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College Students Face Mental Health Crisis as 51% Rate Well-Being as Poor, New Survey Reveals
More than half of U.S. college students rate their mental health as fair, poor, or terrible, according to a new national survey released by The Steve Fund that reveals a deepening mental health crisis on campuses nationwide. The study, conducted by The Harris Poll among 2,050 students ages 18-24 at four-year institutions, found that 51% of U.S. college students rate their mental health as fair, poor, or terrible, signaling what researchers call a "looming mental health crisis" affecting millions of young people. One in four students said college had a negative impact on their mental health, while more than 7.5 million young people from historically disadvantaged backgrounds in the U.S.—over one in five—struggle with their mental health. Read more here.
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NYS Unified Court Mental Illness Task Force Issues First Report
New York State’s Unified Court System issued its first report on Tuesday, with recommended first steps to help the court system address mental illness. The task force — established in 2024 — was to address how courts across the state address mental illness in incarcerated individuals. “The burgeoning mental health crisis in New York and nationwide makes it imperative that New York’s courts, which long have been the national leader in offering treatment options to persons in need, now work harder than ever to do our part in addressing that crisis,” Chief Judge Rowan Wilson said in a statement. “I am determined to move forward on the Task Force’s initial recommendations and eagerly await forthcoming ideas from that diverse group of experts as we seek to develop more holistic, effective justice system responses for children, youth, and adults with behavioral health and co-occurring disorders.” Read more here.
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As Opioid Rates Plummet, NY Officials Hope 2025 a Turning Point
Richard Messina experienced numerous painful overdoses before a final one left him dazed on the streets of Schenectady and with a newfound conviction that something had to change. That overdose two summers ago prompted him to return to Schenectady’s Drug Treatment Court, which he’d been attending for months before he had relapsed. The incident “scared the daylights” out of Messina, the 54-year-old Rotterdam resident said, and he enrolled in intensive outpatient treatment while attending the court-sanctioned program. After 30 years of struggling with an opioid addiction, something had finally shifted. “When I was thoroughly exhausted is when I changed everything,” Messina said. “My life twice flashed before me. It’s so hard, it’s so hurtful to even think about, hurts my heart to know that I’ve lost so many people, family members, friends. … But there is a possibility, there is a way out of it.” Read more here.
Related: Majority of Youth Overdose Deaths from 2018 to 2022 Were Driven by Fentanyl Alone
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New Report Highlights OPWDD's Work With Georgetown Toward an Equitable Service System
OPWDD has released its first report focused on cultural and linguistic competence in the developmental disabilities service system: “Advancing Cultural and Linguistic Competence, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: OPWDD-Georgetown University NCCC Partnership for Systems Change.” Based on input from 2024 Regional Provider Forums, the report includes recommendations to strengthen the system’s ability to serve diverse communities effectively. This effort is part of a broader partnership with Georgetown to develop a vision statement for diversity, equity, and inclusion across OPWDD and its provider network. The full report, its Executive Summary, as well as a clear language version of the summary can be found on the OPWDD website here.
Related: OPWDD Upcoming 2025 Strategic Planning Forums
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School Counselors Worry About Students’ Misguided Use of Social Media
Social media platforms like Instagram, X and TikTok have become landscapes for learning and increasing awareness of topics like mental health. But for children who are learning how to navigate virtual spaces, the pitfalls are many and hidden. Educators and researchers are becoming increasingly worried how much kids are absorbing the digital information they find online about mental health, which they are unlikely to fully grasp even if the information is trustworthy.“ I have had sixth graders who will come into my office and we’ll be talking about something and they’ll say, ‘Well, yes, because of my anxiety.’ And I'll say, ‘Oh, I didn’t know that you were diagnosed with anxiety. Did you go to a doctor and get a diagnosis?’ And they will say, ‘No, I’ve just been watching a lot of TikTok videos and I think that I have anxiety’,” said Hanna Kemble, an elementary school counselor and a counselor leader coordinator for the state of Kansas. Read more here.
Related: More than half of top 100 mental health TikToks contain misinformation, study finds
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Attendance Improves in Rural NYS Schools With On-Site Health Clinics
Enhancing access to health care and improving student outcomes are longstanding challenges in rural communities. Identifying solutions has been elusive, but school-based health centers (SBHCs) have shown promise. New Cornell research shows students miss less class time in rural upstate New York schools that host comprehensive health clinics – the first findings to confirm such benefits in rural areas. The work is also informing a legislative proposal to expand access to these clinics. Analyzing more than 66,000 students in a four-county region over four years, the researchers found that children on average were 15% less likely to be at risk of chronic absenteeism in districts with school-based health centers that can treat them onsite, run by a nonprofit hospital system, compared to those in districts without clinics. Lower absenteeism is associated with a range of better academic outcomes. Read more here.
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He Died Without Getting Mental Health Care He Sought. A New Lawsuit Says His Insurer’s Ghost Network Is to Blame.
The mother of an Arizona man who died after being unable to find mental health treatment is suing his health insurer, saying it broke the law by publishing false information that misled its customers. Ravi Coutinho, a 36-year-old entrepreneur, bought insurance from Ambetter, the most popular plan on HealthCare.gov, because it seemed to offer plenty of mental health and addiction treatment options near his home in Phoenix. But after struggling for months in early 2023 to find in-network care covered by his plan, he wasn’t able to find a therapist. In May 2023, after 21 calls with the insurer without getting the treatment he sought, he was found dead in his apartment. His death was ruled an accident, likely due to complications from excessive drinking. Coutinho was the subject of a September 2024 investigation by ProPublica that showed how he was trapped in what’s commonly known as a “ghost network.” Read more here.
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What a ‘Perfect’ SUD Care Model Would Actually Look Like
An example of a near-perfect, high-impact model for addiction care is difficult to find even in the pie-in-the-sky film or television realms. Finding one in the real world comes with even more challenges. The 1997 film “Gridlock’d” follows Tupac Shakur and Tim Roth as they grapple with trying to get care and reverse their heroin addiction. Scene after scene, the two are met with barriers that keep them from getting what they need. That 28-year-old film, in many ways, parallels the landscape patients still have to navigate for substance use disorder (SUD) treatment in 2025. “Every place they go, there’s a new barrier that keeps them from getting the care they need. In the meantime, they’re in withdrawal. So what do they do between places? They use,” says Dr. Daniel Sumrok, former president of the Tennessee Society of Addiction Medicine. “The perfect model would give us the ability to conduct an ASAM [American Society of Addiction Medicine] analysis on every patient, decide what level of care they need, pick up the phone and get them connected to that care right away.” Read more here.
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How States Leverage Medicaid Managed Care to Foster Behavioral Health Integration
Evidence-based models of integrated behavioral and physical health care improve outcomes and are cost-effective—in primary care settings for individuals with mild to moderate conditions, and in community-based settings for those with more serious illness. States are implementing multi-pronged integration strategies tailored to varying levels of illness acuity and complexity, spurred by increased rates of mental illness and suicide, the high prevalence of overdose deaths, and long-established mortality gap for individuals with serious mental illness. A NASHP scan of Medicaid managed care contracts found that state efforts to leverage Medicaid managed care to improve integration of behavioral and physical health were both broad and deep. Read more here.
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Cannabis Use Rises Among U.S. Older Adults
The prevalence of cannabis use rose among older adults across the country, with notable increases for certain subgroups, according to a cross-sectional study. Among nearly 15,700 adults ages 65 and older, the prevalence of past-month cannabis use rose from 4.8% in 2021 to 7% in 2023 (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.08-1.41), reported Benjamin Han, MD, of the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, and co-authors in a JAMA Internal Medicine research letter. "Given physiological changes and chronic diseases, older adults are susceptible to adverse effects of cannabis, which may require acute medical care," they wrote. "Clinicians should consider screening and educating older patients about potential risks of cannabis use." Older adults who identified as "other" race had the highest trend for increased use, jumping from 1.6% in 2021 to 7.4% in 2023 (OR 2.26, 95% CI 1.12-4.59). Read more here.
Related: Health Risks From Cannabis May Grow as Users Age
Risks of cannabis range from heart attack to psychosis. Here’s who may be most susceptible
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Medicaid Health Homes for Individuals with Behavioral Health Conditions: Evidence Round Up
The Medicaid health home model supports integrated, coordinated care for individuals with chronic conditions, including behavioral health conditions. Established by the Affordable Care Act, health homes are an optional Medicaid benefit that states may elect to provide. States have flexibility to customize their health home approaches to meet state-specific goals and population needs. This resource specifically focuses on implementation and impact of Medicaid heath homes designed to support individuals with behavioral health conditions (sometimes referred to as “behavioral health homes”). Read more here.
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NYSAC Podcast: Hope & Help: County-led Opioid Abatement Campaigns
This episode of County Conversations focuses on how counties can fight the opioid epidemic and reduce stigma around substance use disorders. NYSAC Multimedia Specialist Kate Pierce-Nimz is joined by Cheryl Moore, Independent Consultant at Opioid Consulting, and Amanda Lucchino, Director of Business Development at Trellis Marketing. They discuss how counties can effectively engage residents in opioid abatement efforts through personalized, data-driven public awareness campaigns. Listen to the episode.
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UPCOMING EVENTS & TRAININGS
What It Takes to Build a Community-Based Healthcare Workforce
June 5, 1 - 2 pm, Camden Coalition
Act With Hope: Clinical Care
June 5, 2:30 - 3:30 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
The Key Role of Families in Vocational Recovery for People with Serious Mental Health Conditions
June 5, 4 - 5 pm, NAMI
Rural Community Assessments: Building Coalitions for SUD Care
June 9, 1 - 3 pm, NCROTAC
A Doctor's Battle with Anxiety and Depression
June 10, 12 - 1 pm, NYSPHA
Unveiling ADHD's Complex Relationship with Substance Use and Young Adults
June 11, 12 - 1:30 pm, NAADAC
Bridging Divides Where Systems Meet for Youth & Families - Part 3: Sustainability in Uncertainty
June 11, 12 - 1:30 pm, NTTAC
Integrating Harm Reduction into Health Care Facilities Serving Medicaid Members
June 11, 2 - 3:15 pm, Center for Health Care Strategies
An Introduction to EMPACT: Affirming School Communities for LGBTQIA+ Youth
June 11, 3:30 - 4:30 pm, School Mental Health Resource Training Center
Substance Use and Child Welfare: Rebuilding Family-Centered Systems of Care
June 12, 11:30 am - 1 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Low-Threshold Access to Care: Initiating MOUD in the Emergency Department and Encouraging Treatment Retention
June 12, 12 - 1 pm, PCSS
Housing Instability Access to Care: Best Practices for Health Centers
June 12, 1 - 2 pm, Corporation for Supportive Housing
Advancing licensure: Growing the mental health care workforce
June 12, 2 - 3 pm, Kaiser Permanente
The Next Five Years: How Addiction Treatment Has and Will Change in the Decade Since COVID Changed Everything
June 12, 2 - 3 pm, Behavioral Health Business
Provider Investigation Basics (Virtual)
June 16 - 18, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm, NYS Justice Center
Proposed Payment System Rules – What to Know for 2025
June 16, 3 - 4 pm, Netsmart
The Interconnection between Health Equity, the Social Determinants of Health and the Impact of Intersectionality (in Rural Communities)
June 17, 10 am - 12 pm, NCROTAC
Supporting Young Adults Experiencing Early Serious Mental Illness in the Shift from Child to Adult Mental Health Services
June 17, 12 - 1 pm, SAMHSA
The Future of Behavioral Healthcare: Trends Shaping the Next Decade
June 17, 1 - 2 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Workforce Solutions Jam | Skilling Up the Behavioral Health Workforce: Practical Solutions from Higher Ed
June 17, 1 - 2 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Measurement-Based Care in Practice: Impact and Strategies for Implementation
June 17, 1 - 2 pm, Qualifacts
Artificial Intelligence in Behavioral Health: Embracing the Future of Provider Efficiency
June 17, 2 - 3 pm, Behavioral Health Business
An Introduction to EMPACT: Affirming Families, Empowered Youth
June 17, 7 - 8 pm, School Mental Health Resource Training Center
Getting Started with MHFA: Tools and Timelines for New Instructors
June 20, 2 - 3 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Understanding Substance Use Stigma in Rural Areas
June 23, 10 - 11:30 am NCROTAC
Professional Boundaries (in Rural Communities)
June 24, 1 - 3 pm, NCROTAC
State Peer-to-Peer Learning Session: Models of No-Barrier or Low Barriers Emergency and Clinical Crisis Stabilization Services - Part 1
June 24, 3 - 4 pm, SAMHSA
Corrective Action Plan Guidance (Virtual)
June 26, 10 - 11 am, NYS Justice Center
Eating Disorders: The Collaborative School Community
June 26, 1 - 2 pm, SAMHSA
Building Rural Recovery Ecosystems
June 26, 1 - 2:30 pm, NCROTAC
Practical Strategies to Expand the Rural Behavioral Health Workforce
June 30, 10 - 11:30 am, NCROTAC
Next Steps for Cultural Responsiveness in Ethical Decision-Making
July 9, 12 - 1:30 pm, NAADAC
Schools on the Frontline: Early Identification, Intervention, and Support
July 14, 2:30 - 4 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Injuries of Unknown Origin (Virtual)
July 17, 11 am - 12 pm, NYS Justice Center
Breaking the Cycle: Interrupting Intergenerational Trauma in Substance Use Disorders
July 23, 12 - 1:30 pm, NAADAC
From Crisis to Care: How CCBHCs are Revolutionizing MOUD Access
August 14, 3:30 - 4:30 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Substance Use and Psychiatric Care: Bridging the Divide for Whole-Person Treatment
August 18, 2:30 - 4 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Suicide and Substance Use Disorders: A Current Epidemic
August 20, 12 - 1:30 pm, NAADAC
Toward Whole-Person Care: Integrated Substance Use and Primary Care Integration
September 8, 2:30 - 4 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
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CLMHD CALENDAR
JUNE
AOT Coordinators Meeting
June 6: 10 - 11:30 am
LGU Clinic Operators Call
June 10: 10 - 11:30 am
Addiction Services & Supports (ASR) Committee Meeting
June 12: 11 am - 12 pm
Developmental Disabilities Committee Meeting
June 12: 1 - 2 pm
Mental Health Committee Meeting
June 12: 3 - 4 pm
Children & Families Committee Meeting
June 17: 11:30 am - 1 pm
Membership Call
June 18: 9 - 10:30 am
CLMHD Office Closed - Juneteenth
June 19
Mental Hygiene Planning Committee Meeting
June 26: 1 - 3 pm
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