SPOTLIGHT
Understanding Health Reform as Justice Reform
Senior Program Officer, Behavioral Health at Michigan Health Endowment Fund and NRI Board President, Lynda Zeller has co-authored a new paper, Understanding Health Reform as Justice Reform: Medicaid, Care Coordination, and Community Supervision. The Square One Project’s report addresses how justice and safety hinge on access to healthcare.
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The Delivery of Behavioral Health Crisis Services in Rural and Frontier Areas of the U.S., author, Kristin Neylon, Senior Project Associate at NRI, as part of an 11-paper series for NASMHPD. This paper discusses the challenges and opportunities related to behavioral health crisis service delivery and the unique effects the COVID-19 pandemic has in these communities. Besides an extensive literature review, valuable input was provided from key representatives from state, local, and non-governmental organizations in Alaska, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
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STATE AND FEDERAL
Just and Well: Rethinking How States Approach Competency to Stand Trial
A new report from The Council of State Governments outlines the 10 most effective strategies state officials can pursue to improve the competency to stand trial process. Read the report.
Using Mobile Technology to Improve Care for Teens with Depression
In a project funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Small Business Technology Transfer program, researchers are investigating whether this technology can be used to create a passive monitoring system that can predict teens’ depressive symptoms and improve the quality of their care. Learn more.
What is Your State Doing About Tobacco?
The Truth Initiative has put together fact sheets for each state highlighting the most up-to-date information on tobacco use, tobacco policies, state funding for prevention and quitting programs and more. Learn more.
CDC Releases New Smoking Cessation Resources
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released several new resources to help people quit smoking. Learn more.
DEA announces results from National Prescription Drug Take Back Day
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) announced that their National Prescription Drug Take Back Day brought in almost a million pounds of medications, the largest amount ever collected by the agency. Learn more.
SAMHSA Releases Resource Guide on HIV Among Individuals With SUD and/or Mental Illness
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released a new publication titled “Prevention and Treatment of HIV Among People Living with Substance Use and/or Mental Disorders.” The resource guide provides an overview of current approaches and challenges and current evidence on the effectiveness of programs and strategies to prevent HIV in populations with substance use disorders (SUD) or mental illness. Learn more.
State Medicaid Programs Respond to Meet COVID-19 Challenges: Results from a 50-State Medicaid Budget Survey for State Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021
The 50-State Medicaid Budget Survey issued each year by the National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD) this year focuses on the challenges posed states by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic slowdown. Read more.
CMS Releases Toolkit to Accelerate State Efforts to Rebalance Long-term Care Systems and Enhance Home and Community-Based Services for Eligible Medicaid Beneficiaries
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) launched a new Long-term Services and Supports (LTSS) Rebalancing Toolkit designed for state Medicaid agencies tostrengthen their infrastructure and develop robust home and community-based services (HCBS) for eligible beneficiaries. Learn more.
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RESEARCH
Implementing Suicide Screening in VHA Settings Can Help Identify Veterans at Risk
When incorporated into Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical settings, a population-level, suicide-risk screening may help identify veterans at risk of suicide who may not be receiving mental health treatment, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. Read more.
For Smokers With Schizophrenia, Varenicline Found Most Effective at Achieving Abstinence
Smokers with schizophrenia who received pharmacotherapeutic smoking cessation aids, especially the medication varenicline, had significantly higher abstinence rates compared with smokers with schizophrenia who received a placebo, according to a study published in Psychiatric Services. Read more.
Wide-Reaching Meta-Analysis Finds Physicians Have High Prevalence of Suicidal Behaviors During Their Lifetimes
The prevalence of suicide behaviors, particularly suicidal ideation, among physicians was found to be relatively high in comparison to the general population, in a meta-analysis published online in Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. Read more.
UCLA Study Finds Involuntary Psychiatric Detentions on the Rise
The rate at which Americans are held against their will and forced to undergo mental health evaluations and even state-ordered confinement — lasting anywhere from a few days to years — has risen sharply over the past decade, according to a new study by researchers at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. Read more.
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