October 2004 NACBHDD Newsletter

The Newsletter of the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors

In this Issue...

• NACBHD News
  • NACBHD’s 2005 Membership Campaign is Underway
  • Mark Your Calendars for the Legislative Conference, March 3-5, 2005
  • Early Post-Election Discussions
  • NACBHD in the Field: Testifies to the Institute of Medicine & to SAMHSA Sponsored Acute Care Work Group
• Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act (MMA): Advocacy Efforts to Address Concerns are Underway
• News From NACBHD Members
  • Co-occurring Transformation Efforts in Los Angeles County, CA
  • Integrating Primary Care and Behavioral Health in Eastern Kentucky
  • Developmental Disabilities Challenges in Sedgwick County, KS
• Transformation Continues to Move Forward Nationally and Locally
  • Update on the Campaign for Mental Health Reform
  • Developmental Disabilities News and Resources
• Substance Abuse News and Resources and Resources
  • NIAAA Initiative on Underage Drinking
  • SAMHSA Launches Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Video Package
• Members: Sign Up for Significant Discount on Network of Care Behavioral Health Web Sites

NACBHD’s 2005 Membership Campaign is Underway

October 2004-December 2004 is NACBHD’s 2005 Membership Campaign Session. We are celebrating our 10th Anniversary and with that plan an exciting year of advocacy and influence. Don’t miss your opportunity to be represented by NACBHD--affiliate of the National Association of Counties (NACo), and, as such, the official representative of county governments and county sponsored authorities that provide or oversee mental health, substance abuse treatment and/or developmental disability services. Click here to join!

Mark Your Calendars for the Legislative Conference, March 3-5, 2005

NACBHD’s annual Legislative Conference will be held March 3-5, 2005 in Washington, DC. The Legislative Conference represents a unique opportunity for NACBHD members to learn about current behavioral health issues and their impact from key policy partners in the national policy arena. Look for registration and hotel information, as well as a preview of the conference agenda, in the December newsletter.

Early Post-Election Discussions

On November 4, 2004 members of the Campaign for Mental Health Reform and the Mental Health Liaison Group (NACBHD is a member of both) convened to discuss the likelihood of securing 2005 funding for legislative initiatives recently authorized by Congress and signed by the President. A staffer from the House Appropriations Committee, Sub Committee on Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies reported that the Garret Lee Smith Act (Youth Suicide) will probably be funded at the $15 million dollar authorized amount. This hill staffer was less optimistic that the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act would be funded at its authorized amount--$50 million dollars. Funding for the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act would be appropriated from the Commerce/Justice/State Judiciary bill. This bill is already at a maximum funding level—there may be little room to accommodate funding for this program.

The staffer also reported that the 2005 budget is likely to be completed in two parts—two separate omnibus packages. She believes that the Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies bill will be completed as part of the second package. The staffer was uncertain about the time frame with which to expect completion of the 2005 budget. It’s simply too soon to speculate. However, she seemed to indicate that it would be later rather than sooner (perhaps January). Others believe that the budget could be completed on a faster track given the President’s clear victory.

In addition to the budgetary predictions, members also briefly talked about the need to monitor Congressional Committee leadership assignments. Congressional Committees are a major force in Washington DC. Congress reconvenes on November 16, 2004.

NACBHD will communicate frequently as more details are revealed and as new agendas are established—most importantly Medicaid Reform proposals for 2005.

NACBHD in the Field: Testifies to the Institute of Medicine & to SAMHSA Sponsored Acute Care Work Group

NACBHD was invited to provide testimony on two issues of particular importance to our members. On September 13, 2004 NACBHD provided testimony to the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Crossing the Quality Chasm—Adoption to Mental Health and Addictive Disorders. On October 6, 2004 NACBHD provided testimony to the SAMHSA Sponsored Acute Care Work Group. The Acute Care Work Group was established in response to the President’s New Freedom Commission. It is charged with identifying ways to improve community access to crisis services. Both of these events allowed NACBHD to inform federal policy makers about the perspectives and needs of county sponsored authorities. Click here to review the testimonies.

Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act (MMA): Advocacy Efforts to Address Concerns are Underway

Benefits of the MMA will go into effect in January 2006; and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released draft regulations on August 3, with an October 4 deadline for comments. While the draft regulations are quite extensive (1,300 pages), efforts are underway to address some of the potential problems raised in the draft regulations, which at this point relate to concerns about coverage for dual eligibles, medication access, and transition into the new benefit. A brief overview of some of the concerns and advocacy efforts:

• Joint NACBHD/NACo letter to CMS. In June, NACBHD and NACo sent a joint letter to CMS administrator Mark McClellan regarding the implementation of the Medicare prescription drug benefit, requesting that CMS include protections for individuals who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. See July newsletter.
  
  
• NAMI shares detailed analysis about potential impact with NACBHD. NACBHD and NAMI have been collaborating on an analysis of the guidelines and their potential impact, with Andrew Sperling of NAMI generously sharing his analysis of the draft regulations with NACBHD. Sperling says, “Unlike traditional Medicare, this new drug benefit will be administered by private sector drug plans through a competitive model. In addition, the new drug benefit is strictly voluntary and it is expected that many Medicare beneficiaries that already have drug coverage will not elect to participate. [An important exception to this will be beneficiaries dually eligible for Medicaid who will be required to enroll in the new program.”] For an extensive discussion of the concerns NAMI has shared with NACBHD, see www.nacbhd.org/members/legislative/082604.cfm.
  
  
• NACBHD sends comments to CMS on draft regulations. Through work with the Legislative and Medicaid Committees, NACBHD made comments to the draft guidelines prior to the October 4 deadline. The comments from both CCD and NAMI are available on NACBHD's website.
  
  
• Resources for transition and technical assistance opportunities. CMS has created an internal work group, which includes representation from the developmental disabilities sector. NACBHD will follow this work group’s activities to identify resources for transition and other technical assistance opportunities.
  
  

In addition, on September 17, NAMI sent a letter to the U.S. Pharmacopeia regarding concerns about the U.S. Pharmacopeia’s Draft Model Guidelines on the MMA. The U.S. Pharmacopoeia is an independent group that will set model categories and classes around anti-discrimination guidelines enforced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The detailed letter addresses concerns restricting access to new medications or classes of medications, the potential confusion around grouping a single classification of “bipolar agents”, collapsing four separate therapeutic categories for antidepressants into a single therapeutic classification, and the proposal to establish a single class for all anticonvulsants. For NAMI’s full letter to the U.S. Pharmacopeia, and other resources related to the MMA, including a fact sheet for beneficiaries, other resources of information on the MMA, and NAMI’s letter to CMS regarding the draft regulations, see the NAMI web site at www.nami.org. Choose “Inform Yourself,” click on “About Public Policy,” then choose “New Medicare Drug Benefit.”

The Kaiser Family Foundation is updating its resources on the MMA, including fact sheets, analysis, reports, charts, webcasts, and a Medicare Drug Benefit Calculator that allows individuals to enter their annual prescription drug costs and predict what they might pay under the MMA. See www.kff.org/medicare/rxdrugdebate.cfm. In addition, a timeline of upcoming important dates in the implementation of the new drug benefit and four special papers address the following topics: formulary design and cost-management tools, special issues for consumers in nursing homes and other long-term care settings, procedures for grievances and appeals under the MMA, and drug plan marketing activities and privacy. For the timeline and papers, see www.kff.org/medicare/med092004pkg.cfm.

NACBHD will continue to update members about the concerns and issues around the MMA as implementation of the benefit continues. Please also visit the NACBHD website for recent Washington DC Updates.

Co-occurring Transformation Efforts in Los Angeles County, CA

NACBHD last spoke with Marvin Southard, NACBHD member and Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health about the Department’s “New Freedom Commission Report: A Multicultural Perspective Forum” for the July newsletter. The Department is also involved in transformation efforts related to the treatment of individuals with co-occurring disorders. Southard updates NACBHD on that effort.

Why integrate treatment for co-occurring disorders?
The literature and the Final Report of the President’s Commission on Mental Health highlight that integrated treatment is the far more effective approach for treating individuals with co-occurring mental and substance abuse disorders, with one treatment team with all the skills necessary to develop a treatment plan. However, as Southard notes, the issue if sometimes focused on the administrative structuring of mental health and substance abuse programs. For Los Angeles County, they are separate programs dealing with separate populations. (50% of LA County Department of Mental Health clients have co-occurring substance abuse disorders.) The stance in Southard’s department has been that the structure is irrelevant; instead the focus is on how to get people access to services.

A nine-point model with five critical features
The Department has developed a nine-point model with five critical features, which is the compilation of the SAMHSA toolkit on co-occurring disorders. It institutes important aspects of integrated treatment in DMH clinics in an accelerated fashion; and it involves the training of mental health professionals in substance abuse skills, such as motivational interviewing. The department is trying to make mental health professionals “co-occurring capable.” A description of the model and its features:

The Five Critical Features

1. Mental health clinicians with current skill sets can implement it.
2. It provides a way to deliver initial COD services in a fashion that promotes reimbursement.
3. It can be monitored and expanded efficiently.
4. It can guide training.
5. It can be implemented quickly.

The Nine-Point Model

1. Initial assessment
2. Treatment planning
3. Counseling for substance abuse
4. Counsel caregivers and family
5. Healthy living groups
6. Pharmacological intervention
7. Ongoing assessment
8. Link to mutual help and recover programs
9. Documentation

The process in LA County
Training with the toolkit was implemented on May 1. Training at clinics is being phased in, with ultimate hopes of developing psychiatric and substance abuse detoxification in the same setting. And, there are plans for further integration of the mental health and substance abuse system, from the prospective of treatment delivery, rather than administration, but Southard says larger plans have been temporarily delayed because of budget issues. They hope to reapproach the funding situation during the next budget year. The integration is important for the homeless population, with the housing, substance abuse, and mental health needs of the population requiring aggressive and comprehensive attention in order to encourage continued public credibility and support. Outcomes will be tracked in terms of reduced homelessness and obtaining employment.

Integrating Primary Care and Behavioral Health in Eastern Kentucky

NACBHD recently spoke with Louise Howell, Executive Director, Kentucky River Community Care, Inc., (KRCC) in Hazard, KY, regarding her organization’s efforts to integrate primary care and mental health, substance abuse, and developmental disabilities services. KRCC, a community mental health center, located in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, is a major employer in the area, with over 460 employees, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and counselors. The agency has been in operation for 25 years, and currently serves 5,000 – 7,000 adults and children with mental illness, substance abuse disorders, and developmental disabilities, as well as individuals with co-occurring disorders.

Why integrate behavioral health and primary care?
Howell cites several reasons for the integration. Clients were not receiving good medical care, and “this is a better way to treat human beings.” They can’t continue with things as they are, notes Howell. As she describes it, the cost of health care is beginning to “implode and fall back on us here.” As examples, adults with serious mental illness who regularly need blood work have no easy access to it. There is a major addiction problem in the region. In primary care, there is difficulty identifying and referring trauma issues common to the region, such as domestic abuse and rape.

Nationally, the President has called for more community health centers, with integrated models of care, including behavioral health. Howell reports that the medical community has been both supportive and not supportive. For example, there may be primary care practitioners in clinics who see a lot of consumers with depression and need appropriate care for those patients. On the other hand, on a local level, agencies and practitioners have refused to sign letters of support because of concerns about competition. Howell urges behavioral health to take an active role in integration to achieve parity in the clinic.

Full integration takes several years
Intensive planning for the integration has been ongoing for the last two years, with the center’s leadership team spearheading the planning effort with the consent of board members, and input on regulatory and structural concerns, such as cost reporting and who must be on site, from primary care. (KRCC has a good relationship with the Primary Care Association of Kentucky.) It has been an intensive process, as those involved are familiar with the functioning of mental health, but not the functioning of primary care centers. Howell reports that the first task was to “untangle the language of physical health” to determine the benefits and shortcomings of an integration. And, while Howell attended a National Council of Integrated Care meeting and was able to glean a theoretical model of such an integration; she was unable to find an actual working model of a behavioral health/primary care integration in the country. She notes that there are consultative models of the integration, but not structural models. A structural model shares planning, billing, and support services. Kentucky is planning to have the structural model of integration; with a two to three year time frame for integration that fully supports training and credentialing. However, at this point, integration will involve different, parallel billing and funding systems; in Kentucky, Medicaid will not pay for behavioral health in primary care settings. Howell expects the parallel billing and funding systems to run for 5-10 years, unless the law is changed.

Challenges of integration
The intensive process has involved several challenges. Some of the challenges include what she characterizes as the failure of physical health and mental health “to talk to each other. The medical culture in this country has created an increasing inability to talk to each other.” And she observes, the physical health world and the mental health world are very different from one another. Current questions the center soon will be facing related to these differences in understanding and culture are:

• What is the value system that is the backdrop for this model of care?
• How do we develop inservice orientation for providers and administrators?

And, money and funding are an issue. Howell says, “It would be nice to have the financial support so it [integration] moves out of the field of rhetoric and into possibility.” KRCC has filed a 330 application with the federal Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA), which is a specific federal designation for federally qualified community health centers. They will be applying for separate grants for construction, facility, and materials.

Some concrete challenges as the integration moves forward include:

1. The business plan.
2. Policies and procedures.
3. Training.
4. Communicating the mission to the public.
5. Strong and positive relationships with providers.
6. Money.

Howell welcomes questions, comments, and suggestions. She can be reached at louise.howell@krccnet.com.

Developmental Disabilities Challenges in Sedgwick County, KS

As part of NACBHD’s ongoing advocacy efforts in the developmental disabilities area, NACBHD is highlighting developmental disabilities issues of importance to local authorities. NACBHD recently interviewed Colin McKenney, Director, Sedgwick County, Developmental Disability Organization. (See the August, February, and May newsletters for coverage of developmental disabilities issues and concerns.)

NACBHD recently interviewed Colin McKenney, Director, Sedgwick County, Developmental Disability Organization about his organization and challenges and concerns. The organization is the management component for developmental disabilities services in Sedgwick County, Kansas. With 27 developmental disability organizations in the state, there are four or five non-service providers who manage their service areas.

Kansas’ State Developmental Disabilities Reform Access Act, passed in 1996, calls for access to uniform services for those with developmental disabilities. The organization can assist with obtaining case management and with obtaining other services, but does not perform the case management. Staff track some level of eligibility or services for 1,700 people in Sedgwick County, with 1,350 to 1,400 people receiving billable services in case management. About 300 people have incidental contact with the system. Work includes: tracking waiting lists, allocating funding out, client data, finances, and quality oversight and providing quality programs – trying to help people and local service systems be successful. In addition, the organization serves as intermediaries between state and local service providers, with $39 million in Medicaid coming from the state through their system.

Challenges
McKenney reports that Sedgwick County has been cited as exemplary, but they have been fortunate to already have a strong network of service providers. However, there are challenges:

• Waiting lists. There are 2,800 individuals across the state on waiting lists. 571 of these individuals are in Sedgwick County. The legislature has been able to fund a handful of these. People are on the waiting list for: day programs, activity programs, training, supported employment, supports in the family home, such as staff to assist with whatever activities a person requires, such as bathing or food preparation, and for respite programs, and for home modifications, such as ramps or lift systems, and wellness monitoring. Reimbursement rates for those providing services have not been adjusted in quite some time ($37 per day has been the rate for several years), making it difficult to continue providing quality services, and expand the waiting lists. (McKenney notes that there are very few businesses that can charge the same rate year after year without a change in the quality of the product, and that the developmental disabilities service industry is very labor intensive while trying to improve the lives of people with disabilities.) McKenney says there is no way to determine how long the wait is. It is possible for a person to say that they are not ready for a service at a certain time and still remain on the waiting list. Service providers report turnover rates of 100% per year, sometimes in the same position five times in one year.
  
  
• Closing state hospitals/meeting acute needs in the community. There are two state hospitals remaining in Kansas, with their future undetermined. Resources are stretched thin and there is an underlying desire to close them. Kansas is trying to implement person-centered services to a greater extent; all expectations are then pushed to the community system. In the community, the hope is to have people become as active as possible. McKenney cites the national trend toward self-direction and the “right to risk” in the developmental disabilities community as part of this issue.
  
  In the last 12 months, there have been key discussions. McKenney is a strong advocate that resources from closed state hospitals be used for personnel to support those individuals who do not currently fit well into the community system. Hospital-clinic facilities where special needs, such as medication titration, could be met would serve those individuals; and having teams trained in behavioral intervention would be helpful. Over the long term, the group most affected by the decision is the dually diagnosed, who have behavioral support needs require care for years to come.
  
  While there is no time frame on the state hospital decision, during the last legislative session, the state asked representatives of the commission of developmental disability organizations, providers, and families to look at the issue. The group is now examining strengthening the community system and what needs to be done to close one or more institutions.
  
  

Transformation Continues to Move Forward Nationally and Locally

NACBHD Participates in CMHS Transformational Leadership Conference
NACBHD recently was invited to participate in SAMHSA’S Center for Mental Health Services’ (CMHS) August 8 and 9 Conference on Transformational Leadership. CMHS Director A. Katherine Power, M.Ed., characterized attendees as “a select group of experts who can advise us about aggressive, yet realistic strategies to effectively address strong leadership.” The conference began to address the question of recruiting new leaders in behavioral health to fill the void left by those retiring and providing tools to current and future leaders as the system moves forward through the transformation recommended by the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. In addition to NACBHD’s Executive Director Melissa Staats, various policy advocates from around the country attended, including officials from the Carter Center Mental Health Program, SAMHSA, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the National Empowerment Center, the National Mental Health Association, the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, the National Alliance of Multi-Ethnic Behavioral Health Associations, and state behavioral health and developmental disabilities organizations.

Melissa Staats notes that it is important that NACBHD had the opportunity to participate in this national conference about the future of behavioral health leadership. As Power noted in the meeting invitation, the conference served as a means for attendees to advise leadership issues; and it was “a gateway to creating a more comprehensive National Strategic Workforce Development Plan to address the Commission’s challenge to ‘improve and expand the workforce providing evidence-based mental health services and support.’”

The group was asked how they thought a leadership agenda might be developed and implemented, and to illustrate how to move the leadership agenda forward with their constituents. Power will meet with officials beyond those at the meeting, has asked for further thinking from the conference attendees (she has asked to use the group as a “sounding board”), and may ask some attendees to provide additional support.

Contact Melissa Staats at mstaats@nacbhd.org or at (202) 661-8816 with questions or comments.

Update on the Campaign for Mental Health Reform

NACBHD spoke with Bill Emmet, project director at the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD), and project director for the Campaign, about recent Campaign activities.

• Mental Health Screening for Children: The Campaign is actively addressing mental health screening for children and will develop a consensus statement about the process. Issues under examination include: who does the screening, where it takes place, what happens to the information gleaned in the screening, and the role of schools. While Campaign partners with a child-orientation are involved, the Campaign is reaching out to other child advocacy organizations, including the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Academy of Pediatrics, for their input. Emmet notes that there has been considerable controversy and misinformation about transformation and mental health screening for children, such as some of the information surrounding the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Partnership, and that there is a concern that if misinformation gains mainstream credibility, it could damage the progress made in reducing stigma.
  
  
• State-Informed Federal Policy Initiative: The Campaign’s project to gather information on state and local transformation efforts and determine the implications for federal policy (see June and July newsletters) is on schedule, with an internal draft of findings (for the Campaign partners) due this month, and a final document projected for January.
  
  
• Evidence-Based Services and Emerging Best Practices for Treating Mental Disorders in Adults and Children: This document, available at www.mhreform.orrg/policy/ebs.htm, while not a comprehensive listing, provides examples of evidence-based, emerging, and promising practices, that have been shown to work, especially through the consumers and families who receive services.
  
  
• SAMHSA Action Agenda: With the Action Agenda due out any time, Kathryn Power, Director of SAMHSA”s Center for Mental Health Services, and the SAMHSA official charged with rolling out the Action Agenda (SAMHSA’s “road map” for activity around the recommendations of the President’s Commission on Mental Health), clarified the Action Agenda process at a Campaign meeting. The first year of the Action Agenda involves federal partners, with the next year directed at the broader community and incorporating input from stakeholders. Emmet expects that Power may be meeting with the Campaign more frequently in the coming year. For a complete description of the Action Agenda and an interview with Kathryn Power, see the April newsletter.
  
  
• SAMHSA Reauthorization: SAMHSA reauthorization is a 2005 activity, with a view to the state-informed federal policy initiative informing how reauthorization should look.
  
  
• Legislative Activity: The Campaign is hopeful that money slated for the State Incentive Grants for Transformation for the 2005 budget will remain in the budget, and the Campaign considers this a priority and is still advocating it. The original $44 million has been reduced to $20 million in a House bill; the Senate Appropriations Committee fully funded its version of the bill at $44 million in mid-September.
  
  The Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act was passed in the House and Senate. There are minor discrepancies in the two versions (mostly around funding), and the bill will be sent back to the Senate for a vote on the version passed in the House. The Act authorizes grants to local and state communities to develop strategies to effectively respond to non-violent adult and juvenile offenders with mental illness or co-occurring substance abuse and mental disorders. Bill Emmet of NASHPMHD reported that, "S. 1194, the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act, has cleared its last legislative hurdle and is on its way to the White House to be signed into law. Passage of this bill represents a major legislative victory for the Campaign and our colleagues. The final authorization was for a $50 million program; our next challenge is to win a significant appropriation for it."
  
  The House passed the Garrett Lee Smith Suicide Prevention Act on September 9. The Senate passed the bill in July. Under the bill, $82 million is authorized for three-year grants to help states, tribes, and colleges and universities develop and expand early intervention and prevention strategies to provide coordinated and appropriate mental health services to children and young adults. Better data sharing and dissemination of research are also encouraged under the legislation. Because it is an authorization bill, Congress has authorized the funding for the grants, and the appropriations process for the funding is underway.
  
  

Developmental Disabilities News and Resources

Alliance for Full Participation Plans 2005 Developmental Disabilities Summit
The Alliance for Full Participation (AFP), founded by 11 developmental disabilities organizations in December 2003, has announced the “Many Voices, One Vision” summit September 21-24, 2005, at the Washington Hilton, Washington, DC. The goal of the summit is to enhance collaboration in the developmental disabilities field to further the goal of inclusive communities for all individuals. AFP’s founding member organizations include: the American Association on Mental Retardation, the American Network of Community Options and Resources, the Association of University Centers on Disabilities, the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, the National Alliance of Direct Support Professionals, the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems, Self Advocates Becoming Empowered, the ARC of the United States, the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services, United Cerebral Palsy, and the Council on Quality and Leadership. For more information, contact Carol Walsh at walshworks@mindspring.com or at (301) 706-6252.

Substance Abuse News and Resources and Resources

NIAAA Initiative on Underage Drinking
The NIAAA (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) has announced a new website for its research initiative on underage drinking. Updated regularly, the site contains a wide range of information about the goals and objectives of the initiative, the roster of the new research steering committee, statistics, publications, other resources, and links. See www.niaaa.nih.gov/about/underage.htm.

SAMHSA Launches Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Video Package
From a September 23 SAMHSA press release:

SAMHSA has announced the availability of a video package produced for women in substance abuse treatment programs to raise awareness about alcohol-affected pregnancies. The launch coincided with National Alcohol and Drug Abuse Recovery Month in September.

The video, “Recovering Hope: Mothers Speak Out About Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders,” features women telling memorable stories about alcohol use during pregnancy and its effect on their children, supported by expert clinicians and researchers who talk about disabilities associated with FASD and evaluation and intervention services. The hour-long video is divided into two half-hour segments for discussion time within treatment sessions. The package includes a brochure for counselors or facilitators and a brochure to distribute to women to keep as a reference.

To obtain copies of “Recovering Hope,” contact SAMHSA’s National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) by calling 800-729-6686 or access www.ncadi.samhsa.gov.

Members: Sign Up for Significant Discount on Network of Care Behavioral Health Web Sites

As NACBHD members may already know, NACBHD and Trilogy Integrated Resources have embarked on an alliance to promote a nationwide rollout of the Network of Care for Behavioral Health web sites. The Network of Care for Behavioral Health has been cited by the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health as a state-of-the-art behavioral health strategy; it harnesses information and technology to serve community behavioral health needs for individuals, families, and service providers so that there is “No Wrong Door” for access.

NACBHD members should note that Trilogy will provide a 25% discount on setup and maintenance of the Network of Care for all NACBHD members, with a special 50% discount for the first 36 local installations resulting from NACBHD’s efforts during the first 12 months of the agreement. And, NACBHD will actively educate members about the effectiveness and availability of replicating the Network of Care in local communities. For more information, contact Melissa Staats at NACBHD, mstaats@nacbhd.org; (202) 661-8816 or Kathy Sterbenc at Trilogy Integrated Resources, LLC, Kathy@trilogyir.com; (415) 458-5900.

For a full review of the alliance between NACBD and Trilogy and details about how the Network of Care meets the goals and recommendations of the President’s Commission on Mental Health, see the August newsletter. For information on the Network of Care, see www.networkofcare.org; and for information on Trilogy Integrated Resources, see www.trilogyir.com.