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NYS OASAS Announces Opening of New Integrated Opioid Treatment Program on Long Island
The New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) today announced the opening of a new Integrated Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) on Long Island. The facility, operated by Outreach Development Corporation, will operate six days a week, providing addiction treatment and resources to people on Long Island. This program is being supported with a one-time grant of $206,000 in federal funding administered by OASAS, as well as more than $1.1 million in annual state funding. Read more here.
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Biden-Harris Administration Announces Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness
On Monday, the Biden-Harris Administration released All In: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, which sets a bold but achievable goal to reduce homelessness 25% by 2025. The plan is the most ambitious effort by any administration to prevent people from becoming homeless, address inequities that disproportionately impact underserved communities, including people of color and other marginalized groups, and help cities and states reduce unsheltered homelessness. To reach that goal, All In outlines new strategies to prevent homelessness and increase the supply of housing with supportive services. Read more here.
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Harckham Introduces Bill to Greatly Expand Access to Lifesaving Fentanyl Testing Kits
In response to rising opioid deaths, New York State Senator Pete Harckham introduced today new legislation that will allow pharmacists to dispense testing kits to detect fentanyl. A powerful synthetic opioid, fentanyl was the cause of 87.8% of all U.S. opioid overdose deaths—over 70,600 people—in 2021, according to a new report. Read more here.
Related: Drug Overdose Deaths Among Teenagers Surged During the Pandemic Driven by Illicit Fentanyl
As Fentanyl Use Spikes, Feds Urge States to Ease Methadone Rules
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Drug Overdose Deaths among Teenagers Surged During the Pandemic Driven By Illicit Fentanyl
Drug overdose deaths among adolescents surged during the Covid-19 pandemic, driven overwhelmingly by illicit fentanyl, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Monthly drug overdose deaths nearly tripled among adolescents ages 10 to 19 during the first two years of the pandemic. Deaths rose from 31 in July 2019 to a peak of 87 in May 2021 and then fell to 51 in December 2021. Read more here.
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Brouk Introduces Bill to Establish Annual COLA for Mental Health Workers
State Sen. Samra Brouk, who represents the Rochester area, introduced a bill last Wednesday that would establish an annual cost-of-living adjustment for mental health workers in several state offices. Since she has served as chair of the Senate Mental Health Committee, Brouk said, she has learned that there’s no guaranteed cost-of-living adjustment for the state’s mental health workforce, and that the 1% adjustment workers got in fiscal 2021-22 was the first in about 12 years. Read more here.
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Use of 'Red Flag' Law Jumps Following Governor's Directive
The man was prone to fights — verbal and physical, often with family members and sometimes ending with legal consequences. Over the past two years, he had been arrested for damaging the fender of his aunt's pickup truck and for throwing and then damaging his neighbor's chairs and a planter.
The man, described by the court in Saratoga County as "B.K.," got into an argument in July with another person over paying the insurance cost for a pickup truck. He allegedly threatened to beat up the person's girlfriend and family. And then he took a metal baseball bat from the truck and swung it at her, saying he would "smash (her) head in." He struck a length of deck railing instead. Read more here.
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The Trevor Project Releases New State-Level Data on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, Victimization, & Access to Support
The Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people, published its first-ever state-level analysis of LGBTQ youth mental health in all 50 states. Based on The Trevor Project’s most recent national survey, which captured the experiences of nearly 34,000 LGBTQ youth ages 13-24 in the U.S., these data provide critical insights into the suicide risk, barriers to mental health care, anti-LGBTQ victimization, and negative impacts of recent politics reported by LGBTQ youth. These data also point to ways in which people can support the LGBTQ youth in their lives by highlighting access to accepting communities, LGBTQ-affirming spaces, and social support among family and friends — protective factors that are consistently associated with lower suicide risk. Read more here.
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Peer Support Specialist Software Helps Address Social Determinants of Health
It’s no secret that it’s harder, if not impossible, for people to meaningfully engage in mental health treatment when their immediate needs aren’t met, including safe housing, food, money, and transportation. However, there are other common, often related, barriers to care—racism, stigma, lack of culturally competent care, and resource and workforce shortages. Currently, 157 million people live in federally designated mental health workforce shortage areas. Kaveh Sedehi, founder and CEO of Emissary Health, a digital peer support platform, says peer services help mitigate obstacles to care, including those created or exacerbated by social determinants of health. Read more here.
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NIH Launches Harm Reduction Research Network to Prevent Overdose Fatalities
To address the overdose crisis in the United States, the National Institutes of Health has established a research network that will test harm reduction strategies in different community settings to inform efforts to help save lives. The harm reduction research network’s efforts build on existing harm reduction research, and represent the largest pool of funding from NIH to date to study harm reduction strategies to address overdose deaths. Read more here.
Related: Fentanyl test strips help prevent overdoses, why are they still controversial?
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Issue Brief: Championing Veterans Treatment Courts in New York State
Veterans Treatment Courts (VTCs) are a type of specialty court geared toward veterans who have been charged with non-violent offenses and have mental health or substance use issues. VTCs provide an alternative to incarceration, giving justice-involved veterans a second chance by providing them with the treatment they need while allowing them to stay in their own communities. Since 2009, NYHealth has invested in the evaluation, replication, and strengthening of VTCs. In 2021, New York State enacted a law to ensure universal access to VTCs for all veterans who need one, no matter where in the State they live. NYHealth's work in this area continues today, with a focus on ensuring sound implementation of the universal access policy.
Read a new issue brief highlighting lessons learned from more than a decade of work supporting VTCs and recommendations for the future.
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Study: Rural Schools Face Disparities in Access to Mental Health Services
Rural schools are significantly less likely to offer mental health services compared to urban schools, according to a new study led by researchers at Washington State University. The study, appearing in American Journal of Preventive Medicine, showed that only a little more than half of all public schools, 51.8%, reported providing assessments for mental health disorders. The researchers’ analysis showed that schools in rural areas, towns and suburban areas were significantly less likely to provide those assessments than city schools by a respective 19%, 21% and 11%. Treatment was being offered in only 38.3% of schools overall with suburban schools the least likely to provide treatment compared to city schools. Read more here.
Related: Schools are sounding the alarm on a growing mental health crisis for America’s kids
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UPCOMING EVENTS & TRAININGS
Reducing Jail Populations: Decreasing Pretrial Length of Stay by Improving Court Proceedings and Pre
January 5, 2 - 3 pm, NACo
New Medicaid Opportunities for Financing Health-Related Social Needs: A Conversation With States
January 9, 2023, 3 - 4 pm, Manatt Health
Introduction to PSYCKES
January 11, 1 - 2 pm, OMH
PSYCKES for Health Homes and Care Management Agencies
January 24, 10 - 11:30 am, OMH
Where to Start: Getting Access to PSYCKES
January 31, 11 am - 12 pm, OMH
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CLMHD CALENDAR
DECEMBER 2022
Developmental Disabilities Committee Meeting
December 22: 1 - 2:30 pm
CLMHD Office Closed - Christmas
December 26
JANUARY 2023
CLMHD Office Closed - New Year's Day
January 2
Executive Committee Meeting
January 4: 8 - 9 am
LGU Clinic Director Call
January 10: 10 - 11:30 am
Addiction Services & Recovery Committee Meeting
January 12: 11 am - 12 pm
Mental Health Committee Meeting
January 12: 3 - 4 pm
CLMHD Office Closed - MLK Jr. Day
January 16
Children & Families Committee Meeting
January 17: 11:30 am - 1 pm
CLMHD Membership Call
January 18: 9 - 10:30 am
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