|
Governor Hochul Announces Inaugural Mental Health Needs Assessment for First Responders
Governor Kathy Hochul last Thursday announced the launch of New York’s inaugural first responder mental health needs assessment to better understand the mental health-related challenges facing the public safety community and strengthen programs and services for these professionals. Stemming from a partnership between the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services and SUNY New Paltz’s Institute for Disaster Mental Health and Benjamin Center, the assessment will include results from a voluntary anonymous survey and input from a series of focus groups for first responders. Read more here.
|  | |
NYS OASAS Announces Availability of Credentialing Exams in Multiple Languages
The New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (NYS OASAS) today announced that the certification exams for Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC) and Credentialed Prevention Professional or Specialist (CPP/CPS) are now available in Spanish, with the option to request a special accommodation for 77 additional languages. These certifications allow individuals to work in OASAS-certified programs and provide counseling and other services to New Yorkers impacted by addiction. This new language availability program is designed to build on efforts to increase accessibility to services, and address workforce shortages. Read more here.
|  | |
New York State Department of Health Recognizes Alcohol Awareness Month
The New York State Department of Health recognizes Alcohol Awareness Month, observed annually in April, to raise awareness about excessive alcohol use and its impacts on health. Binge drinking and heavy drinking are two patterns of excessive alcohol use. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines binge drinking as consuming four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men on a single occasion. Heavy drinking is defined as consuming eight or more drinks per-week for women and 15 or more drinks per week for men. Read more here.
|  | |
DiNapoli Audit: Growing Number of Youth in Juvenile Justice Centers at Risk Due to Staff Shortages
Ongoing staff shortages in juvenile justice centers around New York state are potentially putting youth at risk, according to an audit from New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The population in secure juvenile justice facilities has grown, straining staff’s ability to properly assess the physical and mental health of youth at intake as physical altercations, illegal drug use, and incidents of self-harm rise. The state Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) runs nine residential juvenile justice facilities through its Division of Juvenile Justice and Opportunities for Youth (DJJOY), including three secure facilities. Following a decline of 44% in the number of youth in these facilities from 2013 to 2018, the number of youth in the facilities rose nearly 74% from 2018 through 2022. Read more here.
|  | |
The Nationwide Experiment in Treating Mentally Ill Kids
State and local governments across the country are scrambling to find new strategies to slow an epidemic of kids’ mental illness that exploded during the pandemic. But there’s a problem: No one knows what’s causing the spike. Even after the isolation and fear Covid wrought dissipated, levels of anxiety and depression remain sky high. Governments are forging ahead anyway, conducting a nationwide experiment in whatever ideas seem promising. That could ultimately help determine what works and save a generation. But some who treat children worry the lack of evidence to support many of the approaches threatens to waste time and money — or could even make matters worse. Read more here.
|  | |
CMS Lacks Oversight of State Compliance with Mental Health Parity Rules for Medicaid Managed Care Plans
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid have fallen short in ensuring several states comply with Medicaid managed care mental health and substance use disorder parity requirements. That’s according to a new audit by the Office of Inspector General (OIG), which evaluated eight states with Medicaid managed care contracts. Four of the states in the review, including Arizona, New Jersey, New York and Texas, were required to conduct a parity analysis themselves. In the other four states, Illinois, Kansas, Mississippi and South Carolina, managed care organizations (MCOs) were required to perform a parity review. Read more here.
|  | |
Young Adults Who Started Vaping as Teens Still Can't Shake the Habit
G Kumar's vaping addiction peaked in college at the University of Colorado, when flavored, disposable vapes were taking off. The disposables would have more than a thousand puffs in them. "I'd go through, let's say, 1,200 puffs in a week," said Kumar, who goes by they/them pronouns. Vaping became a crutch. Like losing a cell phone, losing a vape pen would set off a mad scramble. "It needs to be right next to my head when I fall asleep at night and then in the morning I have to thrash through the sheets and pick it up and find it," Kumar recalled. They got sick often, including catching COVID — and vaping through all of it. Kumar, now 24, did end up quitting. But many of their generation can't shake the habit. Read more here.
Related: Teen Drug Use Habits Are Changing, For the Good. With Caveats.
|  | |
Gambling Addiction Hotlines Say Volume Is Up and Callers Are Younger as Online Sports Betting Booms
In state after state, centers for problem gambling are noticing an alarming rise in calls to their helplines. The circumstances reported are also getting more severe, according to the directors of five problem gambling centers, a gambling researcher and an addiction counselor. People are filing for bankruptcy or losing homes or relationships. At the same time, callers are skewing younger, the experts said — often men in their 20s and 30s. The directors say the mounting call volume has coincided with the legalization of sports betting and rising popularity of sports betting apps. Read more here.
|  | |
Medicaid Redetermination Cost Community Health Centers an Average of $600K Each
It’s been a year since states began the process of Medicaid redetermination, going through their Medicaid rolls that had been frozen through the Covid-19 emergency period. According to data from KFF, about 21% of the people who were enrolled prior to the redetermination, or close to 20 million, lost coverage, while 45%, or 42 million, were confirmed. For the remaining 31 million people, renewal of coverage is still pending. Beyond the impact on individual patients, the redetermination had a sizable impact on community health centers, which serve about 15% of all Medicaid patients. Read more here.
|  | |
How States Use National Standards for CYSHCN to Improve Systems of Care
Nearly all states are leveraging and implementing two key sets of national standards to improve systems of care and, ultimately, health outcomes for children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN). These standards include:
There are a variety of ways that states are leveraging these standards in their Medicaid and state Title V Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Services Block Grant programs. Read more here.
|  | |
In Crisis and On Hold: How the 988 Hotline Revamped Callers' Experience
Many people experiencing their darkest moments dial 988 for help. According to the counselors who pick up those calls, people on the other end of the line can be crying or screaming. They can be thinking about killing themselves. Or they can just need someone to listen. But up until a few months ago, people would often sit on hold, and the first voice they would hear was robot-like, saying, “You have reached the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline. We are here to help.” Then, “Para español, oprima numero dos.” Followed by, “To reach the Veterans Crisis Line, if you are a US veteran or service member or are calling about one, press one.” A pause and then, “To connect to specialized support for LGBTQ+ people under the age of 25, press three. Otherwise, please remain on the line while we route your call to a lifeline crisis counselor.” Read more here.
|  | |
The Nation's Homeless Population Is Aging Dramatically
On a single night in 2023, 138,089 people above the age of 55 experienced homelessness. The annual point-in-time count of the homeless population is not a perfect measurement, but it's clear that increasing numbers of older Americans are homeless. Over the past 30 years, in fact, the homeless population has gotten substantially older. The percentage of homeless single adults aged 50 or older has climbed steadily, from 11 percent in the early 1990s to 37 percent in 2003, and now to nearly 50 percent in the 2020s. The population of homeless individuals who are 65 or older is predicted to more than double by 2030. Read more here.
| |
 | |
SAMHSA Announces New Report Describing Key Elements of a Core Curriculum for Substance Use Disorder
On April 9, SAMHSA announced a new report with core curriculum content for integration of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment for early-career graduate health care education programs. The Core Curriculum Elements on Substance Use Disorder for Early Academic Career, Medical and Health Professions Education Programs report is based on work SAMHSA conducted on core training elements developed in response to the Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act, incorporating recommendations from experts in health care education. The report is designed to provide students in medical and health professional programs with training on SUD early in their academic careers, to ensure they have basic knowledge of strategies to identify, assess and treat addiction, as well as to support recovery. Read more here.
|  |  | |
UPCOMING EVENTS & TRAININGS
Advancing Crisis Communications: Highlighting Models of 911/988 Collaboration
April 11, 2 - 3 pm, NACo
Community Inclusion as a Medical Necessity: Strategies for Clinicians
April 12, 12 - 1 pm, SMI Advisor
Child and Adolescent Mental Health for Primary Care Clinicians
April 15 - 16, 9 am - 5 pm, Project TEACH
The Clubhouse Model: Designing Planned Communities to Empower People with Serious Mental Illness
April 16, 2 - 3 pm, Center for Health Care Strategies
Investigating Suicide in the Wake of Prescription Opioid Reduction
April 16, 8 - 9 pm, United Suicide Survivors International
Ask the Expert: Telehealth During Crisis Response
April 17, 2 - 3 pm, CSG Justice Center
Mastering Psychopharmacology - Enhancing SUD Counseling Through Understanding Psychotropic Medications
April 17, 3 - 4:30 pm, NAADAC
Trauma Informed Care for People Who Use Drugs
April 17, 4 - 5 pm, NYSCEI
Connecting to Serve: Promising Practices for 988 & 911 Collaboration
April 18, 1 - 2 pm, SAMHSA
Meeting Youth Where They Are: Prevention Programming to Support Mental Health
April 18, 1 - 2:30 pm, NASMHPD
Outreach and Unsheltered Homelessness: Strategies for Health Centers and Service Providers
April 18, 2 - 3 pm, HRSA
The Essentials and Beyond of Perinatal Psychiatry: Psychopharmacology & Psychotherapy
April 21, 12 - 4 pm, Project TEACH
Optimizing Medicare-Medicaid Integration for Dually Eligible Beneficiaries
April 23, 12:30 - 1:30 pm, Bipartisan Policy Center
Leveraging Relationships with Community-Based Organizations to Meet Health-Related Social Needs
April 24, 12 - 1 pm, CMS
Navigating Mental Health Care for Immigrant and Forcibly Displaced Communities
April 24, 12 - 1 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Understanding, Connecting & Helping Youth Mental Health Through Screening featuring MHA Oklahoma
April 24, 2 - 3 pm, NASMHPD
Transforming Behavioral Health Systems through Measurement-Based Care
April 25, 1 - 2 pm, Greenspace Health
Discussion Panel: Supporting Young Adults in Reentry through Medicaid Funding
April 25, 2 - 3 pm, CSG Justice Center
Beyond the Numbers and Visuals: Building Your CBO Data-Driven Digital Marketing Strategy
April 25, 2 - 3:30 pm, SAMHSA
Training Treatment Court Teams: Navigating Harm Reduction in Drug Courts
April 29, 2 - 3:30 pm, SAMHSA's GAINS Center
Implementing Evidence-Based Strategies to Reduce Overdose Risk during Reentry
April 29, 3 - 4:30 pm, CSG Justice Center
Telehealth: A Vital Piece of the Care Access Puzzle
May 1, 2 - 3 pm, NIHCM Foundation
Treatment While Unhoused: Providing MOUD to Populations Experiencing Homelessness
May 1, 3 - 4 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Implicit Bias: Using Brain Science To Understand, Recognize and Counter It
May 2, 2 - 3:30 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Consumer Perspectives on the Camden Coalition care Management RCT Study Findings
May 9, 12 - 1 pm, Camden Coalition
Beyond Stigma: Mental Health Help-Seeking Behaviors in Teens
May 9, 12 - 1 pm, The JED Foundation
2024 System of Care Virtual Summit
May 14 - 16, 12 - 5 pm, NCCTAC
Innovative Approaches for Improving the Transition from Hospitals to Schools: Supporting Youth During and Following a Suicide-Related Crisis
May 16, 12 - 1 pm, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Identifying Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in a Death Investigation
May 16, 2 - 3 pm, OMH SPCNY
4th Annual Ask a Medicaid Managed Care Plan (MMCP): Billing Event
June 11, 10 am - 3 pm, Albany Capital Center
Introduction to Psychedelics for the Treatment of Substance Use Disorder
June 13, 1 - 3 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
| |
CLMHD CALENDAR
APRIL
Addiction Services & Supports (ASR) Committee Meeting
April 11: 11 am - 12 pm
Developmental Disabilities Committee Meeting
April 11: 1 - 2:30 pm
Mental Health Committee Meeting
April 11: 3 - 4 pm
Children & Families Committee Meeting
April 16: 11:30 am - 1 pm
Membership Call
April 17: 9 - 10:30 am
MAY
Executive Committee Meeting
May 1: 8 - 9 am
Quarterly LGU Billing Staff Call
May 7: 11 am - 12 pm
CLMHD Spring Full Membership Meeting
May 8 - 10, Lake George, NY
LGU Clinic Operators Meeting
May 14: 10 - 11:30 am
Membership Call
May 15: 9 - 10:30 am
Children & Families Committee Meeting
May 21: 11:30 am - 1 pm
LSP Support Session
May 23: 1 - 2:30 pm
| |
