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Governor Hochul Announces $2 Million to Support Suicide Prevention Efforts for Veterans and Uniformed Personnel
Governor Kathy Hochul on Wednesday announced the availability of up to $2 million to expand resiliency and suicide prevention efforts among military veterans and uniformed personnel, including law enforcement, firefighters, emergency medical service personnel, corrections officers, and emergency dispatchers. Administered through the New York Office of Mental Health’s Suicide Prevention Center of New York, the CARES UP initiative provides funding for agencies and organizations to increase suicide prevention efforts and wellness programming among their ranks. The CARES UP program provides $30,000, for each discipline, annually over two years to increase suicide prevention efforts and wellness programming in their agencies. Read more here.
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Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Task Force: Redesigning the Health Care Delivery System to Better Meet the Needs of Youth
The challenges facing youth today are daunting and widespread: Many struggle with their mental health and substance use. A national survey showed that nearly all indicators of poor mental health for teens worsened from 2013-2023—including increases in the percentage of high school students who experienced persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness (rising from 30% to 40% over the 10-year period). The 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health revealed that a larger percentage of young adults ages 18-25 have a substance use disorder (27.8%) than any other age group. Although COVID-19 placed unprecedented stress on youth, these trends were in motion long before the pandemic began in 2020. Fortunately, these trends are also treatable—and sometimes preventable—with a health care delivery system that is primed and ready to tackle the unique needs of youth and their families. A common refrain among child-serving health care professionals is that the health care system and its financing mechanisms are not designed to optimally serve youth and their families. BPC’s Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Task Force aims to change that. Read more here.
Related: Buprenorphine Access Plummets Among Young Adults, Raising Treatment Concerns
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Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on Statewide Counterterrorism Preparedness Activities in 2024
Governor Kathy Hochul last week announced the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services’ Office of Counter Terrorism (OCT) in partnership with the New York State Police, conducted training exercises at more than 900 locations statewide in 2024 to increase public vigilance and reporting of suspicious activity. This included assessing more than 200 infrastructure locations across the State. Counterterrorism experts from more than 80 federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies completed exercises assessing the ability of businesses to recognize and report suspicious activity in nearly every county in the State. Read more here.
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Conducting A More Equitable Community Health Needs Assessment
Community health needs assessments (CHNAs), also known as community health assessments, are state, tribal, territorial, or local health assessments that identify key health needs and issues through systematic, comprehensive data collection and analysis. Internal Revenue Service regulations, which began with the passing of the Affordable Care Act, require hospital organizations with a charitable designation to conduct a CHNA every three years. This assessment must gather input that provides broad representation of the community the organization serves and must include input from medically underserved, low-income, and minority populations. Areas addressed in this process can include social and structural determinants of health such as financial barriers, food and nutritional security, and environmental effects. Read more here.
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Attorney General James Puts Medical Transportation Industry on Notice, Announces New Actions to Stop Ongoing Fraud
New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday announced new measures to stop a major source of Medicaid fraud by transportation companies that use fake billing schemes to steal from Medicaid and exploit vulnerable patients. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) issued cease and desist notices to 54 transportation companies throughout the state, warning them of potential financial penalties and prison sentences if they continue their alleged illegal schemes of overcharging Medicaid for fraudulent services. The OAG’s investigations into the medical transportation industry for ongoing fraud have already secured over $10 million and led to criminal convictions of 11 individuals. In addition to issuing the cease and desist notices today, Attorney General James announced recent settlements with four transportation companies totaling over $847,000 for their illegal billing schemes. Read more here.
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Stimulant Users Are Caught in Fatal ‘Fourth Wave’ of Opioid Epidemic
In Pawtucket, Rhode Island, near a storefront advertising “free” cellphones, J.R. sat in an empty back stairwell and showed a reporter how he tries to avoid overdosing when he smokes crack cocaine. KFF Health News is identifying him by his initials because he fears being arrested for using illegal drugs. It had been several hours since his last hit, and the chatty, middle-aged man’s hands moved quickly. In one hand, he held a glass pipe. In the other, a lentil-size crumb of cocaine. Or at least J.R. hoped it was cocaine, pure cocaine — uncontaminated by fentanyl, a potent opioid that was linked to about 75% of all overdose deaths in Rhode Island in 2022. He flicked his lighter to “test” his supply. He believed that if it had a “cigar-like sweet smell,” he said, it would mean that the cocaine was laced with fentanyl. He put the pipe to his lips and took a tentative puff. “No sweet,” he said, reassured. But this method offers only false and dangerous reassurance. A mistake can be fatal. Read more here.
Related: U.S. Overdose Deaths Remain Higher Than in Other Countries — Trend-Tracking and Harm-Reduction Policies Could Help
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Why a ‘Third Life’ Is the Answer to America’s Loneliness Epidemic
In 1989, the sociologist Ray Oldenburg cemented his status as required reading for hungover college freshmen when he coined the concept of “third places” in his book The Great Good Place. Third places, which are informal spots to gather outside of home and work for socializing, have been features of societies going back to antiquity, from Greek agora and Viennese cafés to barber shops and Burger King dining rooms. But their role in making cultures vibrant and communities cohesive, Oldenburg warned, had begun to “constitute a diminishing aspect of the American social landscape.” He was right to worry. These days, the role of coffee shops and bars, libraries and community centers, civic clubs and houses of worship, have faded as the creep of work and domestic obligation in American life have become all but inescapable. Read more here.
Related: U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy: This Is ‘One of the Most Powerful Antidotes to Loneliness’
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Surgeon General Calls for Cancer Warnings on Alcohol
Alcohol is a leading preventable cause of cancer, and alcoholic beverages should carry a warning label as packs of cigarettes do, the U.S. surgeon general said on Friday. It is the latest salvo in a fierce debate about the risks and benefits of moderate drinking as the influential U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans are about to be updated. For decades, moderate drinking was said to help prevent heart attacks and strokes. That perception has been embedded in the dietary advice given to Americans. But growing research has linked drinking, sometimes even within the recommended limits, to various types of cancer. Read more here.
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Governor Hochul Announces New CDPAP Partnership With Independent Living Centers as Part of Plan to Strengthen Home Care Services for New Yorkers
Governor Kathy Hochul on Monday announced that New York State and Public Partnership LLC (PPL) are partnering with 11 Independent Living Centers (ILCs) as part of the State’s plan to strengthen the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) for New York’s home care users. New York’s ILCs are among more than 30 community-based partners who will work closely with PPL to ensure the CDPAP program continues to deliver high-quality home care services for New Yorkers, including a successful transition by April 1. Governor Hochul also highlighted that CDPAP consumers across New York can now begin registering with PPL to ensure their continued service as part of this transition process. Read more here.
Related: New York State Department of Health Launches New Campaign To Combat Misinformation About CDPAP and Home Care
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UPCOMING EVENTS & TRAININGS
Becoming a MHFA Instructor
January 10, 2 - 3 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Harm Reduction Principles: Foundations to Implementation
January 13, 10:30 am - 12:30 pm, NCROTAC
Incorporating Digital Therapeutics into the Patient Journey
January 13, 12 - 1 pm, PsychU
Innovative Horizons: Integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Substance Use Counseling
January 15, 3 - 4:30 pm, NAADAC
Person-Centered Care: Applications in Methadone Maintenance Treatment and Outpatient Program Settings
January 16, 10 am - 12 pm, NCROTAC
Resources to Support the Behavioral Health Needs of the Military/Veteran Community
January 16, 1 - 3 pm, SAMHSA
Supporting Mental Health Through Culturally Responsive Community Engagement
January 16, 3 - 4 pm, UW Forefront Suicide Prevention
How to Have the Conversation: Talking about SU and MH (in Rural Spaces)
January 17, 10 am - 12 pm, NCROTAC
Comprehensive Clinical Assessments with a Focus on Quality
January 19, 3 - 4:30 pm, NAADAC
The ROI of Resource Navigation: Findings from the Accountable Health Communities Model
January 21, 1 - 2 pm, Camden Coalition
Changing Pathways: How to leverage evidence-based practice to improve treatment outcomes for OUD
January 23, 12 - 1 pm, Behavioral Health Tech
The Interconnection between Health Equity, the Social Determinants of Health and the Impact of Intersectionality (in Rural Communities)
January 23, 2 - 4 pm, NCROTAC
Integrating Care: The Role of MOUD in Addressing Opioid Use Disorder and Infectious Disease
January 29, 1 - 2 pm, PCSS
Treating People who Use Meth or other Stimulants: Leveraging Contingency Management in Criminal Justice Settings
January 29, 2 - 3:30 pm, SAMHSA's GAINS Center
Healing Over Handcuffs: Advancing Deflection Strategies
January 29, 2 - 3 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Comprehensive Clinical Assessments with a Focus on Quality
January 29, 3 - 4:30 pm, NAADAC
When clinicians become family caregivers
February 5, 2 - 3 pm, Camden Coalition
FREE Getting the Grant Workshop - In-Person - Ithaca, NY
February 6, 8 am - 4 pm, Appalachian Regional Commission
Navigating Concerns on Youth Crime, Violence, and Behavioral Health: 3 Steps to Take Series
February 11, 2 - 3 pm, CSG Justice Center
The Power of Collaboration: Aligning Perspectives to Build with Purpose
February 11, 2 - 3 pm, Behavioral Health Business
Conducting Cultural Assessments: Engaging and Providing Treatment for Justice-Involved Individuals from BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ Communities
February 26, 3 - 4:30 pm, NAADAC
Justice Center Code of Conduct Train-the-Trainer Session
February 26, 1 - 4 pm, Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs
Youth and the Legalization of Marijuana
March 12, 3 - 4:30 pm, NAADAC
Justice Center Code of Conduct Train-the-Trainer Session
March 26, 1 - 4 pm, Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs
Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) of Peer Support in Criminal Justice
March 26, 3 - 4:30 pm, NAADAC
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CLMHD CALENDAR
JANUARY
Addiction Services & Supports (ASR) Committee Meeting
January 9: 11 am - 12 pm
Mental Health Committee Meeting
January 9: 3 - 4 pm
LGU Clinic Operators Call
January 14: 10 - 11:30 am
Membership Call
January 15: 9 - 10:30 am
Developmental Disabilities Committee Meeting
January 16: 1 - 2 pm
Office Closed - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
January 20
Children & Families Committee Meeting
January 21: 11:30 am - 1 pm
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