Featured News

Proposals for crisis stabilization services to children and youth sought by state: deadline April 12
The Ohio Departments of Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health are seeking collaborative community proposals to establish treatment models of care that focus on crisis stabilization for children and youth. Governor Kasich has committed $5 million to develop targeted strategies to stabilize children in crisis who have intensive needs. The Governor is committed to improving care coordination and providing support for families with children in crisis who present a risk to themselves, their families, or others because of a mental illness or a developmental disability. Proposals should focus on engaging local systems to identify community-driven solutions that highlight collaboration across agencies and service systems. The deadline is April 12.
Learn more by reading this flyer.

Published findings of ODMH researchers analyze perceived effects of recession on communities Chief Kraig Knudsen, Ph.D., and Manager Helen Anne Sweeney, M.S., of the Ohio Department of Mental Health's Office of Research and Evaluation (ORE) have recently had work published in a national publication. The article published in the Community Mental Health Journal presents findings from a 2009 survey of managers of community-based mental health organizations in Ohio regarding the impact of the Great Recession on their organizations.
Visit the ORE page to learn more about Economic Impact Studies.

Ohio PATH Grantee Recognized by SAMHSA
Transitional Living, Inc., an agency in Butler County that advocates for individuals who are homeless, was recently recognized by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for its work as a PATH (Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness) grantee.
PATH is a federally funded grant program that provides financial assistance to states and territories in an effort to end homelessness.
Read the SAMHSA article
Read more about PATH in Ohio

Register now for May 10 conference on Ethics: Dual Relationships in the Digital Age On May 10, Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare in Northfield in will host a spring conference on health care ethics and digital communications from 8:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The conference will simultaneously broadcast live to additional viewing sites in Athens, Cambridge, Cincinnati, Columbus, Massillon and Toledo. Participants will discuss critical components of the HIPPA law and identify types of problematic communications - verbal, written and via social networks. Registration by May 7 is required for the conference presented by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
View details on the agenda, CEUs and registration.

NAMI Ohio plans Day at the Statehouse May 8 that includes annual Resiliency Ring for children
Everyone is welcome to join advocates in supporting access to mental health services for adults, children and families when the Ohio chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI Ohio) hosts a day at the Statehouse to focus on "Mental Illness: Building a Community Support System." The event will run from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the Statehouse grounds in downtown Columbus, and feature speakers and entertainment. Also during that time, the Ohio Federation for Children's Mental Health will hold its annual Resiliency Ring that attempts to gather a human chain of people to encircle the Statehouse and bring attention to the mental wellness needs of children and youth.
View the Save the Date flyer. To learn more, contact NAMI Ohio at 614-224-2700.

Deaf Cultural Competency Training scheduled in Cincinnati, Cleveland
Social workers, counselors and therapists may benefit from this free training on providing mental health treatment to individuals or families who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Please click here for more information.

State directors issue updates on community mental health Medicaid benefits
Directors Tracy Plouck of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and John McCarthy of the Office of Medical Assistance released important updates to the behavioral health field on Jan.30 with regard to community mental health Medicaid benefits. The first update is related to the SPMI health homes project and a change in timeline for the launch of Phase II. The second update includes the latest information on a variety of topics related to additional benefits on the horizon being planned for the Medicaid benefit.

Human Trafficking Capacity Survey Report released
The Ohio Departments of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services (ODADAS) and Mental Health (ODMH) conducted a survey of 644 alcohol and other drug and mental health providers in accordance with the Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force June 2012 recommendation to assess the capacity of behavioral health programs and local systems to provide services to victims of human trafficking. This task force was formed under Gov. John Kasich by Executive Order 2012-06K to organize resources and coordinate efforts to identify and serve victims of human trafficking. Read the report on the survey, which was designed to assist in those efforts.

Ohio behavioral health process improvement grants awarded
The Ohio Department of Mental Health (ODMH) awarded six grants to 13 providers in six Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health (ADAMH) Board areas for process improvement projects involving the Ohio Behavioral Health Module.

The grantees are: Century Health (Hancock ADAMHS); Franklin County ADAMHS (Maryhaven, Inc., & North Central CMHC); Lucas County MHRSB (Rescue Inc., Unison BH Group, Zepf Center, Harbor); Phoenix Rising Behavioral Healthcare & Recovery (Stark County MHRSB); Recovery Services of Northwest Ohio (Four County ADAMHS); and Summit County ADAMHS (Portage Path Behavioral Health, Community Support Services, and Child Guidance and Family Solutions).

Funds will be used to identify data collection and reporting problems, develop evaluation and quality improvement tools, facilitate ongoing Quality Improvement strategies through a Learning Community, and determine record submission benchmarks.

Initiative to evaluate prescribing of psychiatric drugs to children
On Sept. 25, 2012, Ohio Medicaid and ODMH officials announced a plan to take a look at how antipsychotic drugs are being prescribed to children, especially those in foster care. The state will spend a million dollars over the next three years to evaluate and improve how doctors are prescribing antipsychotic medications to children on Medicaid.

"A comprehensive review of pharmacy claims data from 16 states found that while children in foster care represent only three percent of children covered by Medicaid, they were prescribed antipsychotic medications at nearly nine times the rate of other children receiving Medicaid," said Jennifer Justice, with the Office of Families and Children at the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services

The medical director of Ohio Medicaid, Dr. Mary Applegate, said across the country there's been an increase in the use of mental health drugs without necessarily a corresponding increase in mental health diagnoses. "We wonder what that means," Applegate said, adding the project will utilize a panel of state and national experts to support the development of best practices and clinical guidelines for safe and effective use of psychiatric medications to treat youth.
Read the project summary.

ODMH announces funds for crisis units in Cuyahoga County
Individuals in a health crisis related to substance abuse or psychosis often have nowhere to turn other than the emergency room. In that environment, it is difficult for clinicians to rapidly discern a primary diagnosis and determine the appropriate course of care, and the wait times and noise of an emergency room may not be the environment most conducive to treatment for an escalating brain disorder.

ODMH Director Tracy Plouck announced today that the department will partner with the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board of Cuyahoga County to establish a 72-hour observation approach to augment crisis services. The state will provide $1.8 million to develop short-term treatment units to stabilize individuals who are in psychiatric or substance abuse crisis and transition them to community services upon discharge.

Read the press release for more information.
Read the article from the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Medicaid Health Homes benefit to be offered by providers in five counties
Physical health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease are common for people with serious and persistent mental illness. These conditions, often exacerbated by medications taken to treat mental illness, are preventable when care providers treat the whole person instead of a particular illness. Ohio Medicaid has teamed with ODMH to improve care coordination by creating "health homes" that will build bridges between physical and behavioral health care. A phased-in addition of the Health Home service began Oct. 1, 2012, in five counties for Medicaid beneficiaries who meet the state's definition of serious and persistent mental illness or serious emotional disturbance. View the list of community behavioral health centers that will Implement the service in those counties. Visit the ODMH webpage on Health Homes.

Website launched to share status updates on consolidation of ODMH and ODADAS
The Ohio Departments of Mental Health and Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services have launched a website - www.adamh.ohio.gov dedicated to the planned consolidation of Ohio's cabinet-level behavioral health services agencies. The website features news and information related to each agency and to the plan for consolidation by July 1, 2013. An email has also been estabished to receive questions via consolidationquestions@mh.ohio.gov. Frequently Asked Questions will be posted. Both Departments are committed to making this a smooth and transparent process, and value input from consumers, family members, county boards, providers and other stakeholders. A name for the new agency has not been determined.

ODMH Pharmacy Director Diane McAllister receives Governor's Award for Employee Excellence
On May 11, Governor Kasich honored several state employees for excellence at a ceremony in the Statehouse. Diane McAllister is the regional pharmacy director for Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare in Columbus and Appalachian Behavioral Healthcare in Athens, two of ODMH's six regional psychiatric hospitals. She was recognized for her efforts that have improved patient care by involving pharmacists in monitoring high-risk medications and enhancing safety practices. She also led an initiative to reduce costs by changing purchasing practices, which is projected to save $1 million over a year once applied to all six state hospitals.

Podcast features messages of state directors and superintendent regarding children's health
Listen to an Ohio Children's Mental Health Awareness Week podcast featuring four state leaders addressing the importance of mental health and what you can do to support Ohio's children and youth. Those featured are: Tracy Plouck, director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health; Dr. Ted Wymyslo, director of the Ohio Department of Health; Stan Heffner, superintendent of the Ohio Department of Education; and Orman Hall, director of the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services. A Resource Toolkit provides more resources on Caring for Every Child's Mental Health in Ohio. Also read the proclamation from Gov. John Kasich recognizing Children's Mental Health Day in Ohio on May 10 and view the list of awards presented to Ohioans that day during the 2012 Resiliency Ring event at the Statehouse.

Governor's Mid-Biennium Review announces funds for mental health, addiction services
In consultation with stakeholders, the Kasich Administration has identified specific "hot spots" where targeted budget adjustments are needed to support services to Ohioans with mental illness. Read the summary of Target Hot Spots addressed through Gov. Kasich's Mid-Biennium Review (MBR), which was announced March 14. View a list of MBR language changes related to behavioral health.

Update on development of a more efficient outcomes measurement system
The Ohio Department of Mental Health (ODMH) is developing a Treatment Episode Outcomes system to collect five client-level National Outcome Measures (NOMs) on consumers with serious mental illnesses and serious emotional disturbances. This data collection is taking place in collaboration with the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services. Ohio behavioral health providers will be asked to submit federally required NOMs data starting in July of 2013. Learn more.

Block Grant Funding Priorities Survey identifies strategies endorsed by stakeholders
Block Grant Funding Priorities Survey identifies strategies endorsed by stakeholders The ODMH Office of Research and Evaluation collected data from 650 stakeholders throughout Ohio during February 2012 to identify their top priorities for future Federal Block Grant funding. Read the report.

ODMH will disperse funds to Adult Care Facilities for critical repairs
ODMH will administer $1 million from the Ohio Housing Trust Fund to pay for health and safety repairs at Adult Care Facilities (ACFs) throughout the state. These homes are a source of permanent community housing for people who do not require a nursing home level of care, but need a higher level of support to maintain their health and safety. Eligible ACF owners can apply for amounts ranging from $2,000 to $10,000. Application materials are on our Numbered Advisories webpage. Read the press release.

Medicaid health homes concept will benefit beneficiaries with mental and physical illnesses
Medicaid health homes concept will benefit beneficiaries with mental and physical illnesses Physical health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease are common for people with serious and persistent mental illness. These conditions, often exacerbated by medications taken to treat mental illness, are preventable when care providers treat the whole person instead of a particular illness. Ohio Medicaid has teamed with ODMH to improve care coordination by creating "health homes" that will break down the silos that exist between physical and behavioral health care benefits, funding and treatment. Visit the ODMH webpage on this topic.

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