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March 17, 2015
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March is Developmental Disabilities Month  
Participate in the campaign launched by the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities
#SidebySide: Celebrating Togetherness 

Advancing Public Policies for People with Mental Illness, Chemical Dependency or Developmental Disabilities   

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Betsy Gorman, Editor
[email protected]




Webinars & Resources:

SAMHSA:

 Suicide Mobile App now available for download more here   
March 24th 10:00-12:00

Up to $9 Million Available for the National Consumer and Consumer Supporter Technical Assistance Centers Grants here  

 

OMH is hosting an informal meeting for all Directors of Community Services to highlight activities and initiatives that the Children's Division of Integrated Community services has undertaken for the past two years to prepare Family Peer Support Providers for the transition to Medicaid Managed Care.   
Join the online meeting
here

 AATOD's Nat'l Conference, Addressing a Public Health Crisis: Opioid Dependence held in Atlanta from March 28-April 1, 2015.  Link here


CALENDAR OF EVENTS
March:
CLMHD/OASAS Upstate Field Offices Meeting
 
Wed 3/25 10:20-2:30 
607 E. Molloy Rd. Syracuse

CLMHD Director's Meeting
In Person
 
Tues. 3/31   
10:30-Noon  
Executive Committee
In Person
 
12:30-2:00 
Both: 41 State Street Albany 
 
April: 
Children & Families
Mon 4/6 11:00-12:00 
Go To Meeting

Officers & Chairs - Call In 
Wed 4/8 8:00-9:00

Mental Hygiene Planning 
Th 4/9 11:30-2:00 
41 State St., Albany

OMH Agency Meeting 
Tues 4/28 10:00-Noon 
44 Holland Ave., Albany  

OASAS Agency Meeting
Tues 4/28 1:00-3:00
1450 Western Ave., Albany 
 
SAVE THE DATE: 
CLMHD SPRING FULL MEMBERSHIP MEETING 
May 18-19, 2015 
Saratoga Springs, NY

Contact CLMHD for all Call In and Go To Meeting information, 518.462.9422
Does it pay to be a health home?
 

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) established Medicaid Health Homes to help better coordinate care for seriously ill patients. There are now 16 states operating 20 different health home models and serving more than 1 million patients.

 

Preliminary results from early adopter states indicate that health homes can both improve clinical outcomes and save money, but there are still challenges ahead in maintaining these programs, even as more states submit their plan amendments.  Read more.

New York State will receive nearly $8 million from the federal government to support pre- and post-natal care for at-risk families, the governor's office said Monday.

 

These home visitation programs pair low-income pregnant women with nurses and other health providers who offer economic and social support.

 

The health providers can connect the family to social services, offer emotional support and have been shown to improve infant health outcomes and decrease child abuse.

Read more

New York could lose out on $380 million as it overhauls Medicaid 

 

New York could lose $380 million if it doesn't slow down its Medicaid spending growth in line with pledges state officials made to federal regulators.

 

That is according to a report released by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli on Medicaid, the government health care program that covers millions of low-income and disabled New Yorkers.  Read more

Mental Health Coverage Unequal in Many Obamacare Plans

 

Insurance coverage for mental and physical illness remains unequal despite promises that Obamacare would help level the playing field, mental health advocates and researchers say.

 

A new study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that consumer information on a quarter of the Obamacare plans that researchers examined appeared to go against a federal "parity" law designed to stop discrimination in coverage for people with mental health or addiction problems. Read more.  

NY Expands Mental Health Safety Net for Released Inmates

 

New York is expanding its efforts to make sure inmates who receive mental health treatment in prison aren't cut off from such care when they are released.

 

Discharge planning that included medication, enrollment in Medicaid and initial clinic appointments had only extended to the 3,500 to 4000 inmates with a serious mental illness or who were getting treatment at the time of their release.

 

A new law that took effect last month expands that to 3,000 more inmates discharged annually who got treatment sometime in the previous three years.

Read more.   

Prepare To Transition to ICD-10 With DSM 5

 

Check out SAMHSA's resources on ICD-10 for more information on:

  • DSM-5's approach to diagnostic coding
  • How to better understand the coding changes in DSM-5
  • How DSM-5's approach is similar to and differs from that in DSM IV TR
  • The rationale behind the revisions
  • Specific clinical implications

Access the fact sheet here.   

The Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors advances public policies and awareness for people with mental illness, chemical dependency and developmental disabilities.  We are a statewide membership organization that consists of the Commissioner/ Director of each of the state's 57 county mental hygiene departments and the mental hygiene department of the City of New York.

Affiliated