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February 4, 2022

In This Issue:


What's New:  
Don't Miss These Headlines:

Learning Opportunities:
 
Resource Roundup: 

Find current funding opportunity announcements

Explore opportunities on NASMHPD's Job Board

SAMHSA Releases Ready to Respond: Mental Health Beyond Crisis and COVID-19

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released ongoing resources to help mental health system leaders and providers deliver needed support services and establish integrated programs that continue to build out a robust mental health continuum of care.
 
With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the pre-pandemic rising suicide rates, the opioid crisis and numerous challenges in meeting demands for mental health services across the country, the 2021 Compendium of Ready to Respond: Mental Health Beyond Crisis and COVID-19, comes at a critical time. With the impact of COVID-19 still front and center, and the planning for a system involving a 988-crisis response, there is much work ahead. Read the compendium.


Milwaukee County on Providing the Right Care at the Right Place and at the Right Time

 
Milwaukee County has worked to ensure its crisis intervention services are robust and include a call center, mobile crisis, crisis stabilization, and follow-up services, making the community well-positioned for when 988 goes live on July 16, 2022. Michele LeCloux, Lauren Hubbard, and Jenny Younk share the steps the county has taken, funding, and how to scaffold a 211-988 relationship to ensure people’s quality-of-life and behavioral health needs are met.

According to Lauren Hubbard, RN, BSN, director of Community Crisis Services at BHD, the division’s goal for their crisis care system has been to create a "No Wrong Door" approach by promoting early crisis intervention and prevention, enhancing access to care, and providing crisis support services that are person-centered and integrated into the community while supporting the division’s mission—"Right Care, Right Place, Right Time." (Called the three Rs.) Hubbard says the division wants residents in crisis to get the right response every time. Read the February 1 #CrisisTalk.


Homelessness and Crisis: Who Will Answer the Call?

 
In January 2020, a point-in-time count in the United States revealed homelessness continues to be a public health emergency. There were 580,466 people experiencing homelessness on a single night, a 2.2% percent jump from the previous year. Nearly 40% were unsheltered and living in abandoned buildings, cars, encampments, parks, or sidewalks. Unsheltered homeless people frequently interact with law enforcement and face increased marginalization and barriers. "They often have multiple morbidities," says Kevin Martone, "including mental illness, substance use disorders, and physical health challenges." "Also, they’ve likely experienced trauma." These additional layers can make it more complicated for systems to sort through and coordinate care, particularly in communities where those systems aren’t comprehensive or well-connected. Martone is the executive director at Technical Assistance Collaborative, a nonprofit that advises and gives technical help to states and communities across the U.S. on mental health, substance use disorders, Medicaid, and homelessness.

With 988 on the horizon, Martone wonders who will respond to the call when a homeless person is in crisis. "The answer," he says, "lies in the integration of care within and between systems." Read the January 25 #Crisis Talk.


Want to Talk More About Crisis?

Join the 988 Crisis Jam Learning Community!

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) 988 Crisis Jam Learning Community, powered by Crisis Now, takes place each Wednesday at noon eastern on Zoom! Join SAMHSA, the more than 50 national organizations, and all 50 states taking part in these weekly crisis jam sessions. Sign up for weekly reminders and the #CrisisTalk newsletter.
Add the 988 Crisis Jam Learning Community to your calendar
Access the
Zoom link now

NASMHPD Welcomes New Commissioners


NASMHPD extends a warm welcome to the following new commissioners, who were recently appointed:

Nelson Smith
Commissioner, Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services
 
Renan Steele
Acting Director, US Virgin Islands Department of Health

NASMHPD Welcomes Recovery Support Experts on Staff 

NASMHPD is excited to announce the recent hiring of Amy Brinkley, Recovery Supports System Coordinator, and Justin Volpe, Peer Support Specialist. They bring expertise in the system-wide promotion and sustainability of recovery support services, as well as leadership and guidance in the form of technical assistance.

Amy Brinkley previously served as the Recovery Support Services Director in Indiana. She is a person in long term recovery and wellness from mental illness and a substance use disorder that led to incarceration. She served as Chairperson for NASMHPD's Division of Recovery Support Services, advocating for the professionalization of recovery supports across the country. Her passion and expertise are driven from the loss of three brothers to suicide. Amy advocates for effective recovery data collection and evaluation processes to drive recovery-oriented outcomes. 
Justin Volpe has been a Peer Support Specialist in Miami since 2008 primarily working in the criminal justice system. He has presented nationally and helped trained Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Officers, mental health facilities and other organizations on trauma informed practices and used his life experiences to discuss treatment and how to avoid seclusion and restraints. His passion for this work is based on bringing systems together locally and nationally while reducing stigma and advocating for the persons served. 
Amy and Justin’s vast knowledge and experience will enhance all NASMHPD activities and infuse a lived-experience lens throughout our work. We are thrilled to have these two accomplished and passionate individuals join the NASMHPD team and look forward to their perspectives and contributions!

State Spotlight: Kentucky Utilizes Innovative Framework to Systematize a Structural Process around Racial Equity  

The Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (DBHDID), under the leadership of Executive Advisor Rashaad Abdur-Rahman and Commissioner Wendy Morris, created and is implementing an intentional framework to address racial equity throughout the state, utilizing in part the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) framework. GARE’s national network is working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunity. Kentucky has adapted GARE’s key strategies to tackle operationalizing racial equity within the state. Additionally, the framework integrates a strong focus on “Intersectionality” as described by Kimberle Crenshaw and “Targeted Universalism” as described by John Powell and Angela Glover Blackwell.

Kentucky works to involve the entire Health and Human Services Cabinet to ensure efforts are impactful agency-wide. Key strategies include normalizing this work by demystifying addressing racial equity; organizing through building infrastructure and processes while ensuring progress is sustainable; and operationalizing these efforts through direct actions.  

The initiative began through organized, intentional steps, starting with hosting a series of monthly conversations and programs to normalize the ability to have conversations and share terms and concepts on race and racism, and aggregating data on race and disparities throughout services provided by the state.  

The structure of the initiative identifies leads from across the agency to create a shared learning space that will achieve greater fidelity by integrating the entire agency. Major goals include building action plans, sustainability plans, and accountability processes. 

Key takeaways for success include working with leadership to invest in a plan and process to achieve goals; integrating the entire agency to increase buy-in and sustainability; maintain a level of transparency on what is going well and emerging challenges; and remain consistent in engagement with the community, and progress on specific and measurable goals. Empowerment and transparency are two essential elements for states to keep in mind when embarking on similar efforts to systematize a structural process around racial equity. 

Please contact Rashaad Abdur-Rahman for more information.

2022 Report to Congress on the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act

The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury on January 25th issued their 2022 Report to Congress on the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA). The report includes information that suggests health plans and health insurance issuers are failing to deliver parity for mental health and substance-use disorder benefits to those they cover. The report also highlights the departments’ recent emphasis on greater MHPAEA enforcement in addition to guidance to correct those failures and makes recommendations to strengthen MHPAEA’s consumer protections and enhance the departments’ enforce abilities. Read the full announcement from the Department of Labor

Responses Needed: National Survey on Mobile Crisis Teams

What is a Mobile Crisis Team (MCT)? 988 implementation. High-functioning crisis systems. Alternatives to unnecessary law enforcement involvement. Much momentum has pushed MCT development in recent years, and yet there remains a large gap in our knowledge of what constitutes an MCT across the United States. To better understand the organization, operation, and financing of MCTs, the first-ever National Survey of MCTs in the United States is being conducted in collaboration with Vibrant, SAMHSA, NASMHPD, and researchers Dr. Matthew Goldman and Preston Looper. All mobile crisis, co-responder, and other field-based mental health crisis response teams are encouraged to complete this 10-minute survey by February 28, 2022. Access the survey here and share widely!

HRSA Awards $103 Million in ARP Funds to Reduce Burnout and Promote Mental Health and Wellness Among Health Care Workforce

On January 20The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced $103 million in awards to improve the retention of health care workers and help respond to the nation’s critical staffing needs by reducing burnout and promoting mental health and wellness among the health care workforce. These awards will fund evidence-informed programs, practices and training, with a specific focus on providers in underserved and rural communities. The funds, secured through the Biden-Harris Administration’s American Rescue Plan (ARP), will be disbursed to 45 grantees. Read the press release.

HHS Announces Availability of $13 Million to Increase Behavioral Health Care Access in Rural Communities

On January 18, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced the availability of $13 million in funding to increase access to behavioral health care services and address health inequities in rural America, including through evidence-based, trauma-informed treatment for substance use disorder. HRSA’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy will make awards through the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) - Behavioral Health Care Support. Eligible applicants include entities such as Rural Health Clinics, federally recognized tribes, tribal organizations, and community- and faith-based organizations. Read the press release.

Suicide Rates by Overdose Rose for Youth, Older Adults and Black Women 

Intentional overdose death rates increased among females and males 15 to 24 year-olds and 75 to 84 year-olds, and Black women when compared to suicide rates by firearms. The new study, published online February 2 in The American Journal of Psychiatry, also found that women 45 to 64 years old had the highest rates of intentional drug overdoses than men. The authors also examined the variations of U.S. intentional overdose deaths by month and day of the week. Their findings indicated that peak intentional overdose deaths occurred in the spring through summer months for both genders. Mondays had the highest peak of day in contrast to the weekends (Friday to Sunday) having lower rates.  
According to a National Institute of Health (NIH) press release, Nora Volkow, M.D., senior author on the study and director of NIDA commented,  “The distinction between accidental and intentional overdose has important clinical implications, as we must implement strategies for preventing both. To do so requires that we screen for suicidality among individuals who use opioids or other drugs, and that we provide treatment and support for those who need it, both for mental illnesses and for substance use disorders.”

IPS Success in Illinois: Nate's Story 

An article recently published by the Newsletter of the National Clearinghouse for Rehabilitation Materials highlights the story of Nate, who was served by the Illinois Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) and Community Employment Services via their Individual Placement and Support (IPS) supported employment services.  IL VR and Community Employment Services assisted Nate in obtaining full-time, meaningful employment. Read about Nate's employment journey and the effect his work success has had on his life.


The team at the IPS Employment Center has defined the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) approach to supported employment. The center’s activities focus on employment for people with serious mental illnesses. The center offers training, educational materials, and consultation services.  Learn more about training available through the IPS Employment Center.

NASMHPD Annual 2021 Meeting Session Recap:

Strategies for Providing a More Equitable Crisis Continuum for People of Color in the United States

 
The NASMHPD Annual 2021 Meeting Session, "Strategies for Providing a More Equitable Crisis Continuum for People of Color in the United States", identified strategies that State Behavioral Health Authorities and providers can implement to start to reduce barriers to care for People of Color, while improving the availability, accessibility, and quality of crisis services.

Presenters included: Kristin Neylon, M.A., Senior Project Associate at the NASMHPD Research Institute; Megan Lee, M.A., L.P.C., Crisis Program Manager at the Colorado Department of Human Services, Office of Behavioral Health; and Lori Coyner, Director of Accountability and Quality at the Oregon Health Authority.

This session was based on the fifth paper in the 2021 Ready to Respond series of ten technical assistance briefs focused on Beyond Beds, Reimagining a Sustainable and Robust Continuum of Psychiatric Care. View the paper.

View the presentation slides. The full presentation recording can be viewed below.

Don't Miss These Headlines

With New Report, Biden Administration Takes on Insurers Over Mental Health Failings
D. Sapatkin | MindSiteNews

Senators Pressed on Mental Health Awareness in Schools
S. Firth | MedPage Today

National Trends of Mental Health Care Among US Adults Who Attempted Suicide in the Past 12 Months
T. Bommersbach, R. Rosenheck & T. Rhee | JAMA Psychiatry

Predictors of Not Receiving Mental Health Services Among People at Risk of Suicide: A Systematic Review
S. Tang et al. | Journal of Affective Disorders

Disruptions in Care for Medicare Beneficiaries With Severe Mental Illness During the COVID-19 Pandemic
A. Busch et al. | JAMA

Association of Major Depressive Symptoms With Endorsement of COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation Among US Adults
R. Perlis et al. | JAMA

Stigmatizing Words Found More Common in Black Patients’ Electronic Health Records
American Psychiatric Association

How States Can Help Physicians Get Confidential Care They Deserve
T. Henry | American Medical Association
 

Learning Opportunities

Centering Racial Equity: The Role of Sustained Community Partnership in Behavioral Health
View the Part One recording
View the Part Two recording
 
Part one of this Technical Assistance Coalition webinar, moderated by NASMHPD's Senior Medical Advisor, Dr. Brian Sims, and presented by Dr. Morgan Medlock, provided a framework for understanding racism and its impacts and equipped viewers with strategies for embracing racial equity as a systemic value. Through examples and case discussion, racial equity was centrally applied to the most pressing behavioral health issues. Part two facilitated a more intimate dialogue via a Q&A with Dr. Medlock. 

Preventing and Managing Suicide in an Outpatient Setting
Register here
Date: February 7, 2022, 3:30-5:00 pm Eastern

Suicide prevention and management can seem overwhelming for any workforce, but as the number of deaths by suicide keep increasing, it becomes a necessary health issue to be addressed within an outpatient setting as much as possible. There is an opportunity to enhance the identification and management of individuals with suicidality so that there is less reliance on referring those individuals to the local emergency department, which can place further strain on the healthcare system and increase potential exposure risk to COVID-19. This webinar will feature presenter Laura Leone, DSW, MSSW, LMSW, an Integrated Health Consultant for the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.

Office Hours: Crisis Counselors Recognizing and Responding Effectively to Persons who may have Early Onset Psychosis
Register here for February 8.
Register here for February 9.
Dates: February 8, 2022, 2:00-3:00 pm Eastern, and February 9, 2022, 6:00-7:00 pm Eastern
 
We invite those who work with, or support those who work with individuals in crisis to participate in two live “Office Hours” with Drs. Kate Hardy and Judith Lynn Dauberman from Stanford’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. In a recent NASMHPD Research Institute state survey, crisis counseling was a topic rated extremely interesting by nearly 70% of respondents—making it the second most highly rated first episode psychosis (FEP) technical assistance topic. The office hours will provide an interactive opportunity for participants to ask questions about the experiences they’ve encountered in providing crisis services when serving persons who may have early onset psychosis. A few of the topics likely to be discussed include detecting signs of early psychosis, supporting and engaging persons with these conditions, and helping to organize follow-up care.

Tobacco Use Behavior among Race and Ethnic Populations
Register here
Date: February 10, 2022, 2:00-3:00 pm Eastern

Please join the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center at UCSF for this webinar, featuring Eliseo Pérez-Stable, MD, Director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. The webinar will: Describe all of the NIMHD research definitions of Health Disparities and Equity Research; Identify two ways how tobacco use behavior varies by race and ethnicity; Explain three tailored cessation approaches by race and ethnicity, and; Identify all of the data on health disparities related to the COVID-19 and tobacco smoking.

Peer-Led Innovations in Reentry Support Programming: Towards Holistic Recovery 
Register here
Date: February 16, 2022, 3:00-4:30pm Eastern

Join this webinar from SAMHSA’s GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation to learn about recent peer-led developments to advance the work of reentry peer specialists and address the critical needs that people face upon reentry. 

Trauma-Informed Responses Train-the-Trainer Event 
Learn more and apply
Application deadline: February 18, 2022 

SAMHSA’s GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation is offering its trauma-informed responses training, “How Being Trauma Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses" as a Train-the-Trainer event. The target audiences for the training program are primarily community-based criminal justice system professionals and human service providers that serve adult justice-involved populations. The GAINS Center is soliciting applications from experienced trainers. Selected applicants will learn to facilitate the "How Being Trauma Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses" training via a virtual Train the Trainer event and subsequently deliver the training program in their local communities.

Grief Sensitivity Virtual Learning Institute
Register for General Mental Health Workforce Sessions
Register for School Mental Health Workforce Sessions 
Dates: February 23 OR February 24, 2022, 12:00-5:45 pm Eastern

This two-day institute hosted by the MHTTC Network is for those supporting individuals (general mental health and school mental health populations) experiencing grief and loss through COVID 19 and beyond. Sessions for the general mental health workforce will take place on February 23, 2022, and sessions for the school mental health workforce will take place on February 24, 2022. Read more information.
 

An Introduction to Evidence-Based Programs for Older Adults with Serious Mental Illness
Register here
Date: March 2, 2022, 1:00-2:00 pm Eastern

This webinar will feature Stephen Barteis, MD, MS as a presenter. More details to come! Rush University designates this live activity for (2) Continuing Education credits.

Resource Roundup

Mobile Crisis Teams: A State Planning Guide for Medicaid-Financed Crisis Response Services. The Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) has released a new planning guide, which reviews requirements of the American Rescue Plan Act related to community-based mobile crisis intervention services, and identifies planning considerations for states in developing or refining mobile crisis services that qualify for the enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP).
Federal Policy Recommendations to Support State Implementation of Medicaid-Funded Mobile Crisis Programs. The Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) has released this brief, identifying important issues in mobile crisis implementation and describing ways that federal agencies can support state and local efforts in the context of new federal funding policies and the upcoming launch of the 988 behavioral health crisis line. The brief was created with the support of the California Health Care Foundation and Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies.
Fair Chance Licensing: Living Room Premiere Workshop. The Living Room Premiere is a 45–60 minute workshop that aims to raise awareness and promote discussion in communities about barriers to work for people with criminal records. The workshop materials were produced by the CSG Justice Center and are being made available to civic leaders, including elected officials, equity organizations, and community leaders.
Social Justice Leadership Academy Workbook. This workbook from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing helps you and your organization embed social justice and equity in mental health and substance use treatment services by focusing on the necessary core competencies to eliminate health disparities, including: Leadership acumen; Health care disparities; Systemic racism; Social justice principles; Social determinants of mental health and substance use challenges; and Change management.
The Kids are Not All Right: The Urgent Need to Expand Effective Behavioral Health Services for Children and Youth. This new report from the Brookings Institute calls for the urgent need to expand effective behavioral health services for children. This analysis is part of the USC-Brookings Schaeffer Initiative for Health Policy, which is a partnership between Economic Studies at Brookings and the University of Southern California Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics.
Frequently Asked Questions: 988 & Crisis Response Services. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Vibrant Emotional Health released an FAQ document to answer common questions from legislators and other decision makers.
Embedding Clinicians in the Criminal Justice System. Using the Sequential Intercept Model as the starting point for identifying where clinicians can be employed in the criminal justice system, this brief from the Council of State Governments Justice Center highlights ways that embedded clinicians can support mental health and criminal justice collaborations. It also provides specific examples of Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program grantees successfully implementing clinician-embedded programs throughout the criminal justice system. 
988 Model Legislation is Available. Please find the latest version of 988 Model Legislation here on the NASMHPD website.
SAMHSA Resource: Crisis Services: Meeting Needs, Saving Lives. This SAMHSA resource, Crisis Services: Meeting Needs, Saving Lives, is composed of SAMHSA’s National Guidelines for Behavioral Health Crisis Care: Best Practice Toolkit and related papers on crisis services.
Visit the SMI Adviser website for evidence-based education, consultation, and resources on serious mental illness (SMI). Request a free clinician-to-clinician consultation. Access dozens of online courses and earn free continuing education credits. Learn about the My Mental Health Crisis Plan app. See data on serious mental illness in the U.S. Find resources on COVID-19clozapine, and long-acting injectables.

EPINET is a national learning health care system from the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) that links early psychosis clinics through standard clinical measures, uniform data collection methods, data sharing agreements, and integration of client-level data across service users and clinics. Clients and their families, clinicians, health care administrators, and scientific experts now have the opportunity to partner within EPINET to improve early psychosis care and conduct large-scale, practice-based research. Learn more about EPINET. Download a shareable flyer about EPINET

The MHTTC Network accelerates the adoption and implementation of mental health related evidence-based practices across the nation, develops and disseminates resources, provides free local and regional training and technical assistance, and heightens the awareness, knowledge, and skills of the mental health workforce.

The Network is comprised of 10 Regional Centers, a National American Indian & Alaska Native Center, a National Hispanic & Latino Center, and a Network Coordinating Office. Find your Center and get connected to free products and free training and events. Stay up to date with resources by following @MHTTCNetwork on Facebook and Twitter, or subscribe to the monthly e-Newsletter, Pathways.
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