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Biden-Harris Administration Awards Nearly $130 Million to Expand Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics Across US
Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), announced that it has awarded $127.7 million to expand Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) across the country. These grant awards support the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing efforts to advance President Biden’s Unity Agenda to tackle the country’s mental health crisis and beat the opioid epidemic. The awards announced today will work with provisions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) to expand access to the CCBHC model across the United States. Under BSCA, HHS will enable up to 10 additional states to create state CCBHC programs under Medicaid every two years starting in 2024, providing sustainable funding for CCBHC services to Medicaid beneficiaries. Read more here.
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Governor Hochul Signs Legislation to Support New Yorkers With Disabilities
Governor Kathy Hochul last week signed key legislation to support New Yorkers with disabilities. Legislation (S.7094/A.6543) renames the Developmental Disabilities Planning Council to be the State Council on Developmental Disabilities and updates its membership to reflect the diversity of the state. Legislation (S.3313B/A.5879A) updates outdated language used in the private housing law, the public authorities law, and the New York State medical care facilities finance agency Act. Legislation (S.4041-A/A.7258-A) replaces certain instances of the words “handicapping conditions” with disabilities related to children with such disabilities. Read more here.
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Governor Hochul Signs Legislation to Strengthen New York's Nation-leading Red Flag Laws
Governor Kathy Hochul last week signed legislation (S. 3436/A. 5835) to exempt applications for an Extreme Risk Protection Order from requiring an index number fee. This legislation will strengthen New York State’s Extreme Risk Protection Order law, also known as the Red Flag Law, which prevents individuals who show signs of being a threat to themselves or others from purchasing or possessing any kind of firearm. The Red Flag Law provides procedural safeguards to ensure that no firearm is removed without due process while helping to prevent tragedies, like the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, and the racist mass shooting in Buffalo. Since the new legislation was enacted in June 2022, the number of Extreme Risk Protection Orders has increased by ten times. Read more here.
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‘The rule has sticks as well’: Biden’s Getting Tough with Health Insurers
The Biden administration is going after health insurers for flouting a federal law requiring them to provide mental health care on the same terms as other care. The administration has proposed new rules it says will make the insurers comply and it’s threatening big fines if they don’t. Insurers are pleading innocent and, backed by some of America’s biggest companies, claiming the Biden administration plan could make an intractable problem worse. The battle comes as Americans’ mental health care needs are at modern highs, following a pandemic-driven spike that refuses to abate. Read more here.
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‘So Much Suffering:’ What Migrant Children Carry to New York
Of the more than 110,000 asylum seekers who have recently landed in New York City, 20,000 are children now enrolled in public schools, facing challenges both familiar to any kid who has moved away and towering in their emotional complexity. The most recent arrivals have been met by Mayor Eric Adams’s downcast mood and language of resignation, his well-documented, inflammatory claims that the migrant situation will “destroy” New York and that “the city we knew, we’re about to lose.” There is little to suggest that the school system is prepared for the mental health crisis that looms. Read more here.
Related: Understanding the U.S. Immigrant Experience: The 2023 KFF/LA Times Survey of Immigrants
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As Younger Children Increasingly Die by Suicide, Better Tracking and Prevention Is Sought
Jason Lance thought Jan. 21, 2010, was a day like any other until the call came. He had dropped off his 9-year-old son, Montana, at Stewart’s Creek Elementary School in The Colony, Texas, that morning. “There were no problems at home. He was smart. He wore his heart on his sleeve and he talked and talked and talked,” said Lance. It was “the same old, same old normal day. There were kisses and goodbyes and he said, ‘I love you, Daddy.’” A few hours later, school officials called to say Montana had died by suicide while locked in the nurse’s bathroom. “I knew he had some issues going on in school, but I never seen it coming,” said Lance. His shock and grief were complicated by the realization that there may have been more signs his son was struggling. Read more here.
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SAMHSA Releases New Data on Recovery from Substance Use and Mental Health Problems Among Adults in the United States
SAMHSA on Wednesday released Recovery from Substance Use and Mental Health Problems Among Adults in the United States, a new report that provides data on the adults in recovery from their substance use and/or mental health problem and provides policy recommendations identified as supporting recovery.
Using data from the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), this report shows that 70 million adults aged 18 or older perceived that they ever had a substance use and/or mental health problem. For substance use specifically, of the 29.0 million adults who perceived that they ever had a substance use problem, 72.2% (or 20.9 million) considered themselves to be in recovery or to have recovered from their drug or alcohol use problem. For mental health, of the 58.7 million adults who perceived they ever had a mental health problem, 66.5% (or 38.8 million) considered themselves to be in recovery or to have recovered from their mental health problem. Read more here.
Related: Incorporating Harm Reduction Into Alcohol Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery
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Higher Buprenorphine Doses May Help SUD Providers Treat the ‘Different Beast’ That Is Fentanyl
Deaths from fentanyl-involved drug overdoses soared by 279% from 2016 to 2021, according to the CDC. Buprenorphine has been found to reduce mortality rates of opioid use disorder by 50%, but patients addicted to fentanyl could be missing out on more effective dosages because of outdated FDA guidelines. Current FDA guidelines for buprenorphine were based on people who used heroin, prior to the emergence of fentanyl in the illicit drug supply. Higher doses of the drug may be more effective at keeping fentanyl-addicted patients in treatment, according to a new study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The first author of the study, Laura Chambers, lead research scientist of epidemiology at Brown University, says these higher doses could save lives. Read more here.
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State Principles for Financing Substance Use Care Treatment and Support Services
Strengthening substance use disorder (SUD) treatment systems requires strategic state investments to increase access to evidence-based SUD services and address inequities. This includes accounting for the different needs of people with SUD along a continuum of care — including prevention, early intervention, treatment, and recovery supports, as well as harm reduction services. With support from The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) refined a set of 10 key financing principles to guide states in strengthening the long-term availability of robust SUD treatment and recovery services. The principles were shaped through a consensus-building process including stakeholders with expertise in SUD financing, research and policy experts, providers, state officials, and people with lived experience accessing the treatment system. Read more here.
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A Decade Of Data: An Update On The Primary Care And Mental Health Nurse Practitioner And Physician Workforce
This analysis builds on past tracking of primary care workforce numbers, adding 2023 data and including the behavioral health workforce. Authors propose policy reform through funding of primary care workforce educational programs, updating restrictive practice requirements that restrain both nurse practitioner and physician practice, and improving primary care reimbursement to acknowledge and make full use of the current primary care and behavioral health workforce pipeline. Read more here.
Related: ‘It Is Time to Acknowledge’ the Role of Nurse Practitioners Amid Mental Health Care Shortage
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UPCOMING EVENTS & TRAININGS
CoE Equity in Action: Impacts of Substance Use on BIPOC Families
September 21, 12 - 1 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Engaging Community Stakeholders to Reduce Mental Health Inequities in the Hispanic Community
September 21, 12:30 - 2 pm, NIH
Understanding the 988 Lifeline LGBTQ+ Landscape
September 21, 1 - 2 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Shattering Myths: Performance, Attrition, and Executive Functioning of College Students with Mental Health Conditions
September 21, 2:30 - 4 pm, Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research
Peer Recovery Support Series, Part 8: Ethics, Confidentiality, and Boundaries in Peer Recovery
September 21, 3 - 4 pm, NAADAC
CoE-IHS Webinar: Partnering with Schools to Improve Youth Mental Health
September 26, 11 am - 12 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Using Progressive Practices to Promote Wellness & Recovery for Veterans
September 26, 12 - 2 pm, NASW-NYS
Lessons from the Field in Reducing Child Abuse through Community-Based Collaboration
September 26, 12:30 - 2 pm, Social Current
Understanding Addiction and Disabilities: A Specialized Curriculum for People Living With Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities and Substance Use Disorders
September 26, 3 - 4 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Harm Reduction, Limited Gambling and Countertransference
September 27, 12 - 1:30 pm, NY Council on Problem Gambling
Teachable Moment: Helping Students (and Adults) Address Mental Health Challenges
September 27, 2 - 3 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Behavioral Health: Leveraging Person-Centered Approaches
September 27, 2:30 - 4 pm, Resources for Integrated Care
Healthy Families for a Healthy Workforce
September 28, 12 - 1 pm, MHANYS
Trauma-informed Cancer Care for Individuals with Mental Health and Substance Use Challenges
September 28, 1 - 2 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Equity-Centered Strategies to Improve Care for People Experiencing Homelessness: Lessons from Kings and Tulare Counties
September 29, 11 am - 12 pm, Center for Health Care Strategies
Understanding the Population of People with Frequent Jail Contact
September 29, 1 - 2 pm, SAMHSA's GAINS Center
988: It is NOT just a number- Webinar #3
October 3, 2 - 4:30 pm, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
The Legal, Regulatory and Market Trends Transforming Health Care
October 5, 12:30 - 1:30 pm, Manatt Health
Introduction to PSYCKES
October 5, 1 - 2 pm, OMH
Exploring Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Trauma, Trends & Diagnostic Insights
October 16, 12 - 1 pm, PsychU
Stepping Up and Elevating the Voices of People with Lived Experience
October 17, 1 - 2:30 pm, CSG Justice Center
PSYCKES for Health Homes and Care Management Agencies
October 17, 3 - 4:30 pm, OMH
Narrative Enhancement and Cognitive Therapy (NECT): An Evidence-Based Intervention Designed to Reduce Self-Stigma in Adults with Mental Health Challenges
October 19, 10 am - 12 pm, CTAC/MTAC
Key Takeaways: Survey Of 4,000 Health Plans On Behavioral Health’s Future
October 24, 12 - 1 pm, PsychU
Narrative Enhancement and Cognitive Therapy (NECT): Adaptations for Youth and Caregivers Impacted by Mental Health Challenges
October 26, 10 am - 12 pm, CTAC/MCTAC
Cost and Financing Strategies for Coordinated Specialty Care for First Episode Psychosis
October 30, 2 - 3 pm, SAMHSA
Using the PSYCKES Clinical Summary
November 1, 10 - 11:30 am, OMH
PSYCKES Mobile App for iPhones & iPads
November 14, 11 am - 12 pm, OMH
Navigating PSYCKES Recipient Search for Population Health
November 30, 3 - 4 pm, OMH
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CLMHD CALENDAR
SEPTEMBER
Developmental Disabilities Committee Meeting
September 21: 1 - 2:30 pm
Deputy DCS Call
September 26: 10 - 11 am
Mentoring Workshop: Steps to Developing a Threat Assessment Group in Your County
September 27: 11:30 am - 1 pm
OCTOBER
CLMHD Executive Committee Meeting
October 4: 8 - 9 am
AOT Coordinators Call
October 6: 10 - 11:30 am
LGU Clinic Operators Call
October 10: 10 - 11:30 am
Addiction Services & Supports (ASR) Committee Meeting
October 12: 11 am - 12 pm
Mental Health Committee Meeting
October 12: 3 - 4 pm
Children & Families Committee Meeting
October 17: 11:30 am - 1 pm
Membership Call
October 18: 9 - 10:30 am
Mental Hygiene Planning Committee Meeting
October 19: 1 - 2:30 pm
Deputy DCS Call
October 24: 10 - 11 am
Fall 2023 Full Membership Meeting
October 25 - 27, Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel
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