October 6, 2022

New KFF/CNN Survey on Mental Health Finds Young Adults in Crisis; More Than a Third Say Their Mental Health Keeps Them from Doing Normal Activities


An overwhelmingly majority (90%) of Americans believe the nation is in the midst of a mental health crisis, and young adults appear to be suffering the most, a new KFF-CNN survey on mental health in America reveals.


A third (34%) of adults under age 30 rate their mental health as “only fair” or “poor,” compared to 19% of those ages 30 and older. Half (52%) say they “always” or “often” felt anxious over the past year (28% for older adults), and about a third say they always or often felt depressed (33%) or lonely (32%) in the past year, also significantly higher than for older adults (18% each among those ages 30 and older). Read more here.

Governor Hochul Launches First Annual New York State Disability Rights and Employment Awareness Month


Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday launched New York's first annual Disability Rights and Employment Awareness Month Symposium, featuring both a full day event consisting of a vendor fair, workshops,

entertainment and award presentations, and will also offer an online job fair aimed at highlighting the state's commitment to supporting the rights of people with disabilities in the workplace next Tuesday, October 11. Governor Hochul also signed legislation (S.7578-C/A.8549-C) that will enable the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities to establish a voluntary training and certification program for employers that hire people with disabilities; and another law (A.8915-B/S.7746-B) that creates a new threshold for what percentage of a preferred source contract must be performed by New Yorkers with disabilities. Read more here.


Related: New laws could expand employment opportunities for New Yorkers with disabilities

New York Lawmaker Wants Aid for Health Care Centers Offering Crisis Services


Health care providers offering crisis stabilization services would receive increased aid and funding under a measure proposed by state Sen. Peter Harckham as New York seeks to reduce the effects of addiction and substance abuse disorder. Harckham's bill is meant to put disorder services providers on par with the crisis stabilization centers offered by the state Office of Mental Health. If approved, the state would compensate providers who have already been offering residential crisis stabilization programs at the same rate being received by facilities that are being rolled out in parts of New York. Read more here.


Related: Assessing New York’s ‘dramatically impacted’ mental health workforce

NQF Report Shows How Opioid and Mental Health Quality Measures Are Key to Tracking, Preventing Overdoses and Deaths 


The National Quality Forum (NQF) has released a report designed to help bolster efforts to monitor and prevent opioid-related deaths and overdoses, which have increased at an alarming rate since 2019.

U.S. drug overdose deaths were in decline between 2018 and 2019 but have since surged by almost 46 percent as factors like increasing use of synthetic opioids have been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Opioid-related deaths rose to more than 80,000 in 2021 and account for 75% of all overdose-related fatalities. People with both a substance use disorder (SUD) or opioid use disorder (OUD) and co-occurring behavioral health conditions are especially at risk, but monitoring and treating the nearly 10 million adults who fall into this category can be very difficult. Read more here.

Hospitals Have Specialists On Call For Lots Of Diseases — But Not Addiction. Why Not?


Marie lives in the coastal town of Swampscott, in Massachusetts. Last December, she began having more and more trouble breathing. One morning, three days after Christmas, she woke up gasping for air. A voice in her head said, "You're going to die." Marie dialed 911.


"I was so scared," Marie said later. Describing that day, the 63-year-old's voice filled with tension, and her hand clutched at her chest.


Marie was admitted to Salem Hospital, north of Boston. The staff treated her COPD, a chronic lung condition that includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. After her worst symptoms subsided, a doctor came the next day to check on her. He told Marie her oxygen levels looked good and that she was stable and ready to be discharged. Read more here.


Related: Uncertain Regulatory Environment Creating Real-World Impacts for Addiction Treatment

Mental Health Crisis Teams Aren’t Just for Cities Anymore


NEWTON, Iowa — Jeff White knows what can happen when 911 dispatchers receive a call about someone who feels despondent or agitated.


He experienced it repeatedly: The 911 operators dispatched police, who often took him to a hospital or jail. “They don’t know how to handle people like me,” said White, who struggles with depression and schizophrenia. “They just don’t. They’re just guessing.”


In most of those instances, he said, what he really needed was someone to help him calm down and find follow-up care. Read more here.


Related: Health Workforce Implications For The Rural Emergency Hospital Model


Examining the Burden of Public Stigma Associated with Mental Illness in the Rural United States

Young and Homeless in Rural America


One evening in June, Scott Cooper, a high school football coach in rural southern Ohio, received a text from Blake, one of his linebackers. Blake, who was 17, would miss practice the next day, and so would his brother Lee Jr., who was 15. Another text followed with an explanation: Their family had to move, and right away. They didn’t know where, but it would probably mean leaving River Valley High School. Read more here.


Related: Addressing Housing Insecurity via Medicaid Managed Care

New Kaiser Report: The Pandemic Hammered our Mental Health –Especially for People of Color


As we all have learned over the past 2½ years, the Covid-19 pandemic has taken a steep toll on the mental health of many people, who continue to struggle with loss and despair. These losses – of income, social connections, good health and the lives of loved ones – have struck hardest at communities of color.


But even before the pandemic, disparities based on race and ethnicity were significant – and had been growing for at least a decade. A new analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation offers a look at how mental health burdens were shifting in the run-up to the pandemic and after it began, with rates of suicide and drug overdose deaths rising faster among people of color than among whites. Read more here.


Related: HHS Awards Organizations Advancing Community-Driven Approaches to Tackling Structural Racism


SAMHSA Awards $45.1 Million to Help Meet Behavioral Health Needs of People Who Are at Risk for or Are Living with HIV/AIDS


Negative Language in Medical Records More Common for Black Patients

Fentanyl Test Strips Highlight Rift in Nation’s Struggle to Combat Drug Deaths


“You smoke weed?” Eufamia Lopez asked the half-dozen young men lounging on benches in a public housing courtyard in the South Bronx.


The soft September air reeked of the obvious answer.


Ms. Lopez, who works for a New York University health support program, plunged into her spiel. Street drugs — meth, coke, molly, Xanax, heroin and even marijuana — are being cut with fentanyl these days, she said, which can kill you. But you can test your supply before using it to see whether there’s any fentanyl in it. She was giving out free kits. Read more here.


Related: NIDA Keys In on Evidence-based Research and Harm Reduction

ALBANY: Hiring Troubles Delay Rollout of Mental Health Crisis Program for Teens


BROOME: ‘Out Of The Darkness Community Walk’ raises awareness for suicide prevention and mental health


CHAUTAUQUA: Chautauqua County Mental Hygiene Receives $4 Million Grant for Behavior Health Clinic


CHAUTAUQUA: HEALing Community Study Launches Wave 2 Communication Campaign in Chautauqua County


ERIE: Mindful of mental health, UB seeks to educate athletes, coaches, community


ERIE: Congressman Higgins Announces $200,000 in Federal Funding for Compass House


FRANKLIN: Stefanik Announces Nearly $1 Million for Citizen Advocates in Malone


GENESEE: Services to area youth discussed at Systems of Care Summit


GENESEE: Health Department participating in study and awareness program on fentanyl


MONROE: County leaders announce “aggressive campaign” for social workers


NYC: Mental health care on Rikers: New York’s largest psychiatric provider


NYC: Queens Substance Abuse Treatment Provider Granted $4M


ONEIDA: Respite program offering struggling kids some stability, safety in Utica


PUTNAM: “All The Lonely People” Film Premiers in Putnam County; Research Shows Loneliness Impacts Physical Health Equal to Smoking or Obesity


SARATOGA: Saratoga Springs schools to undergo audit of safety procedures, push out vote on adding SROs


SUFFOLK: Suffolk To Launch New Mental Health Program


SUFFOLK: School of Social Welfare Partnership with Samaritan Daytop Village Builds Workforce, Aids in Addiction Treatment


SULLIVAN: Sullivan County, Hope Not Handcuffs, secure federal grant to combat substance use


TIOGA: Mental health therapists coming to two Tioga County school districts

Audio-Only Telehealth Visits During Pandemic Draw GAO Scrutiny


With pandemic-fueled temporary waivers on telehealth leading to a surge in telehealth visits in 2020, especially on audio-only platforms, the practice is overdue for its own exam for effectiveness and privacy, according to a new Government Accounting Office (GAO) report. The use of telehealth services topped 53 million visits in the period between April and December 2020. During the same period in 2019, only 5 million such visits occurred. Many of those were conducted by phone or non-video telehealth, which was rarely allowed prior to the pandemic. Read more here.

Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in Funds to Increase the Number of School-Based Mental Health Providers in Schools Provided Through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA)


On Monday, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) released Notices Inviting Applications for two grant programs to increase access to mental health services for students and young people, totaling $280 million, that were funded through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) and the Fiscal Year 2022 Omnibus Appropriations. The BSCA provided historic funding to help meet President Biden’s goal of doubling the number of school-based mental health professionals and tackling the nation’s mental health crisis. This is the first of $1 billion in Bipartisan Safer Communities Act funds over the next five years that the Department of Education will award for this purpose. Read more here.


RFP: School-Based Mental Health Services Grant Program


RFP: Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program

Project Increases Telehealth Access Among Veterans Facing Homelessness


By Mission And Definition, Community Health Centers Already Perform Value-Based Care


NIH: Family-Based Intervention Lowers Long-Term Suicide Risk in Youth


Can Smartphones Help Predict Suicide?


New Provisional CDC Suicide Death Data Is a Call to Action to Double Down on Suicide Prevention Efforts


Illinois is Getting Better at Answering Calls to the Suicide Crisis Line. Will Chicago’s South Side Be Left Behind?


Dementia diagnosis increases suicide risk for those under age 65, study finds


Vaping, cannabis use increasing among US teens

Save the Date: OMH Statewide Virtual Town Hall- Nov. 9, 2022

UPCOMING EVENTS & TRAININGS


Identifying and Reaching Family Caregivers: Innovative State Strategies

October 6, 1 - 2 pm, Center for Health Care Strategies


Navigating Depression: Early Diagnosis and Overcoming Barriers

October 6, 2:30 - 3:30 pm, MHA


Involving Community Partners in Data and Policy Initiatives to Advance Health Equity

October 11, 12 - 1:30 pm, Center for Health Care Strategies


Coordinated Entry: Homelessness response and partnership opportunities to better serve those with complex housing and healthcare needs

October 11, 1 - 2 pm, Camden Coalition


Professional Boundaries for OASAS Providers

October 12, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm, NYSJC


Using Public Safety Funds to Support Community Members’ Behavioral Health

October 12, 3 - 4 pm, NACo


PSYCKES for Health Homes and Care Management Agencies

October 12, 3 - 4:30 pm, OMH


Integrating Harm Reduction into the Substance Use Disorder Care Continuum

October 13, 1 - 2 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing


Navigating PSYCKES Recipient Search for Population Health

October 18, 10 - 11 am, OMH


Leading Wellbeing: Be Well, Do Well, A Webinar for Managers

October 18, 2 - 3 pm, Center for Wellbeing at Work


Understanding & Supporting Teen Emotional, Mental & Sexual Health

October 18, 7 - 8 pm, NYS School MH Resource & Training Center


Harm Reduction is Healthcare - Harnessing new opportunities to address the substance use epidemic, Session 1

October 19, 3 - 4:30 pm, HRSA


Introduction to the Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Standards

October 20, 2 - 3 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing


Women Veterans’ Definitions of Peer Support: Importance for Mental Health & Well-being

October 20, 6 - 7 pm, NASW-NYS


Exploring the Intersections of Gender-Based Violence and Suicide

October 21, 12 - 1:30 pm, NYS Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence


PSYCKES Mobile App for iPhones & iPads

October 25, 11 am - 12 pm, OMH


State Integration Models of Recovery Support Services

October 27, 11:30 am - 1 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing


Diversity, Equity and Belonging focused Solutions to Recruit & Retain the Workforce

November 3, 3 - 4 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing


NYS Justice Center Code of Conduct Train-the-Trainer

November 9, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm, NYSJC


Implementing the Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Standards

November 15, 2 - 3:30 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing

CLMHD CALENDAR


OCTOBER


Quarterly LGU Billing Staff Call

October 6, 2 - 3 pm


AOT Coordinators Meeting

October 7, 10 - 11:30 am


CLMHD Office Closed - Columbus Day

October 10


LGU Clinic Operators Call

October 11, 10 - 11:30 am


Executive Committee Meeting

October 12, 8 - 9 am


Addiction Services & Recovery Committee Meeting

October 13: 11 am - 12 pm


Mental Health Committee Meeting

October 13: 3 - 4 pm


Children & Families Committee Meeting

October 18: 11:30 am - 1 pm


CLMHD Fall Full Membership Meeting

October 20-21, Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, Rochester


Developmental Disabilities Committee Meeting

October 27, 1 - 2:30 pm

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 with the NYS Association of Counties (NYSAC)
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