From the Children's Mental Health Campaign

From my INBOX this morning:

As you know, the House Ways and Means Committee released their budget recommendations yesterday. Children’s mental health services faired well and many line items were level funded:

1. The CBHI line item was funded at $214.7 million which is the same level as the Governor’s budget.
2. The language on reporting requirements for the CBHI line item was included but not in the Governor’s budget.
3. The DMH child and adolescent mental health services line item was level funded at $71.4 million from FY11, this is a $2 million increase over the Governor’s budget.
4. The mental health consultative services line item under EEC was level funded from FY11 at $750K which also matched the Governor’s budget.

Our recommendation to include the MCPAP bill as an Outside Section was not included.
Representative Ruth Balser will file the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project (MCPAP) legislation as an outside section to the budget at the request of the CMHC.
This would act as a revenue stream for the Commonwealth during these difficult financial times as well as a workforce development program.
MCPAP is run as an “insurance blind” program and is currently funded solely by the Commonwealth. However data collected on participants includes insurance coverage. This data reveals that more than half of those served have commercial coverage.
The goal of MCPAP is to make child psychiatry services universally accessible to primary care providers (PCPs) throughout the Commonwealth who can access a team of child psychiatrists, psychologists and/or social workers via telephone consultation in order to diagnose and treat mental health disorders.
This outside section would requires commercial health insurance companies to proportionally contribute to the funding of the MCPAP at a rate equal to the participation of their membership. This will generate nearly $1.8 million per year to contribute to the cost of the program. Surplus revenue will be directed toward implementation of MCPAP in schools where administrators and teachers struggle daily to deal appropriately and effectively with children showing signs of mental health conditions.

Please CLICK HERE for more information and ask your State Representative today to sign on as a co-sponsor here.

Thank you,
Erin G. Bradley
Coordinator, CMHC

Webinars today

Why does all of the good stuff happen at once?

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From the Patient Center Primary Care Collaborative:
Please join us for a free webinar on Thursday, April 14, from 1:00 - 2:30pm, entitled: "Behavioral Health Integration in the Medical Home and Its Facilitation by Health Information Technology." This informative presentation is co-sponsored by the PCPCC Center for eHealth Information Adoption and Exchange and the Behavioral Health Task Force and will feature Drs. Rodger Kessler and Timothy Burdick from Fletcher Allen Health Care at the University of Vermont.

More info here.

From the Center for Mental Health Services in Primary Care:
"The Scope of a Federal Mandate for Providing Behavioral Health Services to Children: The Rosie D. Case"
Are children entitled under the law to mental health services?

Please join us for a free webinar on Thursday, April 14, from 1:00 - 2:30pm. Deborah Agus, JD, will discuss the Rosie D. Case and the subsequent mandate for behavioral health care for children in Massachusetts as well as the implications for other states.

Connect on the web at: http://connect.johnshopkins.edu/pediatricmentalhealth/

Contact slongway@jhsph.edu for dial-in information

A request from SAMSHA

Here's an opportunity to have input into Federal policy on mental health. Go for it.
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SAMHSA Is Seeking Comments on a New Unified Application for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Block Grants

SAMHSA announces a new approach for the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant (SAPTBG) and the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant (MHSBG). Under this new approach, the grant applications will merge, providing states and territories the opportunity to use block grant dollars for prevention, recovery supports, and other services that supplement services covered by Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance.
The block grant funds will be directed to four purposes:

• Fund priority treatment and support services for individuals without insurance or for whom coverage is terminated for short periods of time.
• Fund those priority treatment and support services that demonstrate success in improving outcomes and/or supporting recovery for low-income individuals and are not covered by Medicaid, Medicare, or private insurance.
• Fund primary prevention—universal, selective, and indicated prevention activities and services for persons not yet identified as needing treatment.
• Collect performance and outcome data to determine the ongoing effectiveness of behavioral health promotion, treatment, and recovery support services and plan the implementation of new services on a nationwide basis.

SAMHSA will work with states and territories to plan for and transition the block grants to these four purposes. In redesigning their plans, states will consider new factors: conducting a needs assessment of their behavioral health system, developing collaborative plans for health information systems, forming strategic partnerships to provide individuals better access to behavioral health services, and redesigning systems and services to increase accountability and improve the performance of services funded. SAMHSA invites your comments on the proposed grant application.

Click here to find out more.

AHRQ has much cool stuff:ASD review

Given that this is the month to think on autism, this message from AHRQ seemed worth reposting:

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The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Effective Health Care (EHC) Program is pleased to announce that the following research review is now available:

• Therapies for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders.

To access the research review and associated products, please visit: http://www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/index.cfm/search-for-guides-reviews-and-reports/?pageaction=displayproduct&productid=651.

An article on this report has been published in the journal Pediatrics. The abstract for this article can be accessed at:http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/peds.2011-0426v1.

Learn how you can personalize your interactions with and share what you learn on the EHC Program Web site. Visit:http://www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/index.cfm/personalization-and-social-media-tools/.

We welcome your comments on the EHC Program Web site! Please use our “Contact Us” form available at:http://www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/index.cfm/contact-the-effective-health-care-program/.

Thank you,
Effective Health Care Program
www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov

Upcoming Conference for folks interested in System Change

Future of Pediatrics Conference
Embracing Change: Improving the Health of ALL Children
Chicago, Illinois
July 29-31, 2011
http://www.pedialink.org/cmefinder/search-detail.cfm?key=65511D4A-EB04-46D9-BFCD-ECA9E84F4A7C&type=event&grp=1&task=details
Register by June 29, 2011 for Early Bird Rates!

What is the Future of Pediatrics Conference?
With the overall goal of improving child and adolescent health, this conference blends cutting-edge updates on clinical and practice management topics with strategies for advancing medical homes and building partnerships within communities. Learners will apply principles of team-based care, change management, and co-management between pediatric specialists and primary care, to achieve a goal of improving the health of all children. A variety of educational formats will be utilized, including interactive, roundtable, and networking sessions, to provide learners with opportunities to develop innovative, enduring partnerships and transform their practices.

Who Should Attend?
• Pediatricians in Primary Care Practice
• Community Pediatricians
• Faculty in General and Community Pediatrics
• Pediatric Residents
• Family Advocacy and Maternal and Child Health Leaders
• Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
• Practice Administrators
• Other Pediatric Health Care Professionals

Earn a Maximum of 17.5 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM

Register online at www.pedialink.org/cmefinder or call 866/THE-AAP1 (866/843-2271).

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The AAP designates this live activity for a maximum of 17.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Attend the Mental Health Preconference -

Embracing Mental Health Care: Lessons Learned for Success
Thursday, July 28
10:00 am-5:15 pm

Plan to arrive early and participate in this opportunity designed to empower pediatricians with innovative best practice models for addressing mental health concerns and practical tools for clinical care. Advance registration is required, and seating is limited. A limited number of travel stipends will be available. For more information, visit www.aap.org/mentalhealth.

This preconference is supported by the Child, Adolescent and Family Branch (CAFB), Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The content of this preconference does not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or policies of CAFB, CMHS, SAMHSA or the Department of Health and Human Services.

Child Services in the Commonwealth: Making it Better

Secretary Bigby is committed to changing the way in which children's services are organized in the Commonwealth (see her letter, posted last month) Now, several of the groups that advocate for children have weighed in, with a letter and some organizing around upcoming hearings (read it here) To join up, contact Barbara at the Children's League.

A letter from MCPAP

A letter from MCPAP:

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Dr. Keller,
Behavioral Health Emergency Services (ESP) are available to people of all ages who are uninsured or covered by MassHealth (Medicaid plans). These services are also covered by some commercial insurance companies.
A statewide toll-free telephone number is available to help individuals reach their local Emergency Service Program/Mobile Crisis Intervention provider (ESP/MCI). By dialing 877-382-1609 and entering their zip code, callers will hear a recorded message containing the phone number of the ESP/MCI program in their area. If the zip code is unknown, the caller will be given a number of an ESP/MCI provider to call for the information.
Mobile Crisis Intervention is the youth (under the age of 21) -serving component of an emergency service program (ESP) provider. Mobile Crisis Intervention will provide a short-term service that is a mobile, on-site, face-to-face therapeutic response to a youth experiencing a behavioral health crisis for the purpose of identifying, assessing, treating, and stabilizing the situation and reducing immediate risk of danger to the youth or others consistent with the youth’s risk management/safety plan, if any. This service is provided 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Click here for a handy flyer for providers. Click here for a handy flyer for families.
If you have a patient who is in crisis, please remember that this resource is available. This is an alternative to hospital emergency departments.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
John Straus, MD
VP Medical Affairs
Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project

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Pretty cool. Good to link MCPAP and CBHI.