By Rebecca A. Clay

College can be a stressful time, and the numbers bear that out. The American College Health Association’s 2006 National College Health Assessment found that 94 percent of the college and university students surveyed reported that they felt overwhelmed by everything they had to do. Forty-four percent confessed that they had felt so depressed it was difficult to function. And 18 percent had a depressive disorder.

According to SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2008, young adults age 18 to 25 were more likely than adults age 26 to 49 to have had serious thoughts of suicide (6.7 percent vs. 3.9 percent).

These statistics underscore why Prevention of Substance Abuse and Mental Illness—including suicide prevention—is the first of eight Strategic Initiatives that will guide SAMHSA’s work through 2014 (see Suicide Prevention: Top Priority for SAMHSA and the Nation).

“Suicide is a preventable tragedy for college students, their families, and our communities,” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D., noting the importance of education about depression, substance abuse, and other suicide risk factors, as well as resources such as SAMHSA’s National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. “By working on suicide prevention on campuses and elsewhere, we can save thousands of lives.”

For college students, they need all the support they can get. The bad economy is adding to students’ stress about debt and job prospects once they graduate. A 2010 Higher Education Research Institute study of more than 200,000 freshmen entering 4-year colleges found that their emotional health had declined to the lowest level since the annual survey began 25 years ago.

The Campus Suicide Prevention Grants program is one way SAMHSA is working to achieve that goal. The program supports colleges and universities in their efforts to prevent suicide among students and to enhance services for students with depression, substance abuse, and other behavioral health problems that put them at risk of suicide. (See East Tennessee University: Reaching Students Online, University of Guam: Transforming a Legend, and Boston University: Revealing Secrets Can Help Students for three campus grantees.)

The National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention is taking action on a broader scale (see Action Alliance Identifies Three High-Risk Populations for Suicide Prevention Efforts). With this public/private partnership, Ms. Hyde and other leaders from Government, business, the advocacy community, and other groups work together to advance the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention.

For more information about SAMHSA’s suicide prevention activities, visit http://www.samhsa.gov/prevention/suicide.aspx. SAMHSA News online (Archives) also offers an extensive list of related articles.

http://www.samhsa.gov/samhsaNewsletter/Volume_19_Number_2/PreventSuicideCollegesCampuses.aspx?WT.ac=AAD20110501SN_COLLEGESUICIDE

Experts assess Iraqi and U.S. efforts to rebuild Iraq’s behavioral health care system at a public symposium hosted by the Iraqi Cultural Center

Symposium highlights how experiences in Iraq may provide insight for effectively treating post traumatic stress disorders and other serious psychological conditions

http://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/advisories/1010225321.aspx

Confidential Help for Veterans and their families

Dial 1-800-273-8255 (TALK), Veterans Press 1 to talk to someone NOW.

The Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has founded a national suicide prevention hotline to ensure veterans in emotional crisis have free, 24/7 access to trained counselors. To operate the Veterans Hotline, the VA partnered with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/Veterans/

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In This Issue:

        From the Desk of Dr. Shern

•          Mental Health America Conference Updates: Awards Nominations, Registrations, Reservations
•          Mental Health Month: Update on Toolkits, Themes
•          MHA Membership, Beers Society Updates
•          Policy Notes: New Fact Sheet on Children’s Mental Health, Letters to Governors
•          Mental Health America Media Awards: Nominate a Reporter
•          March Board Meeting: Minutes, New Position Statements
•          News For and From the Field: March 24 Webinar on State Medicaid Buy-In Initiatives
•          New Resources: Webinars, Toolkits, Invitations
•          New Grant and Funding Opportunities

FROM THE DESK OF DR.SHERN:

Welcome to the “new” News from National. While we are retaining the central focus and features of the newsletter, we have made some changes based on your comments and feedback. Information on upcoming webinars and grants and awards is now organized by dates and deadlines. In the future, we hope to include a video update on developments at National.  Although we are reducing the frequency of this publication, we are increasing our communications to affiliates. Last week, we distributed a newsletter on policy and legislative developments produced by our Public Policy and Advocacy Department and Regional Policy Council. Please continue to send your thoughts and ideas and news you would like to include in News from National.

NEW FROM NATIONAL

 Register and Reserve a Room: Online registration for the conference is up and running – sign up today to receive the lowest rates available-$100 less than 2010! After you register, make sure to reserve your hotel room to receive the group rate. Click hereto get started or visit http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/conference/registrationandhotel. 

Now Accepting Awards Nominations! Each year, Mental Health America recognizes outstanding work in the field by its affiliates, young people and adult mental health consumers. All award recipients will be honored during events held at Mental Health America’s 2011 Annual Conference, June 9-11, in Washington, DC, at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill. Download the Awards Nomination Guide at www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/conference for details. All submissions must be received by Friday, April 15, 2011.  

May is Mental Health Month Materials: Two branded toolkits, comprised, of marketing materials, flyers, a branded version of our case statement, etc., will be available at the end of March and will be sent to affiliates at that time. To begin, we have a sample Proclamation that you can customize and use in your community. It can be found at http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/files/MHM_2011_Sample_Proclamation.doc . Affiliates are welcome to use any of these materials as they see fit to supplement their MMHM programs or other programs during 2011. In planning media outreach, you may find materials collected in our PR 101 guide helpful.

MHA Membership and Beers Society Updates

Congratulations to MHA of Central Susquehanna Valley, MHA of South Central Kansas and MHA of Charlottesville/Albermarle!  They are the first affiliates to earn money through the MHA Membership Program. Overall, we have 157 members in 36 states.  The top four states are New York, Colorado, Florida and North Carolina.

The Beers Society is holding strong at 36 individual members and 5 organizational members.  Help us get the word out!  For more information, contact Taylor Rhodes, Resource Development Manager, at 703-838-7533 or trhodes@mentalhealthamerica.net

Mental Health America Themes for 2011: Mental Health America will be using two brand “platforms” for all of 2011 rather than a specific May is Mental Health Month (MMHM) theme. The first platform is “Do More for 1in4” and is a call to action for Americans to help the 1in4 American adults in their lives who are living with a diagnosable, treatable mental health condition. That is a 2005 NIMH statistic cited in our case statement. This brand platform can be used to highlight treatment/recovery programs. The second theme is “Live Well! It’s Essential To Your Potential”, a wellness theme that speaks to the wellness portion of the wellness circle in our case statement.  

We will use both of these themes throughout 2011 during the campaign to recruit 20,000 new members to the MHA Membership Program. Approximately 50 percent of the revenue from that program will be credited towards affiliates’ dues and, once dues are fully offset, will be distributed directly to the affiliates. Affiliates are welcome to use either of these two themes throughout the year as stand-alone themes or as supporting themes for specific treatment/recovery programs or wellness programs in their local areas.

POLICY NOTES: 

New Fact Sheet on Children’s Mental Health: Mental Health America as part of a coalition of advocacy groups has developed a fact sheet to use with state legislators on the importance of early identification and intervention and preserving mental health budgets. The fact sheet can be found here. We have also provided a sample letter to be sent to your legislators, which can be uploaded here.

 Letters to Governors: Mental Health America joined with a coalition of mental health organizations in sending a letter to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo opposing changes being considered as part of that state’s Medicaid redesign. A letter was also sent to South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley opposing a plan to limit access to antipsychotic medications. If you would like a copy of either letter, contact Sarah Steverman at ssteverman@mentalhealthamerica.net.

REMINDER—Mental Health America Media Awards – Nominate a Reporter: We are seeking nominations for national, state, local and student news and feature stories in print, online and broadcast media for Mental Health America’s 2011 Media Awards competition. YOU can help make the competition a success—and boost your own media presence—by nominating deserving journalism in your community or by simply sharing this opportunity with your local media outlets. Details and entry forms are available at http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/about-us/pressroom/media-awards/2011-media-awards. The deadline for submissions is Thursday, March 31, 2011. For questions or additional information, contact svetzner@mentalhealthamerica.net.

March Board Meeting:  Minutes for the March Board Meeting are available through the Affiliate Portal. After signing in, click on the links in the upper right hand column. The Board approved new position statements on (click on the title to view): Seclusion & Restraints (24); Prevention of Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders in Young People (48); Death Penalty & People with Mental Illness (54); Sexual Predator Legislation (55); Litigation (62); and Health Care Reform (71).

NEWS FOR AND FROM THE FIELD

 MARCH 24—Webinar on Medicaid Buy-In: Mental Health America invites you to participate in a webinar on Thursday, March 24, at 3:00 pm, EDT, summarizing research conducted to determine the effectiveness of state Medicaid buy-in initiatives on earnings and employment for people with psychiatric disabilities. The presenters will be Rick Forbess of the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation and lead reviewers Marci McCoy-Roth and Brigitte Gavin. The study was conducted by the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Boston University in 2010 and was supported by the National Institute on Disability & Rehabilitation Research. To RSVP for this webinar, email Candace Daniels at cdaniels@mentalhealthamerica.net by 12 Noon, Wednesday, March 23, 2011. Please write “MEDICAID BUY-IN” in the subject line of the e-mail.

 White House Initiative to Support Military Families:  This spring, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden will kick off a comprehensive, nationwide initiative to support military families.  In April, they will call on Americans to go to Serve.gov to find ways to engage and support America’s troops, veterans and their families. If you are part of an organization that provides opportunities to serve the military community, please post these on Serve.gov by visiting http://www.alforgood.org/posting.

REMINDER—Boston University Disability Research Products Available for Mental Health America Affiliates: Boston University’s Disability Research Right to Know (DRRK) (http://drrk.bu.edu) fosters the everyday use of disability research. DRRK has a special section on its website with information tailored especially for Mental Health America affiliates to use (http://drrk.bu.edu/mhamerica). Currently information is available on Medicaid Buy-In Programs, which will be featured in a webinar next Thursday, March 24^th. Please visit the website and give us feedback on whether the information is useful to you. More information will be posted in the next few months on Supported Education and Peer Support Services. These links can also be found at the Affiliate Portal at http://affiliateportal.mentalhealthamerica.net/, under Research and Services.

 Florida: The Mental Health Association of Palm Beach County is presenting a Lunch and Learn program, Mental Health in America: Crisis and Opportunity, on Wednesday, April 13, 2011, from 12:00 Noon to 1:30 pm. The speaker will be Mental Health America’s Dr. David Shern, who will share his insights about current public policy issues in behavioral health, including mental health parity, health reform, and proposed federal reductions in mental health funding. For more information and to register, visit http://www.mhapbc.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=events.details&content_id=56.

 Indiana:  Stephen McCaffrey, president of Mental Health America of Indiana, spells out the concerns of advocates in a story about Indiana’s plan to cut Medicaid costs by limiting access to medications.

Missouri: Mark Utterback, president and CEO of Mental Health America of Eastern Missouri, is quoted in a story on the impact of cuts to mental health funding.

NEW GRANT AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES-Federal

VARIOUS DEADLINES—US Department of Education – Project School Emergency Response to Violence (SERV): The SERV program assists schools in with specific grants to address immediate needs after a traumatic school crisis as well as long term effects. Several of the recipients of this funding have experienced multiple suicide deaths. Deadline varies. For detailed information, visit http://www2.ed.gov/programs/dvppserv/index.html.

APRIL 12 CLOSING DATE—United States Department of Labor Grants – Serving Juvenile Offenders in High-Poverty, High-Crime Communities: http://www.doleta.gov/grants/find_grants.cfm

APRIL 15 CLOSING DATE—United States Department of Labor Grants – Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration (ETJD): http://www.doleta.gov/grants/find_grants.cfm

APRIL 15 DEADLINE—SAMHSA Drug Free Communities Mentoring Program: http://www.samhsa.gov/grants/2011/sp_11_003.aspx

APRIL 19 DEADLINE—SAMHSA Cooperative Agreements for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Crisis Center Follow Up: http://www.samhsa.gov/grants/2011/sm_11_004.aspx

APRIL 21 DEADLINE—Department of Justice: Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation
http://www.tribaljusticeandsafety.gov/ctas11.html.

NEW GRANT AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES-Foundations, Nonprofits

APRIL 1 DEADLINE— America Honors Recovery Awards: The Faces & Voices of Recovery and Hazelden’s Center for Public Advocacy are hosting the America Honors Recovery awards to recognize 2011′s most influential recovery community leaders and organizations. Nominations for individuals and organizations may be made until April 1, 2011. Recipients will be honored at a June 22, 2011 reception in Washington, DC. To learn more, visit http://www.facesandvoicesofrecovery.org/about/trainings_events/ahr_2011/about_america_honors.php.

APRIL 5 DEADLINE—Sabbaticals Available for Activists of Color: The Alston Bannerman Fellowship Program, an initiative of the Center for Social Inclusion honors those who have devoted their lives to helping their communities organize for racial, social, economic, and environmental justice. Fellows receive an award of $25,000 to take sabbaticals of three months or more for reflection and renewal. The application deadline is Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Application guidelines and forms are available on the Center for Social Inclusion website at http://www.centerforsocialinclusion.org/leadership/alston-bannerman-sabbatical-fellows/

APRIL 22, SEPTEMBER 9 DEADLINES—Wal-Mart Foundation State Giving Program: Grants are awarded at the state and regional level throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico for programs that give individuals access to a better life. The program provides grants of $25,000 and up four categories. For 2011, the application deadlines are April 22 and September 9. Visit the Foundation’s website to submit an online application at http://walmartstores.com/CommunityGiving/8169.aspx. 

MAY 12 DEADLINE—Newman’s Own Awards Program for Organizations That Assist Military Families: The Newman’s Own Awards Program recognizes volunteer and nonprofit organizations supporting our nation’s military families. The submission judged to be the most outstanding will receive a $15,000 grant, with the remaining $60,000 apportioned to other competing organizations. The application deadline is Thursday, May 12, 2011. Visit the program’s website to submit an online application at http://www.fisherhouse.org/programs/newmansown.html .

MAY 27 DEADLINE—America’s Promise Alliance – 2011 100 Best Communities for Young People:
The 100 Best Communities for Young People presented by ING celebrates communities of all sizes—including cities, towns, counties and school districts—dedicated to improving life for young people and increasing graduation rates. The 100 Best Communities are intended to be representative of the nation as a whole. Applications for the 2011 cycle are now available and are due by May 27. Please visit the America’s Promise Alliance website – http://www.americaspromise.org/100best – to learn more about the competition and to begin the application process.

Mental Health America’s Social Media Tools:

Online Support Community: Located at http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/community

Our blog: Chiming In

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MentalHealthAm

Become a Fan of Mental Health America on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/mentalhealthamerica

Branding Update

 Branding Grants are Now Available: Affiliates are in the process of changing their name to Mental Health America! To qualify for a branding grant to help defer the costs of your name change, send a copy of your board resolution noting your affiliate’s name change to Mental Health America, along with a completed “intent to transition” form. For questions and a copy of the form, contact Candace Daniels at (703) 838-7537 or cdaniels@mentalhealthamerica.net .

A newsletter for Mental Health America’s affiliates from Mental Health America’s Public Policy and Advocacy Department and Regional Policy Council.

 Mental Health America Annual Conference: Focus on Health Reform

 Please save the dates and plan to attend Mental Health America’s Annual Conference, June 9-11, in Washington, D.C. One of the three tracks for the Conference will focus on health reform and its implementation. We will be sending out more information on speakers and sessions in the next few weeks.

 Health Reform Update

 March 23^rd marks the one-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. A number of activities are planned around the country during that week to recognize the passage of the law. You may have also read that a federal judge who ruled the law unconstitutional said that decision does not prevent the law from being implemented at the state and federal level while the case is being appealed. 

 Capitol Hill Update: House Spending Plan; Administration Budget; Prevention Fund

 Spending Package: The focus of attention in Congress is on a spending bill (also known as Continuing Resolution) that the House Republican majority pushed through on February 19. The legislation funds government programs for the current fiscal year (the government is currently being funded under a temporary measure that expires on March 18). 

 The House Republican package includes deep cuts ($61 billion in all) in many programs, including defunding of the Affordable Care Act. It accomplishes this by eliminating funding for any employee of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Labor that is tasked with implementing the health care law. It also zeroes out funding for any employee of the Internal Revenue Service to implement the individual mandate.

 The bill also includes over $200 million in cuts to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and $1.6 billion in cuts for the National Institutes of Health. Deep cuts are also made to housing, juvenile justice and education programs. In fact, nearly 1 out of every 5 dollars in the public health budget has been cut for critical services such as food safety, screenings, immunization, heating assistance, research, infant mortality reduction, HIV prevention, public labs, suicide prevention, Health IT, and other programs.

 Negotiations between the Senate and House leaders and the administration are ongoing.  The difficulty is that the House holds the cards in this debate because of the number of members who want deep cuts and the fact that a government shutdown would not benefit the Democrats.

 TALKING POINT: If one estimate places the annual treatment cost for an individual with a serious mental health condition at roughly $28,000, the $200 million cut included in the House Republican spending plan for the remainder of the fiscal year represents a loss of treatment services for nearly 8,000 individuals. 

 Administration’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 Budget: After Congress finalizes a spending plan for the remainder of the fiscal year, it will tackle the budget for FY 2012. The administration’s budget, released in early February, would essentially level fund public health programs at FY2010 levels.  However, some agencies did experience cuts.  For example, the Administration proposed an FY 2012 Budget that would cut SAMHSA funding by about 1.2 percent or roughly $44 million.  The SAMHSA baseline budget for FY 2012 is $44 million less than compared to FY 2010.  Other public health agencies (such as CDC and HRSA) experienced deeper cuts than SAMHSA, although the three institutes that we track at NIH (NIMH, NIDA, NIAAA) all would be increased by roughly 3 percent.

 The FY 2012 Budget also calls for the restructuring of programs at SAMHSA.  The FY 2012 Budget includes an increase of $14 million to the Mental Health Block Grant (MHBG)—the first increase for the MHBG in nearly a decade.  The Substance Abuse Block Grant (SABG) was also increased, by $40 million. These are the only increases for traditional SAMHSA programs.

 The FY 2012 Budget did include a request for new dollars for two new initiatives:  $10 million for the Military Families initiative and $4 million for Health IT.

 For MHA and prevention advocates, there is a silver lining because the SAMHSA budget prioritizes prevention. Of particular interest for affiliates, there is a cut of $1.2 million to the Consumer and Family Network Grants (significant because this funding goes from $6.2m to $5 million or roughly 14 percent).  The Consumer Technical Assistance Centers were spared any cuts. The SAMHSA budget appears to include a $400,000 diversion of the SABG to prevention.  

 Prevention Fund: Another part of the health reform law that could be targeted is the Prevention and Public Health Fund. The Affordable Care Act provides $34 billion for the Fund over 10 years. Last year, an attempt to use the Fund as an offset was defeated. Now House members may be targeting the Prevention Fund again as a line item to cut. In an internal memo, Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Penn.), chair of the Energy and Commerce Health subcommittee, said he would seek to remove the Fund from protection as mandatory spending and designate it discretionary spending, which can be targeted for cuts.

 States Look for Flexibility in Medicaid to Alleviate Budget Pressures

 As states face increasing budget pressures, many governors are looking to reduce spending in their Medicaid programs.  As the largest funding source of mental health services, reductions in Medicaid programs could be detrimental to individuals with mental health conditions, in addition to compromising the service available to people who are low income or disabled.

 Governors are asking for greater flexibility in their Medicaid programs in order to reduce expenditures.  Twenty to thirty-five percent of state budgets go toward Medicaid, and that percentage continues to rise.  The Affordable Care Act requires states to meet a maintenance of effort (MOE) requirement in their Medicaid program, requiring them to maintain eligibility levels.  Several governors are asking Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to be exempt from those requirements.  Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has proposed removing 280,000 people from their Medicaid rolls.  Congress may consider legislation to remove the MOE requirement, but it will likely be opposed by both the Senate and White House.  A report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities highlights the adverse impact of eliminating the MOE requirement. 

 In response to the objections by governors to the MOE requirement and high costs of Medicaid, Secretary Sebelius issued a letter outlining the flexibility states do have, including program reductions, eliminating benefits for non-disabled adults above 133 percent of the federal poverty level, and increasing benefit management procedures.  Since states currently have the flexibility to reduce programs and services offered, many are cutting the behavioral health benefits they offer with likely adverse effects for individuals with mental health conditions. 

 Governors have also suggested moving to a Block Grant model for Medicaid, rather than the federal government matching state expenditures.  The Administration is not likely to move to a Medicaid Block Grant, and a report by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities highlights the negative impact such a model could have on states.

 In addition to proposed reductions in state Medicaid budgets, NASMHPD has declared that states have been forced to cut mental health agency budgets by a combined total of nearly $2.2 billion over the last three fiscal years, the largest reduction to mental health spending since the 1960s.

 Attacks on Eligibility of SSI Benefits for Children with Mental Disorders

 Recent articles in the Boston Globe have charged that children with mental disorders have no right to SSI benefits and that low-income mothers and families are putting their children on unnecessary medications in order to fool the examiners into granting them benefits.  Some members of the House—Reps. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and Geoff Davis (R-Ky.)—as well as Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) have asked the General Accounting Office to investigate the SSI program, specifically the rise in the number of children receiving SSI due to mental disorders such as ADHD and depression and whether families are tempted to put their children on medications to improve their chances of qualifying. Additionally, GAO will examine whether the program effectively screens and adequately determines when a child’s condition improves.  They have also asked the Institute of Medicine to help with technical guidance in the investigation.

 RESOURCES AND READING:

 Recorded Webinars, Toolkits on Five Key Advocacy Issues

Mental Health America and the Regional Policy Council recently presented webinars on five key advocacy issues—Health Reform; State Budget Advocacy; Access to Medications; Criminal Justice; and Parity—to help advocates navigate emerging trends and the impact of federal legislation. You can listen to recordings of the webinars and review the powerpoints and the toolkits we have produced on these key issues by clicking on the above links.

Comments on Federal Regulations Now Available

The Advocacy section of Mental Health America’s website now includes comments on proposed federal rulemaking and regulations on topics including provisions of the health reform law.  A listing and links to the comments can be viewed  here.

House Mental Health Caucus Briefing on Arizona Tragedy

 Dr. David Shern participated on a panel at a Capitol Hill briefing that addressed issues raised in the aftermath of the Arizona tragedy. Dr. Shern highlighted points that appeared on his Health Affairs blog post and linked the proven approaches/interventions to what Congress currently funds via discretionary programs. The briefing was well attended and hosted by the House Mental Health Caucus.

Shared Decision Making Briefing

 Dr. Shern was also a panelist for a briefing on Shared Decision Making. The landing page for that briefing, with links to the full webcast, podcast, all speaker videos and downloadable resources, is http://www.allhealth.org/briefing_detail.asp?bi=205.

PUBLIC POLICY AND ADVOCACY STAFF:

 Julio Abreu: jabreu@mentalhealthamerica.net (Federal Policy)

Chin-Chin Minniear: cminniear@mentalhealthamerica.net (Evidence-Based Health Care)

Sarah Steverman: ssteverman@mentalhealthamerica.net (Regional Policy Council, State Policy, Health Reform, Parity)

Steve Vetzner: svetzner@mentalhealthamerica.net (Media Relations, PPA Notes Editor)

This Advocacy News feed will post information related to current advocacy and policy-change efforts locally, state-wide and nationally.