The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced it is accepting applications for $18.75 million in new grants under the Drug-Free Communities program.  Up to 150 grants will be awarded for proposals from community anti-drug coalitions that seek to prevent and reduce substance use disorders among youth.  The application deadline is Mar. 19, 2010.

 

SAMHSA has released a call for applications for $54 million in grants to programs that provide integrated HIV prevention and addictions disorder treatment.  Eligible applicants are previously funded grantees of the Substance Abuse, HIV, and Hepatitis Prevention for Minority Populations and Minority Reentry Populations in Communities of Color program.  The application deadline is Feb. 23, 2010. 

 

Under the Second Chance Act Mentoring Grants to Nonprofit Organizations, grants of up to $300,000 will be awarded to nonprofits that mentor individuals transitioning back into the community after incarceration. The application deadline is Mar. 18, 2010. 

 

The Department of Justice has announced it is accepting applications for grants for programs designed to prevent violence against women with disabilities. Eligible applicants include nonprofits serving individuals with disabilities. Eleven grants of up to $600,000 each will be awarded.  The application deadline is Mar. 9, 2010.

 

The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) at SAMHSA is now accepting applications for up to $382 million in Access to Recovery grants.  Up to 30 grants of $2-4 million each will be awarded to support treatment voucher programs that expand access to treatment and recovery services. The application deadline is Mar. 10, 2010. 

 

Grants Available from Department of Veterans Affairs 

The Department of Veterans Affairs has announced the availability of two grants.  The Capital Grant component of the Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program offers a total of $24 million in grants for the expansion or development of transitional housing. The Per Diem-Only component of the Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program provides aid for supportive housing.  The application deadline for both components is Mar. 31, 2010. 

 

SAMHSA and the Administration on Children and Families (ACF) have issued a notification with information on how states may use Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) emergency funds to assist families needing short-term mental health and substance use treatment. According to the notification, TANF funds may be used to develop short-term assistance programs for a wide range of services, including mental health and substance use disorder services for struggling families.  Additional information is available from SAMHSA and from the Office of Family Assistance at the Welfare Peer TA network. 

 

 

 

Late last week, the Obama Administration released regulations providing guidance on the implementation of the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act.  In addition to our fact sheet on the regulations featured in this issue of the TAU, several other resources are available on the Parity page of our website,  including a fact sheet and PowerPoint presentation on the provisions of the law.

 

The National Council has released a brief summary of the Interim Final Rule (IFR) issued by the Obama Administration to provide guidance on how the Wellstone-Domenici parity law must be implemented.  The IFR was released on Friday and was published in today’s Federal Register.  It goes into effect for plan years beginning on July 1, 2010 or later.

 

Register for Upcoming National Council Live Webinars 

The National Council will be hosting several webinars in the coming weeks, including “Save on Electronic Medical Records with IT Consortiums” (Feb. 9), “Process Benchmarking” (Feb. 16), and “Preparing Behavioral Health Staff to Work in Primary Care,” a series of three webinars.  Register for these  and other upcoming webinars on the National Council’s website.

 

The National Council's 6th Annual Public Policy Institute and Hill Day will be held on June 29-30, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington, D.C. The Public Policy Institute is a unique opportunity for you to directly engage with key congressional staff, officials from the Obama Administration, and leaders in the behavioral health industry.  You’ll also have a chance to participate in discussions about the issues and network with hundreds of your colleagues from around the country.  The next day, head over to Capitol Hill to meet with your elected officials to discuss the policy issues of importance to your communities.  Registration for Hill Day is free and now open.  Check out our new Hill Day 2010 website for helpful resources on what to expect from Hill Day, how to plan visits with your elected officials, how to successfully communicate your priorities to your Members of Congress, and much more!  If you have questions about Hill Day, please contact Rebecca Farley at rebeccaf@thenationalcouncil.org or 202-684-7457 ext. 235.

 

 

 

On Jan. 28, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a letter to State Medicaid Directors stating that Ticket Outcome and Milestone payments to Employment Networks (ENs) do not constitute an overpayment of federal dollars for services provided. The letter clarified that EN payments are payment for an outcome, rather than for a Medicaid service rendered.  It also encouraged state agencies and Medicaid providers to become involved in the Ticket to Work program. The letter is available online. 

 

 

 

The data from the 2008 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS) is now available from SAMHSA. The 2008 data, which is the most recent available, show that there were 474 adults being treated at substance use disorder treatment facilities for every 100,000 adults in the US.  Moreover, 39% of people in treatment facilities had a co-occurring mental health disorder.  The full report is available online. 

 

 

 

The Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ) will be holding its annual conference, “Ensuring School Engagement and Success for Youth at Risk,” on April 9-13, 2010 in Washington, D.C.  CJJ is now accepting proposals for 75-minute presentations for the conference. Up to 12 proposals will be accepted for workshops dealing with best practices in reducing the over-representation of youth of color in the juvenile justice system, collaborations between agencies to reduce referrals to the juvenile justice system, examples of cross-system collaboration among school mental health professionals, community-based organizations and juvenile justice personnel, and related topics.  More information is available from CJJ. 

 

 

 

A new report from the Department of Veterans Affairs found that the suicide rate among veterans increased by 26% from 2005 to 2007. However, veterans who received health services from the VA were less likely to complete suicide than those who did not receive care.  The majority of the veterans in the group studied had served in Iraq or Afghanistan. 

 

 

 

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has published a report that analyzes the effects of state budget cuts on vulnerable populations.  The report found that at least 43 states and the District of Columbia have cut public services, including 29 states that have made cuts to health services. The full report is available online. 

 

As part of a plan to reduce the number of inmates in California, fewer low-risk parole violators will be returned to incarceration and more inmates will have the opportunity to shorten their sentences by working on firefighting crews, obtaining a high school or trade diploma, or completing drug/alcohol rehabilitation treatment.  The plan is expected to reduce the prison population in California by 6,500 in 2010.

 

The Maine Substance Abuse Services Commission has released a scorecard that evaluates the states’ substance use disorder treatment services.  The scorecard ranked Maine’s services across four categories: Leadership/Structure and Sustainability; Resources; Legislative Initiatives; and Measurement and Accountability.  The state received a C in the first three categories and a B in Measurement and Accountability.  The full report is available online. 

 

New York City will merge its Department of Juvenile Justice and its Administration for Children’s Services as part of a plan to reduce the number of youth entering incarceration.  Young people who commit crimes but are deemed not to be dangerous will have access to the many community-based treatment services offered by the child welfare agency. The new initiative is part of ongoing efforts by the city to reduce juvenile incarceration, which have resulted in a 56% decrease in state juvenile placements since 2002.

 

 

 

A new primer has been published that provides information on the essential components of the psychiatric rehabilitation process.  The primer, which is published in three parts, includes details about tracking and recording the psychiatric rehabilitation process.  It is available free online.  

 

The National Council on Disability (NCD) has released “The State of Housing in America in the 21st Century: A Disability Perspective.” The report describes in detail the issues related to housing for people with disabilities and offers recommendations for improving housing opportunities.  It is available online from the NCD website.  

 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released several guides for employers that are designed to promote the hiring of people with disabilities.  The guides were created by EEOC’s Leadership for the Employment of Americans with Disabilities initiative and are available online. The five guides are targeted to hiring managers, HR professionals, disability program managers, service providers, and applicants with disabilities.

 

The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control, plans to release the first-ever nationwide ranking of county health indicators this month.  The rankings will take into account health outcomes and an index of health determinants for every county in the nation. The findings will be available online.

 

The National Network of ADA Centers has announced it will be holding a series of audio conferences on topics of interest to providers and consumers in the disabilities field. Topics for the calls will include service animals, aging workers with disabilities, accessibility surveys, and access for customers with disabilities.  A full schedule of the calls and a link to online registration can be accessed through the ADA website.

 

 

 

Registration is now open for a teleconference hosted by the Social Security Administration, “SSA’s Ticket to Work: The Role of Braided Funding in Mental Health Programs.” The teleconference is designed for mental health organizations currently participating in Ticket to Work.  Speakers will discuss the relationship between Medicaid and Ticket to Work funding and will provide examples of successful “braiding” of the two funding streams.  Registration is available at www.cessi.net/ttw by clicking on the National Mental Health teleconference icon. 

 

The California Institute for Mental Health will hold its Tenth Annual Behavioral Health Information Management Conference and Exposition on Apr. 14-15 in Hollywood, CA. The conference will feature presentations on nationwide developments in IT, challenges and solutions to implementing IT systems, policy changes impacting privacy and security requirements, using IT to enhance wellness, and more.  Registration is available online.