Technical Assistance Update
June 28, 2011

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

FEATURED RESOURCE

Impending Threats to Medicaid – How YOU Can Fight Back
With the nation set to exceed its statutory debt limit on August 2, Congress is currently debating a massive package of spending cuts amounting to over $2 trillion. On the table during negotiations are substantial cuts to Medicaid and a proposed restructuring of the program to convert it to a block grant. What would be the impact of a Medicaid block grant on community mental health and addictions providers? Could this proposal actually become law?

Join National Council President and CEO Linda Rosenberg as she answers these questions:

• How would a block grant and subsequent cute to Medicaid impact mental healthcare and addictions services?
• How will the block grant effect individuals states and their delivery of behavioral health services to our most vulnerable citizens?
• What are some examples of successful advocacy efforts?
• Are these threats to Medicaid real?
• What can one person do in the face of such drastic cuts to Medicaid?

Watch Linda’s interview on our blog!

GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Community-based Care Transitions Program
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is accepting applications for participation in the Community-based Care Transitions Program (CCTP). The CCTP provides funding to test models for improving care transitions for high risk Medicare beneficiaries. Eligible applicants include community-based organizations that provide care transition services through arrangements with hospitals.  CBOs will be paid on a per eligible discharge basis for Medicare beneficiaries Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.  Read more.

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 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: “A New Insurance Opportunity for Your Uninsured Clients” (July 13). 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

Evidence-Based Practice Toolkit for Consumers
SAMHSA has released a Consumer-Operated Services Evidence-Based Practice KIT. This unique toolkit offers guidance grounded in evidence-based practices and provides tools for developing mental health services that are owned and operated by people who have personal experience living with a psychiatric disorder. Read more.

National Prevention Strategy Released
The National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council have unveiled the first ever National Prevention Strategy. The National Prevention Strategy, called for under the Affordable Care Act, outlines the ways that public and private partners can help Americans stay healthy and fit and improve our nation’s prosperity. Read more.

Coordinating Care in the Medical Neighborhood
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has released a white paper, “Coordinating Care in the Medical Neighborhood: Critical Components and Available Mechanisms.” The paper examines the various patient-centered medical home (PCMH)“neighbors” and how these entities could work together in a more efficient and productive way, allowing PCMHs to improve patient outcomes. Read more.

OTHER RESOURCES AND EVENTS

HUD Letter on Ex-Offender’s Public Housing Eligibility
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Director Shaun Donovan sent a letter last week to executive directors of public housing authorities (PHAs) clarifying HUD’s position regarding people with criminal record’s eligibility for public housing. In the letter, Secretary Donovan encourages PHA executive directors “to allow ex-offenders to rejoin their families in the Public Housing or Housing Choice Voucher programs, when appropriate.” Read the letter.

Invitation to Pilot Mental Health Court Curriculum
The Council of State Governments Justice Center, with the support of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, is seeking applications from jurisdictions interested in piloting a new mental health court curriculum. The curriculum is for judges, attorneys, treatment providers, and community corrections officers interested in planning and implementing new mental health courts. The deadline to apply is July 8. Read more.

Upcoming Webinar: A Revolutionary EHR Adoption Model
Qualifacts will be hosting a webinar on July 12th to discuss the multi-agency partnership that has been developed among behavioral health executives to collaborate on the implementation of electronic health records and billing systems. Participants will learn what cost savings can be expected as a collaborative member and what benefits beyond cost savings have been experienced.  Read more and register.

CMS Cracks Down on Medicare Fraud
Starting July 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will begin using innovative predictive modeling technology to fight Medicare fraud. Predictive modeling helps identify potentially fraudulent Medicare claims on a nationwide basis, and helps stop fraudulent claims before they are paid. This initiative builds on the new anti-fraud tools and resources provided by the Affordable Care Act. Read more.

ACA Delivers Cheaper Prescription Drugs
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has released data indicating that in the first five months of 2011, nearly 500,000 people with Medicare Part D who reached the gap in coverage known as the “donut hole” have received an automatic 50 percent discount on their covered brand name prescription drugs. This discount can be attributed to the provisions the Affordable Care Act. Read more.

EHR Enables Care Coordination
EHealth Initiative has released a new report, Centering on the Patient: How Electronic Health Records Enable Care Coordination. Findings from the research indicated that the use of care coordination enabled by electronic health records resulted in improvements in care planning, provider-patient communications, intra-office coordination, enhanced patient coaching, and more user-friendly information for patients. Register to receive the report.

Share the News: Medicare’s Preventive Benefits
Medicare is making it easier for the public to learn about the important benefits that the program offers to its beneficiaries. Through its “Share the News, Share the Health” campaign, Medicare is helping to educate the public by providing informational publications, social media resources, and useful tools on preventive services. Read more.

Resources on Housing and Family Well-Being
The Center for the Study of Social Policy has developed two new resources that focus on the role policymakers and community stakeholders have in creating places where all families can thrive. The new materials make the connection between housing and family well-being, provide state policymakers with recommendations supported by research and data, and offer examples of how states and communities are leveraging existing federal resources.

Upcoming Webinar Series on Transition from School to Adult Life
This series will provide participants with new research on the topic of transition from school to adult life in the areas of school-agency collaboration, career development, data collection, and healthy lifestyles. Participants will understand current research and evidence-based practices for immediate application. The first webinar will be held on July 5th from 1-2:30 pm EST. Read more and register.

HC Reform Implementation Talks
The National Hispanic Medical Association invites you to attend its 4th regional “Health Care Reform Implementation” discussion to be held in Washington, DC on June 30th from 6:00-9:00 pm. Attendees will learn about the latest updates on health care reform implementation as well as the business opportunities that the ACA presents. RSVP for this event.

AFFILIATE MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Community Care Behavioral Health (Community Care), a nonprofit recovery-focused behavioral health managed care company, manages mental health as well as drug and alcohol services throughout Pennsylvania and is helping to support the care monitoring initiative in New York.  Part of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), Community Care primarily serves consumers in the public sector and has been awarded “full” accreditation—the highest level possible—by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) for its Medicaid product.  Incorporated in 1996, our mission is to improve the health and well-being of the community through the delivery of effective and accessible behavioral health services. 

RiverValley and Affiliates is a comprehensive behavioral healthcare provider with corporate offices in Owensboro, Kentucky.  The organization provides various inpatient, outpatient, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and addiction/recovery services with locations in Kentucky, New Mexico, Texas, North Carolina, and Nevada.  Through the Corporation’s Telehealth services they are able to provide agencies across the United States seeking additional coverage access to psychiatrists, therapists, and ARNP’s, while also providing Telehealth positions to physicians looking to supplement their current practices. 

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

The integration of behavioral and physical healthcare services provides an opportunity to further enhance the quality of care, improve access, and reduce costs throughout entire healthcare system. Colorado's community mental health system is committed to this type of service delivery. To demonstrate the commitment to integration of services, the Colorado Behavioral Healthcare Council (Denver, CO) is mapping all of the locations where its members are currently providing integrated services, totaling nearly one hundred sites to date. This mapping project demonstrates the expanse of collaborative efforts currently underway throughout Colorado. The mapping project is a tool for various health care providers and policy makers to learn about the different levels of collaborative arrangements that currently exist across the state.

Austin Travis County Integral Care (Austin, TX) launched a public awareness campaign the first week of last month during Mental Health Awareness Month to create a broader understanding of mental health and developmental disabilities issues and the services offered by Integral Care. These efforts mark the start of a series of new outreach initiatives that inform the public about the effectiveness of quality, community-based behavioral health and intellectual and developmental disabilities services in Travis County. According to the federal government, as many as 17 percent, or more than four million Texans, have a mental illness, of which 10 percent have a serious and persistent major mental illness. An estimated total 452,620 Texans live with developmental disabilities and currently, almost 2,000 people are waiting to receive these services at Integral Care, a number expected to increase with proposed state budget cuts and state supported living center closures.