Advancing Public Policies for People with Mental Illness, Chemical Dependency or Developmental Disabilities
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SAMHSA:
Up to $665K Available for Statewide Consumer Network Program
The purpose of this program is to improve mental health service delivery to people with serious mental illnesses. The program seeks to enhance statewide mental health consumer-run and -controlled organizations to promote service system capacity and infrastructure development that is consumer-driven, recovery-focused and resiliency-oriented.
Up to $445K Available for Statewide Family Network Program
The program builds on the work of SAMHSA's Center for Mental Health Services which helped to establish a focus on children and families in programs serving children and adolescents with mental health challenges around the country. Further support will ensure self-sufficient, empowered networks that will effectively participate in state and local mental health services planning and health care reform activities.
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SAMHSA: Safety Planning & Means Reduction in Large Health Care Organizations
Safety planning and lethal means reduction are integral parts of comprehensive suicide care. Clinicians should develop safety plans collaboratively with all persons identified as at risk for suicide immediately after identifying the risk. December 16th 3-4:30 here
The Managed Care Technical Assist. Center Managed Care Contracting: The Plan Perspective
Wed Dec 17th 2:30-4 here
AATOD's Nat'l Conference, Addressing a Public Health Crisis: Opioid Dependence held in Atlanta from March 28-April 1, 2015. Link here
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DECEMBER:Wed. December 17th
10:00-11:00
CLMHD Director's Meeting &
Executive Committee GTM
Tuesday December 16th
12:30-2:00
CLMHD/OMH/HH GTM
Thursday December 18th
10:00-11:00
Contact CLMHD for all call in information, 518.462.9422
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Homeless Children Spike Calls Attention to MH Needs, Systems Working Together
The number of children now homeless in this country has reached an "historic high," according to the authors of a new report who say it's not surprising that the mental health consequences among the mothers of these children are profound.
The report, "America's Youngest Outcasts: A Report Card on Child Homelessness," released Nov. 20th by the National Center on Family Homelessness at American Institutes for Research, estimates that 2.5 million children suffer from homelessness. It documents the number of homeless children in every state, their well-being, their risk for child homelessness, and state-level planning and policy efforts.
Read more
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Medications for patients with first episode psychosis may not meet guidelines
Many patients with first-episode psychosis receive medications that do not comply with recommended guidelines for first-episode treatment , researchers have found. Current guidelines emphasize low doses of antipsychotic drugs and strategies for minimizing the side effects that might contribute to patients stopping their medication. A study finds that almost 40 percent of people with first-episode psychosis in community mental health clinics across the country might benefit from medication treatment changes. Read more.
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New health group aims to provide better care at a lower cost to CNY's Medicaid population
More than 400 Central New York health and social service organizations are working together to provide better patient care at a lower cost to people in the region who are on Medicaid or are uninsured.
The organizations have formed a new entity, the Central New York Care Collaborative, that will focus on overhauling services provided to about 291,000 people in Onondaga, Madison, Oswego, Cayuga, Oneida and Lewis counties.
The effort is part of a state program that will reinvest $8 billion in federal savings generated by Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Medicaid redesign team.That money will be spent on regional collaborations throughout the state focused on transforming the system and reducing unnecessary hospital use. Read more.
Public workers 'double dipping' raises concerns
When the Empire Center posted a list on its website of the 665 public employees "double dipping" - or collecting public sector pensions while getting paid for other public sector jobs - Herkimer County's Dr. Vinay Patil emerged as one of the highest-paid at $210,000 annually.
For Herkimer County Mental Health Services - where Patil has provided psychiatric services for some of the about 1,200 patients it serves each year as well as for the county jail for about three years - it's a last resort. "Recruitment of psychiatrists is ... you'll find that in this area it's almost a futile search," Director Ed Scudder said, adding that the area has a health professional shortage federal designation. "The lack of psychiatric professionals across the state and the country is a crisis."
Mental Health Services, Scudder said, began working with the long-retired Patil after successfully navigating the "very rigorous" waiver process. They settled his salary based on precedent. "Without Dr. Patil, we would be closed," he said. "That's not overstating."
Read more.
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CSH Open Competition
Advances Supportive Housing
Pay for Success Initiatives
Winners Receive Technical Assistance & Become Part of White House Initiative
CSH (Corporation for Supportive Housing) Pay for Success RFP Application Due Feb 6th. For more information: www.csh.org/pfs and
Visit: pfs@csh.org
CSH invites state, county and local governments, and 501(c)3 nonprofits to become catalysts for the creation of supportive housing through Pay for Success, an innovative contracting and financing model.
At a regional summit hosted today by the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, CSH unveiled a national competition to select Sub-Recipients interested in receiving intensive technical assistance to determine the feasibility of Pay for Success initiatives focused on supportive housing and vulnerable populations.
CSH is a grantee of the inaugural Pay for Success program of the Corporation for National and Community Service's Social Innovation Fund.
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This week, the New York Department of Financial Services is issuing guidance to insurance companies this week requiring them to cover all treatments related to a person's transgender identity. This would include psychological treatment, hormone therapy, and any transition-related surgeries. Read more.
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Population Health Improvement Program
The New York State Department of Health's Population Health Improvement Program (PHIP) will promote the Triple Aim of better care, better population health and lower health care costs. PHIP contractors each will work in one of several regions that together will serve the entire state. PHIP contractors will convene stakeholders and establish neutral forums to support strategic planning for identifying, sharing, disseminating and helping to implement best practices and local strategies to promote population health and reduce health care disparities in their respective regions. In particular, the PHIP will help support and advance ongoing activities related to the New York State Prevention Agenda 2013-2017 and the State Health Innovation Plan and incorporate strategies to reduce health and health care disparities.
Contractors have been selected under the PHIP Request for Applications (RFA #1405280128) released in August 2014. Awardees will each serve as the PHIP contractor in their respective regions. Selected PHIP contractors are:
- Capital District -- Healthy Capital District Initiative
- Central New York -- Health Advancement Collaborative of Central New York
- Long Island -- Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council
- Mid-Hudson -- Taconic Health Information Network and Community
- Mohawk Valley -- The Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital
- New York City -- Fund for Public Health in New York
- North Country -- Adirondack Health Institute
- Southern Tier -- STHL, Inc.
- Tughill Seaway -- Fort Drum Regional Health Planning
- Western New York -- P2 Collaborative of Western New York
The Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency will serve as the PHIP contractor in the Finger Lakes region, and will provide technical assistance to the Department in administering the program. Read more.
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New York won the largest award of the 18 states that will receive funds to launch or expand pre-K. Thirty-five states applied for the grants.
The grants were announced as part of Wednesday's White House summit on early education. The awards are part of more than $1 billion in new public and private investment in pre-K that will be announced at the summit, according to a news release. Read more.
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SAMHSA: New Opportunity: Apply for the Performance Partnership Pilot
Over five million 14-to-24-year-olds in the U.S. are out of school and not working. In many cases, they face the additional challenges of being low-income, homeless, in foster care, or involved in the justice system. Today, in response, five federal agencies are coming together to offer communities support in overcoming the obstacles they face in achieving better outcomes for "disconnected youth," and those at risk of becoming disconnected.
For the next 100 days (application deadline: March 4. 2015), states, tribes, and municipalities can apply to become a Performance Partnership Pilot (P3). These pilot communities will test innovative, cost-effective, and outcome-focused strategies for improving results for disconnected youth.
This initiative enables up to 10 pilots to blend together funds that they already receive from different discretionary programs administered by the Departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services, the Corporation for National and Community Service, and the Institute for Museum and Library Services.
P3 allows the flexibility to overcome barriers and align program and reporting requirements, to enable applicants to propose the most effective ways to use these dollars. For example, a state, local, or tribal government could propose to blend eligible funds to provide a comprehensive array of behavioral health, educational, employment and independent living services and supports for youth and young adults ages 16-25 who either have or are at risk of developing a serious mental and/or substance use disorder. In addition, pilots will receive start-up grants of up to $700,000.
More information here.
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