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Governor Hochul Announces Major Milestone for New York’s ‘Safe Options Support’ Program
Governor Kathy Hochul last week announced that the Safe Options Support (SOS) program has connected more than 1,000 New Yorkers experiencing chronic homelessness with permanent housing and stability. In total, the program has found permanent housing for 723 individuals in New York City and 285 individuals in areas of the state outside of the five boroughs, including Long Island and upstate. “The Safe Options Support program has brought new hope and lasting stability to unsheltered New Yorkers, including many who have spent months and even years living on the streets,” Governor Hochul said. “Through trust and support, these teams are helping vulnerable individuals — including many living with mental illness — attain permanent housing and start on the path to sustainable recovery.” Administered by the State Office of Mental Health, the SOS program has now helped permanently house 1,008 individuals, including 147 in OMH-licensed housing. Read more here.
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In NYC, Subway Riders Have Come To Fear Them. Her Job Is To Help Them
NEW YORK — The first thing Lisa Singh saw that worried her was the way the woman on the subway platform waved her off. The dismissiveness. Sometimes that was a sign of something. Lisa, a 53-year-old psychiatric nurse, took a step closer and scanned the woman’s face, searching for answers about what kind of care she might need. The woman was slumped over on a bench at the 34th Street-Herald Square station, one subway stop in a city where the mayor, the governor and now the president were all demanding a more forceful approach to the type of person Lisa was beginning to assess. She and the rest of her team, five police officers and two homeless-outreach workers, huddled around the bench. Lisa saw swelling near the woman’s left eye and a bump on her head. She took out her phone and began taking notes: soiled clothing, malodorous, several large tote bags, a container of raw rice that had spilled onto the platform. Read more here.
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Inside Drug Enforcement Agency Evidence Lab Tracking Dangerous, Deadly New Street Drug
There's a new street drug that is proving to be deadly and Eyewitness News got an inside look at the lab where agents are making it a top priority. The leading cause of death among Americans 18 to 45 is drug overdoses and poisonings," said Frank Tarentino, NY DEA Special Agent in Charge. Tarentino says fentanyl continues to be the most common deadly substance. He says less than a pinch, an example Eyewitness News saw in a vial, just 2 milligrams, could take a life. "This is the Northeast Regional Laboratory," he said. "It covers the entire northeast for the DEA." Read more here.
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‘In the Midst of a Quiet Crisis': States Move to Strengthen First Responder Mental Health Resources
Since the start of 2025, six police officers across New York — including three from Long Island — have died by suicide, highlighting ongoing concerns about mental health in law enforcement, according to the New York Post. Across the country, lawmakers are pushing forward legislation designed to break stigma, protect confidentiality and offer meaningful support to first responders. In New York, lawmakers have reintroduced the Lt. Joseph Banish Mental Health Act for the 2025–2026 session. The bill would establish a formal, confidential peer support system for police officers, firefighters, EMTs and others, allowing them to speak openly with trained colleagues who understand the unique stressors of the work. Read more here.
Related: Skoufis pushes legislation for first responder mental health service
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OPWDD Issues Awards to Eight Assistive Technology Providers to Deliver Home Enabling Supports to People with Disabilities Statewide
The NYS Office for People With Developmental Disabilities has awarded eight not-for-profit service providers with the approval to deliver Home-Enabling Supports (HES) services to people with developmental disabilities who are living independently and are enrolled in the OPWDD Home and Community Based Services Medicaid Waiver. Services are expected to be available in early summer. Home-Enabling Supports provides funding for devices and supports and services that empower a person to live safely and independently in their home with less reliance on paid staff for supervision and/or assistance. Read more here.
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Have We Been Thinking About A.D.H.D. All Wrong?
In the early 1990s, James Swanson was working as a research psychologist at the University of California, Irvine, where he specialized in the study of attention disorders. It was a touchy time for the field. The Church of Scientology had organized a nationwide protest campaign against the psychiatric profession, and Ritalin, then the leading medication prescribed to children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, was one of its main targets. Whenever Swanson and his colleagues gathered for a scientific conference, they were met by chanting protesters waving signs and airplanes overhead pulling banners that read, “Psychs, Stop Drugging Our Kids.” It was true that prescription rates for Ritalin were on the rise. The number of American children diagnosed with A.D.H.D. more than doubled in the early 1990s, from fewer than a million patients in 1990 to more than two million in 1993, almost two-thirds of whom were prescribed Ritalin. Read more here.
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Wait For Community Placements Can Take Years For Those With IDD
CHICAGO — Aaron Bass likes some things about Shapiro Developmental Center, a home he shares with some 500 others on a site along the Kankakee River that first housed Illinois residents with disabilities nearly 150 years ago. He enjoys spending time outdoors, playing bingo and supervised outings to Burger King, the dollar store or local library to check out scary movies. But Bass, a 39-year-old who has a moderate intellectual disability, said he is seeking something greater. “I want to see what it looks like … freedom,” he said in an interview at the Kankakee Public Library, about a mile from the sprawling Shapiro campus. Bass is one of hundreds of people living in state-operated developmental centers who have requested a move, typically to smaller group homes in community settings that offer greater independence. Read more here.
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Collaborative Care Model Offers Success in Reducing Suicide Risk, New Report Finds
For the last 3 years, the suicide rate in the US has remained consistently high, which highlighted the urgent need for intervention. A report published recently supports the integration of behavioral health into primary care through the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM). The majority of individuals who die by suicide visited a primary care provider within the year of their death, with nearly half of those visits occurring in the month prior to death. The CoCM model, which facilitates coordinated care between primary care providers, behavioral health specialists, and care managers, has become a recognized approach to addressing this gap between mental health and primary care. The report, supported by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), The Jed Foundation, Shatterproof, and The Bowman Family Foundation, reviews findings from 3 recent studies that collectively underscore the potential of CoCM to lower suicide risk across diverse patient populations and health systems. Read more here.
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National Forum on Overdose Fatality Review Puts Community Collaboration at Heart of Response to Substance Use
Overdose fatality reviews (OFRs)—confidential overdose death reviews conducted by multidisciplinary teams to identify and implement overdose prevention strategies— continue to emerge as the centerpiece of an increasing number of American communities as they respond to substance misuse: that was the unmistakable message of the 2025 National Forum on Overdose Fatality Review in February, based on an unexpectedly high turnout of new OFR teams and the growing institutionalization of OFR practices nationwide. Together, those developments, combined with encouraging downward trends in overdose deaths across the country, lent the annual event a palpable enthusiasm that resulted in a new eagerness to acquire the skills and resources that make OFR teams so effective. Read more here.
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Why Treating Behavioral Health Like ‘Small Potatoes’ Is Costing Payers Big
Payers could be better aligning their incentives with behavioral health patients and providers by giving parity more room to breathe within their organizations. Payers often bury the duty of ensuring behavioral health-physical health parity in a compliance or legal department. Such a structure prevents the necessary cultural and strategic alignment that payers need to establish to ensure that parity’s objective of increased access and diminished barriers to care becomes a reality, said Brett Hart, vice president of behavioral health and mental health parity at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. Read more here.
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UPCOMING EVENTS & TRAININGS
Integration in Action: Leveraging the CHI Framework in Integrated Care Practices
April 17, 3 - 4 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Community-Driven Approaches: Effective programming to support those affected by a death by suicide
April 21, 2 - 3 pm, NASMHPD
Advocacy in Action: Behavioral Health Integration and Systems Change
April 22, 1 - 2 pm, Social Current
Start with Hope: Supporting Mothers with SUDs Panel
April 22, 1 - 2:30 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
AI In 2025: The Future Of Automation In Healthcare
April 23, 1 - 2 pm, NetSmart
Considerations for Youth with Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Diagnoses
April 23, 1 - 2:30 pm, MCTAC/CTAC
The Youth Protective Factors Study: The Influence of Protective Factors and Strength-Based Services on Youth Reoffending
April 23, 1 - 2:30 pm, CSG Justice Center
Responsive Care: The Experiences of Women and Children along the Care Continuum in Rural Communities
April 23, 2 - 4 pm, NCROTAC
Family Education : Small Changes, Big Results: Responding Collaboratively to Early Substance Use Concerns
April 23, 7 - 8 pm, School Mental Health Resource Training Center
Conducting Preventive Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management in Youth (Part 2)
April 24, 1 - 2:30 pm, MCTAC/CTAC
Improving Mental Health Outcomes: 59 Essential Evidence-Based Practices for Communities, Police, Courts, Jails, and Community Corrections
April 24, 1 - 2:30 pm, NCHATS
Collaborative Care in Rural Health Centers
April 24, 3 - 4 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
The Power of Data: Driving Productivity, Outcomes & Funding in Addiction Treatment
April 29, 2 - 3 pm, Behavioral Health Business
Supporting Young People’s Crisis Stabilization Needs During Reentry
April 29, 2 - 3:30 pm, CSG Justice Center
Grief & Bereavement in America: Exploring Compassionate Policy and Systems Responses
April 29, 2 - 3:30 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Building Community Care Hubs to Address Health-Related Social Needs: Lessons from New York and North Carolina Medicaid
April 30, 1 - 2 pm, Center for Health Care Strategies
Navigating VBC Negotiations: Turning Complexity Into Opportunity
April 30, 1 - 2 pm, Onecare Population Health Academy
Integration in Action: Overcoming Workforce Challenges in the Integrated Health Field
April 30, 2 - 3 pm National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Using COSSUP Grants for the Often Forgotten Ones
April 30, 2 - 3:30 pm, COSSUP
Person-Centered Care: Applications in Day-to-Day Practice
April 30, 2 - 4 pm, NCROTAC
Firearm Safety for Suicide Prevention Workshop for Facilitators (In-Person/Virtual)
May 5, 9 am - 2 pm, NY Health Foundation
Collaborative Care: Strengthening Provider Relationships with Autistic and Neurodivergent Population
May 7, 1:30 - 3 pm, School Mental Health Resource Training Center
Redefining Recovery: Insights into Gambling and Substance Use Disorders
May 7, 3 - 4:30 pm, NAADAC
Reducing Suicide Risk Through Primary Care
May 8, 2 - 3 pm, Shatterproof
EMS and Overdose Prevention: Innovative Strategies to Save Lives
May 9, 2 - 3 pm, NCSL
Measurement-Informed Care and the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM)
May 22, 2 - 3 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
2nd Annual Documentation Event - IN-PERSON
May 29, 9 am - 3 pm, Crown Plaza, Albany, MCTAC
Advancing licensure: Growing the mental health care workforce
June 12, 2 - 3 pm, Kaiser Permanente
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CLMHD CALENDAR
APRIL
CLMHD Spring 2025 Full Membership Meeting
April 30 - May 2, Albany
MAY
CLMHD Executive Committee Meeting
May 7: 8 - 9 am
Addiction Services & Supports (ASR) Committee Meeting
May 8: 11 am - 12 pm
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
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