Sobriety: Everyone's sober now. Even if ... they drink a little?
AHIP Launches Project Link to Address Social Determinants
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America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) is launching a new initiative to overcome social determinants called Project Link, the organization
announced at their 2019 AHIP Institute and Expo.

The program is designed to help payers tackle social barriers such as transportation access, safe housing, maintaining a healthy diet, and other non-medical factors that contribute over 70 percent to an individual's health and wellbeing. 

AHIP hopes the initiative will result in new partnerships between health insurers and companies outside of the healthcare space to address social factors that can harm health. It also plans to use Project Link as a foundation to develop its research and policy agenda on the topic over the next one to two years.  Read more here .
Centene Makes Health Tech Splash with Mental Health Technology Company Investment

Centene, the country's largest Medicaid managed-care organization, is wasting no time pouring money into one of New York's fast-growing health tech startups after entering the local market last year by acquiring Fidelis Care of Queens.

The company said Friday that it contributed to a $60 million Series D investment in Quartet Health, a mental-health technology company in Manhattan. 
Quartet offers a software platform that helps health insurers and providers identify patients with untreated  behavioral-health conditions. It also allows primary-care and mental-health providers to share treatment plans, notes, test results and other information. Primary-care doctors can use it to find mental-health resources for their patients. Read more here .
UPCOMING TRAININGS

Using PSYCKES Recipient Search
June 25, 10 - 11 am, OMH

Aligning Care Delivery to Emerging Payment Models
June 25, 1 - 2 pm, AHA Center for Health Innovation

Alternative Funding Strategies to Sustain and Expand Crisis Call Center Operations
June 25, 2 - 3:30 pm, National Council for Behavioral Health

How Can Medicaid and CHIP Support Children's Emotional Health?
June 26, 2 - 3 pm, Manatt Health

Cognitive Functioning & Neuroprotection In Schizophrenia
June 26, 12 - 1 pm, PsychU

Psychiatric Advance Directives: A Compelling Tool to Support Crisis Care
June 28, 12 - 1 pm, SAMHSA

Wellness Collaborative of New York - Independent Practice Association (WCNY-IPA) with Joe Swinford
June 28, 12:15 - 1 pm, Academy of Peer Services

PSYCKES Train the Trainer
July 9, 10 - 11 am, OMH

New Quality Measures Related to Medicaid Beneficiaries with Physical and Mental Health (PMH) Integrated Care Needs and Beneficiaries with Complex Care Needs (BCN)
July 10, 2 - 3:30 pm, CMS

Enable Access to Client-Level Data in PSYCKES
July 11, 3 - 4 pm, OMH

Translating Detox into Recovery: Innovations in Opioid Treatment
July 16, 3 - 4:30 pm, National Council for Behavioral Health

Using PSYCKES for Clinicians
July 17, 10 - 11:30 am, OMH

New Opportunities to Advance Integrated Care for Dual Eligibles
July 24, 1 - 2 pm, Manatt Health

The Developmentally Informed and Trauma-Informed Police Officer
August 1, 1 - 2 pm, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

 
CALENDAR OF EVENTS

JUNE 2019

CLMHD BH Portal Webinar: Other Resources  - OASAS Client Data System
June 26: 12 - 12:30 pm, GTM


JULY 2019

CLMHD Office Closed - Independence Day
July 4

CLMHD BH Portal Webinar: Other Resources - PSYCKES
July 10: 12 - 12:30 pm, GTM

Quarterly C-SPOA Call
July 12: 1 - 2 pm, GTM

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

CLMHD / DOH / OMH / C-SPOA Meeting
July 18: 3 - 4 pm, GTM

CLMHD Membership Call
July 24: 9 - 10:30 am, GTM

CLMHD BH Portal Webinar: Other Resources - Opioid-Related Data in New York State
July 24: 12 - 12:30 pm, GTM

Mental Hygiene Planning Committee Meeting
July 25: 1 - 3 pm, GTM


Contact CLMHD for all Call In and Go To Meeting information, 518.462.9422 
Meth In The Morning, Heroin At Night: Inside The Seesaw Struggle of Dual Addiction

In the 25 years since she snorted her first line of methamphetamine at a club in San Francisco, Kim has redefined "normal" many times. At first, she says, it seemed like meth brought her back to her true self - the person she was before her parents divorced, and before her stepfather moved in.

"I felt normal when I first did it, like, 'Oh! There I am,' " she says.

Kim is 47 now and has been chasing "normal" her entire adult life. That chase has brought her to some dark places, so we agreed not to use her last name, at her request. For a long time, meth, known commonly as speed, was Kim's drug of choice.

Then she added heroin to the mix. She tried it for the first time while she was in treatment for meth. Read more here.  

Erie County Picked for Suicide Prevention Study 

Erie County is one of four New York counties participating in a suicide prevention study that researchers hope will identify new strategies to stop individuals from killing themselves.

A similar study in an Oregon county identified two patterns: Some people dropped off their pets at animal shelters just prior to killing themselves, others died by suicide shortly after receiving an eviction notice.

Researchers in New York hope data collected during the next two years from Erie, Onondaga, Suffolk and Westchester counties will help identify other patterns and ways to prevent suicides across the state, Brett Harris, director of public health initiatives at the Suicide Prevention Center of New York.

"Our goal is mainly to prevent future suicides," she said. "We'll look at suicides in particular counties. Then we'll examine each and identify key points for areas of intervention."

"This is the first time we've done something like this," she said of the research. "It hasn't been done much throughout the country." Read more here.
"In Case You Missed It" - CLMHD 
Recaps Key Information Issued by the State

The Conference has published the May edition of "In Case You Missed It (ICYMI)," a one-stop-shop highlighting key information released by our state partners. ICYMI provides a clear, concise recap of significant state guidance, regulations, and resources from OMH, DOH, OASAS, and OPWDD, as well as links to access documents and materials of importance. 

Click  here to read the issue.
New National Study: Parents Miss Key Opportunities to Protect Kids from Risks of Substance Use as Teens Grow Older

Center on Addiction, a national nonprofit committed to transforming how the nation addresses addiction, released a  report on Wednesday that provides insights into teens' attitudes about drugs, alcohol and nicotine. The national survey of adolescents aged 12-17 found that drugs, alcohol and nicotine are highly prevalent and accessible in teens' lives, particularly as they enter high school. Teens also indicated that parents have the largest influence over their decisions and actions. Despite this, parents often pull back right when the risk of substance use spikes.

"These valuable insights underscore the importance of talking with our kids early and having open, honest conversations with them about substance use," said Creighton Drury, CEO of Center on Addiction. "Our data shows that the vast majority of people with addiction started using substances before they turned 18. That's why we are passionate about preventing early substance use. Prevention and early interventions ultimately save lives." Read more here.
Groundwork Is Laid for Opioids Settlement That Would Touch Every Corner of U.S.

Every city, town and county in the United States could receive a payout in a settlement with the largest makers, distributors and retailers of prescription opioids, if a judge approves an innovative proposal made Friday in an Ohio federal court by lawyers for hundreds of local governments.

The plan, which legal experts describe as "novel" and "unorthodox," could potentially expand the number of municipalities and counties eligible for compensation in the federal litigation from 1,650 to about 24,500 and open the way for a comprehensive national opioid settlement with the pharmaceutical industry.

"We have an epidemic caused by pills that have wheels, and different areas of the country get targeted at different points in time," said Joe Rice, one of the lead lawyers, explaining a major obstacle to settlement in the rapidly accumulating cases. "So if you solve the problem in New York City, it doesn't get addressed in Albany. And everyone recognizes this is a national issue." Read more here.

Report Released Examines Law Enforcement Costs of Handling People with Mental Illnesses

Recently, the Treatment Advocacy Center released a new national survey,  Road Runners: The Role and Impact of Law Enforcement in Transporting Individuals with Severe Mental Illness. The first-of-its-kind survey details the outsized role law enforcement plays in psychiatric crisis response and transportation across the nation.

The failures of our national mental health system force law enforcement officers to serve as treatment providers - a role they play for no other medical condition. This national survey of sheriffs' offices and police departments provides a unique view into the burdens they shoulder and the fiscal and societal consequences of the current situation. Law enforcement officers are overwhelmed, both by the crushing volume of mental health emergencies and the need to travel long distances shuttling people with mental illness from one facility to another.

"The results of this survey are startling and have profound implications for our mental health and criminal justice systems. Continuing to put law enforcement on the front-lines of a public health crisis is costly, dangerous, and immoral," said John Snook, the Treatment Advocacy Center executive director. "This survey should serve as a wake-up call for policymakers at all levels. The status quo is unacceptable and the hundreds of millions in costs are unsustainable."
The survey responses represent 355 sheriffs' offices and police departments in the United States. Read more here.
Coming Soon: Advancing Early Diversion Summer Series!
SAMHSA's GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation
This summer, SAMHSA's GAINS Center will be offering a four-session webinar event which will explore practical strategies to implement an early diversion program in your community, with a focus on collaboration. 

Advancing Early Diversion Summer Series Webinar Topics
  • Webinar 1: Law enforcement and mental health joint responses to mental health crises
  • Webinar 2: Follow-up strategies to enhance treatment engagement after an individual has experienced a crisis
  • Webinar 3: Collaborations between fire departments, emergency medical services, and behavioral health providers to serve individuals in mental crisis
  • Webinar 4: Strategies for data collection and information sharing between criminal justice and behavioral health agencies
In each of these webinars, you will hear from national experts and local jurisdictional representatives who will provide guidance on best and promising practices, as well as practical lessons learned, so you can design an early diversion program that fits the needs of your community. In addition, each webinar will be immediately followed by a small group discussion, where audience members can engage directly with the presenters to learn more about the topics of discussion. 

Dates and registration information for these four webinars will be released in the coming weeks! Please contact SAMHSA's GAINS Center with any questions.
Integration Strategies For The Complex Consumer Market

Many specialty provider organizations are facing formidable strategic challenges as the result of the growing payer preferences for integration. Health plans are looking for best practice models that take a whole person approach to care delivery-integrating primary care, pharmacy, behavioral health, social services, and long-term services and supports. This leaves specialty provider organizations with strategic questions: Will hospital systems, primary care providers, or retail clinics become the new competition for the delivery of specialty services to complex consumers? Should we pursue some form of partnership with these types of organizations to deliver integrated care? Or should we develop our own primary care services to provide the full care continuum to our complex consumer populations?

There are many ways to leverage payer preference for integrated care to find a competitive advantage in this shifting market-co-location between primary care clinic and behavioral health care provider organization, health homes and specialty medical homes, embedding behavioral health clinical professionals in a primary care office,  comprehensive integrated care delivery, and more. 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