June 14, 2011

Featured Resource
Grants & Funding Opportunities
National Council Resources & Events
Integration Resources & Events
Other Resources & Events
Affiliate Member Spotlight
Member Spotlight

FEATURED RESOURCE

Make an Impact on Capitol Hill – New Speakers, Improved Workshops
Thanks to the feedback and ideas you shared with us about Hill Day 2010, the National Council is pleased to announce new offerings and improvements to our 2011 Hill Day events! New this year at Hill Day:

• Federal Grants Workshops: In response to popular demand, this year we will hold two sessions on how to successfully apply for federal grants funding. Grants 101 will provide tips and tricks for successful applications, supplied by a panel of representatives from organizations with long histories of success in winning grant funding. Then, join us for a second session with federal grant program officers to learn about funding opportunities coming down the pipeline.
• Political and Budget Outlook: Jim VandeHei, co-founder of the influential POLITICO newspaper will offer an insider’s perspective on what’s in store as Congress continues to debate the budget and funding for key programs.
• Fighting the Attacks on Medicaid: Judy Solomon and Ellen Nissenbaum of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities will explain how recent proposed cuts to Medicaid will impact the healthcare safety net – and what YOU can do to fight back!
• CMS Center on Medicare and Medicaid Innovation: A critical component of health reform, the new CMS Center on Innovation will be a laboratory for payment reform and delivery redesign. Join CMS’ Daniel Farmer as he explains the mission and activities of the Center on Innovation.

And that’s not all – additional speakers from the Obama Administration and key Congressional offices will share the latest policy news and offer insights into what it all means for community mental health and addictions providers. We’re also bringing back our popular advocacy workshops where you can learn the best strategies for maximizing your influence on Capitol Hill.

If you have not already done so, click here to register today – then make your hotel reservation and begin setting up meetings with your Members of Congress.

GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Integration of Drug Abuse Prevention in Primary Care
The National Institute on Drug Abuse is requesting applications for an implementation research project to identify effective strategies and service delivery models for integrating existing evidence-based approaches to drug abuse prevention and treatment into primary care settings. Selected applicants will be awarded up to $500,000. Eligible applicants include government agencies, for profit and not-for-profit organizations. Deadline to apply is October 31. Read more.

NIMH Outreach Partnership Program
The National Institute of Mental Health is soliciting proposals for the Outreach Partnership Program designed to facilitate and increase access to science-based information on mental disorders. Eligible applicants include non-profit organizations from the following states: Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and New York City, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Texas Border Area, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Proposals are due August 23. Read more. 

Funding to Support Care Coordination
HHS has announced the availability of approximately $42 million to be awarded to up to 500 Federally Qualified Health Centers. The demonstration project will show how the patient-centered medical home model can improve quality of care, promote better, health and lower costs. Applicants must be FQHCs and pursue Level 3 PCMH recognition.  Deadline to apply is August 12. Read more.  

Department of Labor Funding Opportunity
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced the availability of approximately $20 million to fund programs that will improve education, training and employment opportunities for adults and youth with disabilities. Eligible applicants include state workforce agencies that will be allowed to collaborate with workforce investment boards and local agencies.  Awards will range from $1.5 to $6 million each to be spent over a three-year period. The deadline to apply is July 15, 2011. Read more.

Public Prevention Health Fund: Community Transformation Grants
HHS has announced the availability of $100 million for the current fiscal year for up to 75 Community Transformation Grants to support the implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of evidence-based community preventive health activities to achieve reductions in death or disability. Recipients may address several focus areas including mental health and substance abuse disorders. Eligible applicants include state and local non-profit organizations. The deadline to apply is July 15, 2011. Read more.

National Juvenile Probation Census Project
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention will award one, three-year grant of up to $400,000 a year to an organization or partnership of organizations to administer all data collection activities that supports the development and maintenance of two complementary national data collection programs that make up OJJDP’s National Juvenile Probation Census Project . Eligible applications include for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Applicants should submit applications by June 29. Read more.

Street Outreach Program Funding Opportunity
The Administration on Children, Youth and Families is providing funds for outreach services designed to build relationships between grantee staff and runaway, homeless, and street youth. Eligible applicants include public and private non-profit agencies. Interested parties should submit applications by June 24, 2011. Read more.

Funding Opportunity for Homeless and Runaway Youth
The Administration on Children, Youth and Families’ Basic Center Program is providing funding to establish or strengthen community-based programs that meet the immediate needs of runaway and homeless youth and their families. Approximately $17 million will be awarded to 107 grantees. Eligible applicants include public and non-profit agencies. Applications should be submitted by June 24, 2011. Read more.

NATIONAL COUNCIL RESOURCES & EVENTS

Opportunity to Participate in a Project on Motivational Interviewing
The National Council, in collaboration with MANILA Consulting Group, Inc., is recruiting community behavioral health organizations (CBHOs) to participate in a comparative effectiveness research project that will examine the decision-making factors that influence a CBHO’s intent to adopt an evidence-based practice, specifically motivational interviewing. To learn more about this opportunity, please contact Mohini Venkatesh, Senior Director, Public Policy, at mohiniv@thenationalcouncil.org, or download the recruitment letter.

Register for Upcoming National Council Live Webinars
The National Council will host several webinars in the upcoming weeks, including: “Compliance 101: Understanding Health Reform’s New Compliance Requirements” (June 16). Read More and Register.

National Council JOBank
The National Council JOBank connects organizations with the best candidates for executive, administrative, clinical, and direct care positions. JOBank is the only web-based national job board devoted entirely to careers in mental health and addictions treatment. National Council members qualify for discounted rates on all purchase options. Read more.

Is the Behavioral Health Workforce Underpaid? Salary Survey Now Available
The National Council’s 2011 Behavioral Health Salary Survey provides important information about the behavioral health workforce at a time when healthcare delivery structures are rapidly evolving, job responsibilities are becoming more complex, and the competition for high-performing employees is intensifying. The Salary Survey is now available for purchase online. Read More.

INTEGRATION RESOURCES & EVENTS

SAMHSA ADS Center Training Teleconference
The SAMHSA ADS Center is offering a free training teleconference, “Forging a Path Toward Social Inclusion: Collaboration Among Individuals, Community Partners and Public Systems”, to learn how consumers/survivors of mental health and substance use conditions are working together with private and public officials to make socially inclusive systems across many dimensions of community life. The teleconference will take place on Thursday, June 23rd, from 3:00 to 4:30 pm EDT. Read more.

OTHER RESOURCES AND EVENTS

Kaiser Family Briefs on Section 1115
The Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured has released two briefs regarding Section 1115 Medicaid Demonstration Waivers that allow states to expand coverage to low-income adults in preparation for the coverage expansions in 2014. The briefs address key questions about the waivers and provide a case study on California’s Demonstration Waiver. Read more.  

Upcoming Webinar: Housing for Individuals with Co-Occurring Disorders
On Tuesday, June 21st, SAMHSA will host “Financing of Permanent Housing for Individuals with Co-Occurring Mental and Substance Use Disorders: Challenges, Successes, and Lessons Learned.” This webinar will provide an introduction to collaboration models for projects and typical sources of capital financing, operating funds and rental assistance for permanent housing. Read more.

Call for Nominations: Champions of Change
The White House is calling for nominations for President Obama’s Champions of Change series. Nominations should include individuals or organizations that are demonstrating commitment to improve their communities, country, or fellow citizens. Read more.   

Upcoming Webinar: Permanent Supportive Housing
SAMHSA will host a webinar on Permanent Supportive Housing and Recovery Support on Wednesday, June 15th. The webinar will address the core elements and how SAMHSA’s Permanent Supportive Housing Evidence-Based Practices KIT can be used to support community efforts and end homelessness. Read more.

Study on Drug Treatment Programs for Prisoners
A recent study indicates that female prisoners who are not enrolled in a drug treatment program after they were released are ten times more likely to return to custody within a year compared with prisoners not in a drug program. The findings emphasize the importance of providing these programs to prisoners with substance abuse problems. Read more.  

National PTSD Awareness Day
The Department of Veterans Affairs’ PTSD Awareness Day will be held on June 27th. The VA site offers informational videos, fact sheets, and treatment information for veterans and their families as well as additional resources for increasing awareness within communities. Read more.
 

AFFILIATE MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

For over 30 years, The Echo Group has been a leader in developing and supporting electronic health records and billing software specifically for the needs of behavioral health and human service organizations.  Echo’s history of innovation is evident with its revolutionary Visual Health Record.  Echo is also proud that customer Grand Lake Mental Health Center became the first behavioral health organization in the country to receive payment for Meaningful Use incentive funds.  Echo's Behavioral Healthcare Software continues to create better organizations with electronic clinical records, HIPAA compliant billing, accreditation and outcomes tools, reporting and management information. 

SAE & Associates is a behavioral health consulting firm specializing in services ranging from grant writing to systems transformation, to increase the bottom line. We help our clients assess the impact of their current systems and suggest alterations in operational procedures and agency role tailored to the requirements of today’s ever changing behavioral health environment. We stay on top of the latest EBPs, innovative financial and program initiatives, and legislation to keep our clients current and competitive. Our comprehensive approach, skills in program design, and extensive experience in behavioral health care have garnered over $100 million in grant awards for our clients.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

King County Mental Health (Seattle, WA) Chemical Abuse and Dependency Services Division has received two new grants from the SAMHSA, and has selected Community Psychiatric Clinic [http://www.cpcwa.org/ ] (Seattle, WA) to be a service provider for both programs. The first, Recovery Oriented Systems of Care for Pregnant and Parenting Women, is designed to improve health outcomes for pregnant women with substance abuse issues, and their children, through early prenatal intervention, initiation of drug and alcohol treatment, and sustained recovery support across the lifespan. The second, is to implement Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) with the assistance of CPC to understand how traumatic experiences can impact an individual’s life experiences and how clinicians can effectively help survivors improve their quality of life.

The University of Alabama Comprehensive Community Mental Health Center (Birmingham, AL) is the first medical provider in the state to offer a new, cutting-edge treatment for depression. Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or rTMS, is the first and only device of its kind to be cleared for the treatment of depression by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The non-invasive device delivers highly focused, MRI-strength magnetic pulses to a particular area of the brain that is linked to depression. It is indicated for patients with depression who have failed to achieve satisfactory improvement from prior antidepressant medication.