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Veterans Disproportionately Affected by Suicide, but Targeted Prevention can Help Reverse the Tide
America’s military veterans make up about 6% of the adult population but account for about 20% of all suicides. That means that each day, about 18 veterans will die by suicide. In the U.S., the overall rate of suicide has largely increased since the start of the millennium, but veterans are disproportionately represented among this tragic trend. Each of these losses affects not only the individual but also their families, friends and co-workers. Thus, working to prevent suicide and its underlying causes is important not only to protect our loved ones but also to foster happier, safer communities. Read more here.
Related: Cohen Veterans Network Unveils New Research on Client Experiences in Suicide-Focused Mental Health Care and Key Risk Predictors Among Veterans and Service Members
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Major Insurance Companies Back New Behavioral Health Measurement Standards Program
The National Quality Forum (NQF) has partnered with a coalition of health plans and the national digital therapy enablement platform Headway to create a new assessment tool that standardizes how behavioral health clinicians measure the progress of care. The behavioral health industry, across specialties, has struggled with a lack of a standardized data measurement set. The NQF is leading a new initiative to change this and lay the groundwork for value-based care arrangements while improving patient care without increasing clinician workload. The initiative, dubbed Aligned Innovation, aims to create an omnibus tool to measure depression and anxiety symptoms and function and develop a patient-reported outcome performance measure (PROPM) that measures symptom changes over time. Read more here.
Related: SUD Providers Struggle with Payers’ ‘Lip Service’ on Outcomes Data
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Seven Key State-Level Strategies for Supporting Community-Level Harm Reduction
Harm reduction strategies save lives and are intended to prevent overdoses and reduce negative outcomes related to drug use. While states have an array of tools to support harm reduction, most harm reduction services are delivered at the community level. Therefore, the success of many state-level harm reduction initiatives rely on robust state infrastructure that bolsters and empowers local harm reduction providers. To highlight how states are working to support community-level harm reduction approaches, NASHP developed case studies of harm reduction strategies in four geographically and politically diverse states, which can be explored in detail on the NASHP website. Read more here.
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Assigned to the Cloud Crew: The National Incarceration Association’s Hybrid Case Management for People with Behavioral Health Needs
When returning to their communities from criminal justice settings, people with behavioral health needs face barriers in accessing basic needs—including food, housing, employment, transportation, education, clothing, and substance use and mental health services—which increases their risk of experiencing a crisis. To address these barriers and support people in leading healthy lives, the National Incarceration Association (NIA) is utilizing a unique strategy to connect formerly incarcerated adults in Georgia to long-term interventions. Read more here.
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Librarians Face a Crisis of Violence and Abuse
On social media, Mychal Threets was spreading the gospel of “library joy” to hundreds of thousands of followers. Known for his energetic delivery and signature Afro, Mr. Threets showed off the book-themed tattoos covering his arms and evangelized about the pleasure of reading while cradling one of his cats. Viewers found his enthusiasm for literature infectious, and he got a kick out of drawing in young readers. But at his job, as a supervisor at the Fairfield Civic Center Library in Solano County, Calif., he was facing new challenges. The library, which he had begun visiting as a child, had become a gathering place for people experiencing issues like homelessness, drug dependence and mental illness. Some of his duties had little to do with cataloging books and recommending titles. Over a year, Mr. Threets said, he filed more than 170 incident reports documenting how library patrons had acted out: property damage, harassment, physical altercations. Read more here.
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HHS Encourage Students to Join the Health Workforce
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has launched a Join the Health Workforce website, which highlights support available through HHS for those who are interested in joining or the health workforce or advancing within it. HHS also released a new report, “Health Care Workforce: Key Issues, Challenges and the Path Forward.” This report describes some of the challenges facing the health workforce, including undersupply, uneven distribution and administrative burden, as well as how the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated some of these challenges. The report also summarizes information about the supply and distribution of several major components of the health care workforce, including behavioral health workers, physicians and direct care workers.
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DSP Wages Up, But Disability Providers Still Struggling To Maintain Services
Hourly pay is rising for direct support professionals, but advocates say that doesn’t appear to be enough to forestall the barriers facing people with developmental disabilities seeking services. Across the nation, hourly wages for direct support professionals averaged $15.79 in 2022, exceeding $15 per hour for the first time ever. Despite the increase, however, the turnover rate in the field remained over 40%, leaving many service providers struggling to maintain enough staff to support people with developmental disabilities living in the community. Read more here.
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He Fell into Addiction as a Teen, and Then Found a Novel Way to Helps Thousands of Other People Recover
Can rock climbing, hiking and even gardening help addicts stay away from drugs and alcohol? Scott Strode has built a therapy program, based on his own experiences, to show that they can. “I don’t really believe in the idea that you have to hit rock bottom to change,” says Strode, 51. “I think you need a moment of perspective where you're clear-headed enough to see a change that seems obtainable.” That clear-headedness comes from surrounding addicts in a community of support, ideally engaged in activities that have them interacting with sober people on a regular basis, Strode says. Read more here.
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The Parole Officer-Peer Partnership: A Secondary Diversion Effort in New Jersey
Partnerships between law enforcement agencies and peer recovery support service providers are often discussed in the context of diversion—assisting an individual in need before they become fully entrenched in the criminal legal system. In New Jersey, a new partnership has emerged between the State Parole Board and a peer recovery support organization to aid what can be referred to as secondary diversion, or the prevention of reengagement with the system after incarceration. Read more here.
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Virtual Mental Health Visits Linked to Lower Suicide-Related Events
Greater use of virtual mental health care services was linked to a lower risk of suicide-related events, according to a retrospective cohort study. The study of more than 16,000 veterans with prior mental health diagnoses showed that a 1% increase in the proportion of mental health care received through telehealth services was associated with a 2.5% decrease in suicide-related events, Kertu Tenso, PhD, of Boston University School of Public Health, and co-authors reported in JAMA Network Open. "An increase in virtual mental health visits relative to total visits was associated with a decrease in suicide-related events among recently separated Veterans," Tenso told MedPage Today in an email. Read more here.
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County-Led Suicide Prevention Initiatives Highlighted in NYSAC News Magazine
The latest issue of NYSAC News Magazine highlights the critical efforts of New York State counties to combat suicide, featuring an article by CLMHD on pages 42-43 titled "Saving Lives, Preventing Loss: Suicide Prevention Initiatives in New York State Counties." spotlights how counties collaborate on community-driven programs, specialized training, and targeted support to reach high-risk populations, underscoring the need for sustainable resources to further these impactful initiatives. Read more here.
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UPCOMING EVENTS & TRAININGS
Children and Family Treatment and Support Services (CFTSS) Provider Forum
November 7, 1:30 - 3 pm, CTAC/MCTAC
Pathways to Support: SSI/SSDI Outreach That Works
November 7, 2 - 3:30 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
An Introduction to Scalable Psychopathology InteRvention Intensive Training (SPIRIT) for ID & Autism
November 8, 11:30 am - 1 pm, CTAC/MCTAC
Justice Center Code of Conduct Train-the-Trainer Session
November 13, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm, Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs
Military Culture: Acceptance, Commitment & Growth Webinar
November 13, 10 - 11:30 am, NYSOMH
Compassion Fatigue and Burnout for Rural Providers
November 13, 10 am - 12 pm, NCROTAC
Youth and Technology: Mental Health Redefined (Part 2)
November 13, 12 - 1:30 pm, CTAC/MCTAC
Rate Setting Considerations for Remote Delivery of Services in 1915(c) Waiver Programs
November 13, 1:30 - 3 pm, CMS
Identifying and Addressing Behavioral Health Needs in Encampments
November 13, 2 - 3:30 pm, SAMHSA HHRC
Treatment Pathways Across Cultures
November 14, 12 - 1 pm, PsychU
Suicide Prevention 2.0 Clinical Telehealth: Implementation of an evidence-based psychotherapy program to reduce suicide behavior in US Veterans
November 14, 1 - 2 pm, USDVA
Applying Trauma-Informed Principles for Quality Improvement Buy-In
November 14, 1 - 2 pm, Social Current
Design and Implementation of Crisis Services for Children, Youth, and Families as Part of a System of Care
November 14, 2 - 3 pm, SAMHSA
Understanding Autism in Indigenous Communities
November 15, 11 am - 12 pm, NIMH
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Clinical Considerations & Unmet Needs
November 15, 12 - 1 pm, PsychU
Visible and Vital: Protecting Transgender & Non-Binary Youth Webinar
November 15, 1 - 2 pm, SMHRT Center
HYPE on Campus: Initial Results from an Educational Support Intervention for Young Adult Students with Mental Health Conditions
November 15, 1:30 - 3 pm, Transitions ACR
NYS OMH Youth Safe Space Community Forum
November 15, 6 - 7 pm, NYSOMH
Justice Involvement in Special Populations
November 18, 9:30 - 11:30 am, SAMHSA
Unreal: Online Misinformation, Deep Fakes, and Youth
November 19, 12 - 1 pm, Children and Screens
ESMI TTA Center's Clinical High Risk for Psychosis Overview Webinar
November 19, 12 - 1 pm, SAMHSA
Workforce Solutions Jam | Addressing the Workforce Shortage Through Policy Change
November 19, 1 - 2 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Breaking the Stigma with ICAN’s Innovative Campaign
November 19, 2 - 2:45 pm, BHN
The Integration of the Stages of Change into Harm Reduction Care (in Rural Communities)
November 20, 10 am - 12 pm, NCROTAC
Understanding Medicare to Advance Medicare-Medicaid Integration: State and Enrollee Perspectives
November 20, 12 - 1:15 pm, Better Care Playbook
Breaking Barriers: Understanding and Combating Mental Health Stigma Among Children, Youth, and Families
November 20, 12 - 1:30 pm, CTAC/MCTAC
Educator Cafe - Beyond Behavior: Promoting Emotional Well-being in Autistic Students and Other Neurodivergent Learners
November 20, 3:30 - 4:15 pm, SMHRT Center
Treating Youth Firesetting Behavior
November 21, 12 - 2 pm, CTAC/MCTAC
Distinguishing Performance Measurement from Evaluation: What You Need to Know
November 21, 2 - 3 pm, COSSUP
Financing Peer Crisis Respites in the United States
November 21, 2 - 3 pm, SAMHSA
Helping Children Thrive: Strategies to Support Children’s Mental Health
December 3, 12 - 1 pm, NIHCM Foundation
Peer Recovery Support Series: Passionate Professionals; Dispassionate Practice
December 5, 12 - 1:30 pm, NAADAC
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CLMHD CALENDAR
NOVEMBER
LGU Clinic Operators Call
November 12: 10 - 11:30 am
Addiction Services & Supports (ASR) Committee Meeting
November 14: 11 am - 12 pm
Developmental Disabilities Committee Meeting
November 14: 1 - 2:30 pm
Mental Health Committee Meeting
November 14: 3 - 4 pm
IOCC Meeting
November 19: Pre-Meeting - 11 am - 12:30 pm / IOCC Meeting - 1 - 3 pm - In-Person / Empire State Plaza, Albany
Membership Call
November 20: 9 - 10:30 am
Children & Families Committee Meeting
November 26: 11:30 am - 1 pm
CLMHD Office Closed - Thanksgiving
November 28 - 29
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