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CLMHD Hosts Spring Full Membership Meeting in Albany
Directors of Community Services (DCSs) from across New York State came together in Albany for CLMHD’s Spring 2025 Full Membership Meeting, held April 30–May 2 at the Renaissance Albany Hotel. The gathering opened with an in-depth policy workshop led by CLMHD Counsel Anoush Koroghlian-Scott, followed by a practical session on advocacy and relationship-building. On Thursday, keynote speaker Rich Leimsider challenged attendees to think beyond the headlines with a compelling presentation on how artificial intelligence—used responsibly—can strengthen the public and nonprofit sectors. Throughout the meeting, DCSs participated in meaningful discussions focused on innovation, leadership, and the ongoing work of strengthening behavioral health systems at the local level. The final day continued the momentum, with sessions dedicated to enhancing cross-system coordination and tackling some of the most complex issues currently facing counties.
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The Conference also took time to honor George Roets, longtime DCS for Yates County, who is retiring this year. Known for his thoughtful leadership, calm presence, and deep commitment to his community, George has made an enduring impact on CLMHD and the behavioral health system statewide. We thank him for his service and wish him well in the journey ahead.
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Clinton County Recognized at OMH’s “What’s Great in Our State” Event
Clinton County was recognized in the Systems of Care Community category for its cross-agency collaboration and commitment to supporting youth through community-driven system transformation. Richelle Gregory, Director of Community Services, and Brianna Reeves, Clinton County Systems of Care Coordinator, accepted the award, which reflects the county’s ongoing efforts through its HEARTT initiative (Healing, Empowerment, Advocacy, and Transforming Trauma). The HEARTT initiative works across sectors and includes schools, providers, and families in addressing trauma, and improving access to substance use and mental health services within the community. Through creative outreach, numerous focus groups were held to gather feedback from over 230 participants. By strengthening partnerships with schools, individuals with lived experience, law enforcement, and community providers, HEARTT aims to promote wellness by sharing resources and establishing effective feedback mechanisms that drive positive change. Now in its 16th year, What’s Great in Our State remains a cornerstone of Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week and a celebration of those dedicated to supporting families.
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Attorney General James Sues to Block Trump Administration’s Dangerous Dismantling of Health and Human Services Department
New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday led a coalition of 19 other attorneys general in filing a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s unconstitutional dismantling of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Since taking office, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the Trump administration have fired thousands of federal health workers, shuttered life-saving programs, and abandoned states to face mounting health crises without federal support. Last month, the administration escalated its attack on the department, launching a reckless, irrational, and dangerous restructuring that, in a single day, erased decades of public health progress and left HHS unable to execute many of its most vital functions. Attorney General James and the coalition argue that Secretary Kennedy and the Trump administration have robbed HHS of the resources necessary to effectively serve the American people and will be asking the court to halt the dismantling before even more lives are put at risk. Read more here.
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Distraction-Free Schools: New York to Become Largest State in the Nation With Statewide, Bell-to-Bell Restrictions on Smartphones in Schools
Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday announced that New York is becoming the largest state in the nation to require statewide, bell-to-bell restrictions on smartphones in K-12 schools. The Governor secured this landmark victory as part of the agreement on the FY 2026 State Budget. Following this agreement and enactment of the FY 2026 State Budget, New York State’s distraction-free schools policy will take effect this fall for the 2025-2026 school year. Today’s announcement builds on Governor Hochul’s nation-leading commitment to protecting youth mental health and promoting student success in the digital age, following her action last year to secure and sign a first-in-the-nation law to restrict addictive social media feeds for minors. Read more here.
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Governor Hochul Commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the Willowbrook Consent Decree and Celebrates New York’s Path Forward
Governor Kathy Hochul last week celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Willowbrook Consent Decree. Hosted by Governor Hochul’s Chief Disability Officer, the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities, the College of Staten Island and the Staten Island Developmental Disabilities Council, today’s event consisted of a conversation on promising goals for a future of full community inclusion and acceptance. The event, dubbed “The Evolution of Inclusion 1975 – 2025,” celebrated New York’s rich history as the birthplace of deinstitutionalization and advocacy for people with developmental disabilities. Read more here.
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Sedative ‘Dex’ is Replacing ‘Tranq’ in Illegal Drug Supply and Causing Excruciating Withdrawal
The era of “tranq” may be ending. But tranq, as the powerful veterinary tranquilizer xylazine is known in the illicit drug supply, is being replaced at least in part by a dangerous new sedative: medetomidine. In the past year, the anesthetic has become an increasingly common element in the drug supply, with cities and states including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and San Francisco reporting cases of medetomidine-involved overdoses. In Philadelphia in particular, reports of medetomidine have skyrocketed. When the city first began testing for the substance in May 2024, it found medetomidine in 29% of fentanyl samples analyzed, according to data from the city’s public health department. Six months later, medetomidine’s prevalence had increased threefold to 87% — while xylazine’s dropped from 100% early in the year to 42% in November. Read more here.
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New York Farm Bureau Partners With NY FarmNet To Launch Mental Health Campaign
New York Farm Bureau (NYFB) and NY FarmNet, in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, have launched a campaign to run for the month of May. The campaign will focus on the resources available to farmers and their families who struggle with mental health issues. A 2021 American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) survey titled “Farmer and Rural Perceptions of Mental Health” found that a majority of rural adults (59%) say there is at least some stigma around stress and mental health in the agriculture community, including 63% of farmers/farm workers. And, while there was an 11% decrease in farmers/farm workers who say stigma is an obstacle to seeking help or treatment for a mental health condition, nearly two-thirds agree it is still an obstacle. NYFB President David Fisher said the importance of mental health awareness in the farming community is clear. Those outreach efforts are particularly important because many in the farming community are hesitant to speak with anyone about their struggles, which can lead to dangerous coping mechanisms such as drugs and alcohol. Read more here.
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Youth Recovery Hinges on Community Support, Yet Providers Lack Reimbursement Pathway
Psychosocial interventions continue to be the primary way to treat youth substance use disorders (SUDs). Yet, these approaches are often formal and miss the mark on building community. “I feel like mental health treatment in particular is very sterile. It’s very focused on meds and one-to-one interactions,” Dr. Joseph Lee, president and CEO of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, told Behavioral Health Business. “We can all admit that community is eroding across the country, but what’s the mental health field doing about it? It still seems like it’s the same—in fact, it seems more siloed than ever before.” Hazelden Betty Ford is a nonprofit addiction treatment organization that offers both inpatient and outpatient mental health care across nine states. While community could be a key component to recovery for teens, it can be a challenge for providers to implement due to the lack of reimbursement pathways. Read more here.
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Medicaid Unwinding Linked to Disruptions in Opioid Addiction Treatment
The massive national effort to return the Medicaid enrollment process to its pre-pandemic rules starting in April 2023 may have disrupted the care of people receiving treatment for opioid addiction, a new University of Michigan study suggests. The researchers call this finding concerning, because the disruption may increase the risk of overdose or other negative impacts from opioid use disorder in states that were most aggressive in removing people from Medicaid coverage during the "unwinding" process in 2023. The study has implications for the current debate over the future of Medicaid funding, which may result in further changes in eligibility in some or all states. Although opioid overdose deaths have declined somewhat, they are still as high as they were early in the pandemic, with around 80,000 Americans a year dying from this cause. Read more here.
Related: Nearly quarter of people on long-acting opioids develop addiction, study reveals
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Six States Commit to Improving Statewide Strategies to Address Youth Crime, Violence and Behavioral Health
The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center has launched the Collaborating for Youth and Public Safety Initiative (CYPSI) in partnership with six states: California, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Rhode Island. The initiative will help states develop, fund, and effectively implement a research-based service continuum to improve public safety and behavioral health, education, and other outcomes for youth. Adolescents nationwide are in crisis, increasingly experiencing mental health, school, and community violence challenges. Public systems and service providers are struggling to address youth and families’ needs due to service gaps, workforce shortages, and fragmented approaches. Without coordinated, cross-system solutions, many states lack the tools to implement cost-effective policies that promote positive youth outcomes and enhance public safety. Read more here.
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Survey Responses Suggest Few U.S. Jails Use Screenings and Assessments for Behavioral Health Diversion
A survey of administrators at U.S. jails shows that only about one-third of facilities use information from behavioral health screening and assessment tools to divert people from jail. Most facilities do conduct screenings and assessments, but few use them for diversion purposes. That represents a significant missed opportunity to connect people to the care they may need. The Pew Charitable Trusts invited more than 1,400 U.S. jail administrators through their professional association, the American Jail Association, to take the survey that was fielded from May 2023 to February 2024. (See methodology for details.) One hundred jail administrators responded, a relatively small sample but enough to provide some insights into what’s happening in the nation’s jails. Read more here.
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Supporting Successful Returns: 211 NY Launches Reentry Services Hotline & Resource Guide
2-1-1 New York, Inc. (211 NY) is proud to announce the Reentry Services Hotline, funded by NYS Office of Mental Health (NYS OMH). This initiative aims to provide access to crucial support services for individuals returning to communities following incarceration. Streamlined Access Through 211 Hotline: To simplify access to help, NYS OMH decided that the Reentry Services Hotline be integrated directly into the 211 system rather than establishing a new 800 number. For reentry services available in their community individuals can simply dial 211. 211 is the easy to remember number designated to connect people to health and human services nationwide. In New York State, 211 is available in over 170 languages, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week statewide through a network of local providers overseen by 211 NY, which includes community information & referral services, United Ways, and NYC 311. Read more here.
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UPCOMING EVENTS & TRAININGS
Reducing Suicide Risk Through Primary Care
May 8, 2 - 3 pm, Shatterproof
Mind the Gap - Closing the Divide Between Psychosis and Psychotherapy in the U.S. Mental Health System
May 8, 4 - 5:30 pm, NAMI
2025 MHANYS Family Mental Health Network Summit (Virtual)
May 9, 10 am - 3:30 pm, MHANYS
EMS and Overdose Prevention: Innovative Strategies to Save Lives
May 9, 2 - 3 pm, NCSL
Youth & Young Adults with Serious Mental Health Conditions – Reflections of 30 Years: Part 1
May 12, 12 - 1 pm, Transitions ACR
How Federal Budget Cuts Could Impact New York’s Public Insurance Programs
May 12, 1 - 2 pm, NY Health Foundation
Harm Reduction Principles: Foundations to Implementation
May 15, 10 am - 12 pm, NCROTAC
Navigating Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) with Families: Clinical Insights into Self-Injury, Youth Needs, and Caregiver Support
May 15, 11 am - 1 pm, MCTAC/CTAC
Navigating Pharmacotherapy: Co-occurring Bipolar Disorder and Opioid Use Disorder
May 15, 3 - 4 pm, SMI TTAC
Mental health in local New York communities: A conversation with the Directors of Community Services in Genesee, Seneca, and Wayne Counties
May 20, 12 - 1 pm, NYSPHA
Compassion Fatigue and Burnout for Rural Providers
May 22, 10 am - 12 pm, NCROTAC
Measurement-Informed Care and the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM)
May 22, 2 - 3 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Co-response Hiring and Workforce Guidance
May 22, 2 - 3:30 pm, CSG Justice Center
2nd Annual Documentation Event - IN-PERSON
May 29, 9 am - 3 pm, Crown Plaza, Albany, MCTAC
Trauma-Informed Supervision for Supervisors (in Rural Communities)
May 29, 1 - 3 pm, NCROTAC
Youth & Young Adults with Serious Mental Health Conditions – Reflections of 30 Years: Part 2
June 2, 12 - 1 pm, Transitions ACR
An Affirming and Effective Substance Use Disorder Curriculum for the LGBTQ+ Community
June 4, 12 - 1:30 pm, NAADAC
Advancing licensure: Growing the mental health care workforce
June 12, 2 - 3 pm, Kaiser Permanente
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CLMHD CALENDAR
MAY
Mental Health Committee Meeting
May 8: 3 - 4 pm
LGU Clinic Operators Call
May 13: 10 - 11 am
Quarterly LGU Clinic Billing Staff Call
May 13: 11 am - 12 pm
Developmental Disabilities Committee Meeting
May 15: 1 - 2 pm
Children & Families Committee Meeting
May 20: 11:30 am - 1 pm
Membership Call
May 21: 9 - 10:30 am
JUNE
CLMHD Executive Committee Meeting
June 4: 8 - 9 am
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
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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