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May 27, 2015

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

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Francine Sinkoff, Editor
fs@clmhd.org

Severe Mental Illness Found to Drop in Young, Defying Perceptions 


 
The rate of severe mental illness among children and adolescents has dropped substantially in the past generation, researchers recently reported in an analysis that defies public perceptions of trends in youngsters' mental health. Read more.







Webinars & Resources:

FREE SAMHSA Webinar Series: Addressing Serious Mental Illness: Effective Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Strategies.  The webinars in the four series will be delivered May-August 2015.  More info HERE.
 

WHITE PAPER:  Mobile Applications in Community-Based Mental Health: The Time is Now.
Download HERE.


 
Mental Health and the New Home and Community Based Services Regulation WEBINAR

June 18th 2 - 3:30 

 

Apply today for NCBH 2015 Connect for Mental Health Community Innovation Award GRANT HERE

 

The National Mental Health Consumers' Self-Help Clearinghouse will be hosting a  webinar at 2:00 PM titled Peer Leadership in Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) Services: From Program Development to Overcome Evaluation. To learn more about this webinar and register, click HERE.    

 


 

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

JULY

 

Children & Families

July 7:  11:30 - 1 GTM

  

Officers & Chairs: call-in July 8:  8 am

 

Mental Health Planning

July 9:  11 am - 2 pm

 

OMH Agency Meeting

July 21:  10 am - 12 pm

  

OASAS Agency Meeting

July 21:  1 - 3 pm

NO MEETINGS IN AUGUST!


Contact CLMHD for all Call In and Go To Meeting information, 518.462.9422 

New Yorkers can now text for addiction support and referral


New Yorkers can now text from their cell phones to access referrals and supports for overcoming addiction.  The state Hopeline service is now available by texting 1-877-8-HOPENY (1-877-846-7369). The Hopeline is a free and confidential 24-hour service that connects people struggling with substance abuse and problem gambling to behavioral health professionals.

New Efforts Aim To Keep The Mentally Ill Out Of Jail

 

In many places, police, judges and elected officials increasingly are pointing out that a high proportion of people in jail are mentally ill, and that in many cases they shouldn't be there. In recent years, many cities and counties have tried to reduce those numbers by training police to deal with mental health crises, creating mobile mental health units to assist officers, and establishing mental health support centers as an alternative to jail, among other measures.Read more.   

Parachute NYC Provides a Community-Based Alternative to Emergency Hospitalization


A new program is taking an innovative approach to helping New York adults with mental health issues and those who may be on the brink of a psychiatric crisis.


Parachute NYC, a federally funded project more than two years in the making, has created respite centers where guests can check in and talk through their concerns and fears with staff members who have their own experiences with the mental health system.


The centers are a "soft landing," community-based alternative to emergency hospitalization, according to Steve Coe, CEO of Community Access, the organization that runs Parachute NYC.  Read more.

Spring 2015 CLMHD Full Membership Meeting 

CLMHD welcomed more than 50 DCSs to its Spring 2015 Full Membership Meeting, which was held on May 18-19 at the Holiday Inn in Saratoga Springs.  This year's meeting focused on forensic mental health issues and looked at national, county and state efforts to minimize the number of people with mental illness who are inappropriately entering the local criminal justice system.  

Dr. Henry Steadman, Ph.D., President of Policy Research Associates (PRA), presented on the nationally-recognized Sequential Intercept Mapping (SIM) tool.  SIM is a local planning process that brings together county behavioral health, social services and probation, consumers, hospitals, housing providers, 911/Dispatch, law enforcement, District Attorneys, judges, jail administrators and the Sheriff's Department to map five different points in their existing system where changes can be made to prevent people with mental illness from penetrating further into the criminal justice system.  Rather, links are developed to integrate community-based services at reentry.  Currently, six counties in the state have received Federal funding to work with PRA on implementing SIM within their communities.

 

Darcie Miller, LCSW-R, Orange County Commissioner of Mental Health and Social Services, provided an overview of Orange County's experience with the SIM process and the county's on-going programs to increase diversion through its mobile crisis teams, Court Connections programs in Middletown and Port Jervis, and strong collaboration between clinicians in the jail and probation and parole to create the appropriate linkages within the community.

 

Members of the OMH Division of Forensic Services, which included Donna Hall, Ph.D. Associate Commissioner, Lori Schatzel, Director, CNYPC Pre-Release Services/Bureau of Diversion, Re-entry and Community Education, and Wendy Vogel, MPA, Forensics Unit Chief, CNYPC Pre-Release Services/Bureau of Diversion, Re-entry and Community Education, led a discussion of the state's initiatives and ongoing collaboration with the LGUs on clinical reviews, discharge planning and communication with parole for prison discharges.  The group discussed improvements in the process and communications between OMH Forensics and the LGUs regarding individuals discharged from prison on an Assisted Outpatient Treatment, along with upcoming projects around ACT level treatment services and expanded supported housing in the community.  

 Hank Steadman, Ph.D., President of Policy Research Associates. 

Darcie Miller, LCSW-R, Commissioner of Orange Co. DMH and Social Services.

 

Lori Schatzel, Director, Bureau of Diversion, OMH Forensics.


Bob Long, MPA, Commissioner/DCS Onondaga Co. DMH, Arlene Gonz�lez-S�nchez, MS, LMSW, Commissioner of OASAS, and Scott LaVigne, LCSW-R, MBA, DCS Seneca Co. DMH
Incoming CLMHD Chair, Scott LaVigne, is congratulated by outgoing Chair, Bob Long.
Bob Long, Scott LaVigne and Joe Todora, LMSW, CASAC, DCS Sullivan Co. DCS, ask, "
What ARE these things?"

Kathy Alonge-Coons, LCSW-R, Commissioner Rensselaer Co. DMH, found a use! (side note:  the giveaways this year were luggage grippers)

Myla Harrison, M.D., MPH, Medical Director NYC Dept. Health/Mental Hygiene, Michael Ranney, CRC-R, LMHC, Commissioner Erie Co. DMH, and Mark O'Brien, LCSW-R, Director, Orleans Co. Mental Health/Comm. Services

Scott LaVigne honors Bob Long for his many years of service and leadership.

  

Bob Long will enjoy his retirement!

 

On behalf of CLMHD and its members, thanks, Bob, for all of your hard work and dedication!

Meeting Consumers Where They Are: Patient Engagement in New York's Evolving Commercial Insurance Market


A new United Hospital Fund report examines patient engagement in New York's commercial health insurance market, finding mixed evidence to date on the most effective ways to engage patients, but also a broad commitment to the effort, a byproduct of a growing consensus that "it's the right thing to do."

 

The report, Meeting Consumers Where They Are: Patient Engagement in New York's Evolving Commercial Insurance Market, is organized around four forces shaping benefits and services available to commercially insured patients-New York's insurance regulatory framework, employers, health plans, and providers-and describes engagement activities within these categories. In addition to providing a review of the current research on the effectiveness of various engagement activities, the report concludes with a discussion of options for purchasers and payers to improve patient engagement.

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.

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