A new book is out concerning EBPs and child behavioral health:

http://Implementing Evidence-Based Prevention by Communities to Promote Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Health in Children

Here is a great source for Infographics / data for your clients and your workplace to highlight the importance of talking about mental health and removing the stigma associated with it.

For example:

400 doctors in the USA complete suicide each year

12 million women in the USA experience clinical depression each year

More than 30 percent of women will experience an anxiety disorder as compared to 19 percent of men

Each year 2 million jail bookings involve a person with a mental illness.

To download these infographics click here: https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/consulting-best-practices/national-council-shareables/

Can the experience of poverty, trauma, social bias change the brain? Initial results from a Boston non-profit say YES!

To read more click this link  http://s3.amazonaws.com/empath-website/pdf/Research-UsingBrainScienceDesignPathwaysPoverty-0114.pdf

and this link

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/04/can-brain-science-pull-families-out-of-poverty/523479/?utm_content=buffer19947&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

When mentally ill inmates in New York City’s Rikers Island jail become too sick, violent, delusional or suicidal for the jail to handle, they’re sent to Bellevue Hospital Prison Ward for treatment.

The inmates in Bellevue are awaiting trial for a variety of offenses, ranging from sleeping on the subway to murder. But for Dr. Elizabeth Ford, a psychiatrist who treats them, the charges against her patients are secondary.

“Of the patients I took care of, it was almost a universal experience that they have suffered abuse or significant neglect as children. I literally can’t remember a patient for whom that didn’t apply.”

To read more about her book Sometimes Amazing Things Happen click here http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/04/25/525533732/psychiatrist-recalls-heartbreak-and-hope-on-bellevues-prison-ward?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social

Here is the link to the iposter gallery of the NATCON conference. The theme of the conference this year was the intersection of innovation and action. The posters highlight interprofessional practice models, successful implementation of interprofessional course work and training, and how to evaluate your own organization on interprofessional competencies.

Click to read the conference posters https://natcon17.ipostersessions.com/Default.aspx?s=gallery

•  Nearly 15,000 youth at 122 sites around the state no longer receive high-quality, comprehensive afterschool services (Teen REACH) that improve educational performance and teach life skills.
• 24 counties shut down services that divert youth from incarceration (Redeploy Illinois program).
• Law enforcement agencies lost access and funding to crisis intervention services for young people.
• 80,000 Illinois residents have already lost access to mental health services. 
• 35,000 children from low-income families no longer receive child care subsidies to help pay for daycare; some parents no longer can afford continuing to work.
• Small businesses and local economies suffer as the lack of predictability hinders their ability to grow and compete in the 21st century economy.
• Illinois’ state higher ed system is on the brink of collapse due to $2.3B in cuts over the last two years.
• Over 100,000 immigrants have lost access to services including citizenship assistance and language training that helps people overcome barriers to becoming successful in Illinois.
• $0 dollars of state funding for domestic violence services, putting thousands of lives at risk.

It’s Only Going to Get Worse – Make Your Voice Heard! It’s been 21 months since Illinois passed a budget

The state owes over $12 billion in unpaid bills. That’s $45k per taxpayer

As a direct result of this crisis, 17,600 jobs were lost in December alone

We need Legislators state-wide to know we care!

The message is simple: “My name is ___. I’m your constituent. It’s time Illinois passes a responsible budget. The damage is real and the consequences matter to me!”

Call, send an email, or write a letter to your State Representative and State Senator! Find their contact information at bit.ly/ILLegislativeDirectory.

Tell Gov. Rauner your opinion.

Call him at 217-782-0244 or email through bit.ly/ContactGovRauner Spread the word!

Educate your family, friends, and colleagues about the destructive impacts of not having a state budget.

The SAMHSA-HRSA Center for Integrated Health Solutions (CIHS) continually updates its website to present the best and newest resources and information relevant to integrated primary and behavioral health care. Check out the new resources below or peruse the site.

CLINICAL PRACTICE

• Listen to the recording of Incorporating Key Findings from the Surgeon General’s Report on Addiction into your Practice, a recent CIHS webinar, to learn from one of the authors of the Surgeon General’s report, Facing Addiction in America, about the efforts needed to support integrating screening, assessments, interventions, use of medications and care coordination.
• Learn about the harmful impacts of excessive drinking on the immune system in the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s recent publication, Alcohol’s Effects on Immunity— Increasing the Risks for Infection and Injury.
• View an array of trainings, webinars and classes coming up to learn more about addressing substance use in primary and behavioral health care settings.

• Get to know the laws and regulations that govern billing for behavioral health services in Billing Properly for Behavioral Health Services, a booklet created by the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services.
• Explore Integrating Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Primary Care, a brief by the National Academy for State Health Policy, to hear how states can strengthen primary care systems to improve care for individuals with substance use concerns.

• Learn effective ways to implement behavioral health screening with The Case for Behavioral Health Screening in HIV Care Settings, a report from CIHS that lays out the clear need for HIV treatment providers to jointly address behavioral health concerns and HIV, and includes tips for providers in preparing staff, updating organizational culture and enhancing organizational infrastructure.
• Gain strategies for how to meet the behavioral health needs of older adults and prepare your team to guide patients toward healthy aging by watching Aging Well: Addressing Behavioral Health with Older Adults in Primary Care Settings, slides from a CIHS webinar.
• Passing the Relationship is a cheat sheet from Dr. Alexander Blount that can help integrated care teams in warm handoffs to describe why a behavioral health clinician will be helpful in an individual’s care.

• Review the collection of resources on our pharmacists page to learn how pharmacists can be a critical part of the integrated care team.
• Assess how your organization’s activities align with key domains that characterize a highly supportive, engaging approach to treatment with the Circle of Support Approach Organizational Self-Assessment (COSA-OSA), a resource developed as part of one of CIHS’ Innovation Communities.

• Read the scenarios in Role Playing and Shared Decision Making: Getting Ready for your Appointment and Health Tests, a handout originally developed for the Whole Health Action Management program, to reflect on how your clinical interactions may or may not support shared decision making.

• Shelina D. Foderingham, MPH, MSW, Assistant Vice President, Practice Improvement, National Council for Behavioral Health
• Nick Szubiak, LCSW, Director, Clinical Excellence in Addictions, Integrated Health Consultant, National Council for Behavioral Health
• Jennifer L. Ludwig, MS, Deputy Director, Tri-County Health Department

TO REGISTER CLICK HERE:https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/4626358283653767171

ABSTRACT:

Mental disorders account for 25% of all health-related disability worldwide. More patients receive treatment for mental disorders in the primary care sector than in the mental health specialty setting. However, brief visits, inadequate reimbursement, deficits in primary care provider (PCP) training, and competing demands often limit the capacity of the PCP to produce optimal outcomes in patients with common mental disorders. More than 80 randomized trials have shown the benefits of collaborative care (CC) models for improving outcomes of patients with depression and anxiety. Six key components of CC include a population-based approach, measurement-based care, treatment to target strategy, care management, supervision by a mental health professional (MHP), and brief psychological therapies. Multiple trials have also shown that CC for depression is equally or more cost-effective than many of the current treatments for medical disorders. Factors that may facilitate the implementation of CC include a more favorable alignment of medical and mental health services in accountable care organizations and patient-centered medical homes; greater use of telecare as well as automated outcome monitoring; identification of patients who might benefit most from CC; and systematic training of both PCPs and MHPs in integrated team-based care.

To read this article click the link below-

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11606-016-3967-9

Bexar County Initiative For Adults

One county in Texas, Bexar County, created a model for aligning its criminal justice system, hospital, mental health services, and community partners. Facing extreme overcrowding in the jail system, largely from people with severe mental illness, the Bexar County Jail, in San Antonio, began transforming its mental health system into a program focused on diverting people with serious mental illness from jail and into treatment.

Unveiled in 2004, the Bexar County Jail Diversion Program (BCJDP) is an initiative aimed at supporting and improving the lives of adults with mental health and behavioral health needs by partnering with nearly sixty community stakeholders, including public health departments, emergency medical services, hospitals, and businesses. This effort has successfully diverted more than 100,000 adults from jails and emergency departments and resulted in a cost savings of nearly $100 million over an eight-year period.

TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS MODEL AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION CLICK HERE http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2017/04/06/unusual-community-partnerships-offer-new-mental-health-interventions/