William Stauffer

NEXT WEEK: #DAAHR Forum on Plan to Change Disability Evaluations! On Monday, June 24, from 1 to 3 p.m. ET, Disability Advocates Advancing Our Healthcare Rights (#DAAHR), a coalition organized by Boston Center for Independent Living and Disability Policy Consortium, will hold a virtual forum to discuss MassHealth’s plan to establish a centralized evaluation for services for people with disabilities. The proposed Independent Assessment Entity (#IAE) will evaluate individuals on MassHealth, One Care, and Senior Care Options (#SCO) for Personal Care Attendant (#PCA) services, adult foster care, group adult foster care, day habilitation services, and the #PACE program. Historically, evaluations have been conducted by disability service organizations because providers understand disability and independent living—they are culturally and linguistically competent. Advocates are concerned that a single centralized entity might exacerbate red tape; remain faceless, intransparent, and removed from community members' lived experience; be driven by perverse incentives; and reduce service offerings for disabled consumers. However, the Commonwealth believes its plan will improve the current evaluation system and even increase access to services. Attend the forum to learn about the IAE and voice your opinion on whether you want to be evaluated by one entity statewide. MassHealth Director Mike Levine will be in attendance. Register Here: https://lnkd.in/eMuQdSSf. For more information, contact Bill Henning at bhenning@bostoncil.org. #ADA #Accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. To submit a request, contact Susan Smith at ssmith@bostoncil.org or (617) 338-6665. Please include a description of the accommodation you need, with as much detail as possible. Provide your contact information in case we need to collect more information from you. When possible, please allow at least seven days' advance notice. Last-minute requests will be accepted, but they may be difficult to fulfill. Your input is vital. Together, we as a community can shape the future of MassHealth. #AboutUsByUs

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Mark Your Calendar: Oct. 28-29 Advancing Behavioral Health and Policy Summit in DC https://lnkd.in/e5k-nfex Accelerate healthcare’s shift in the move from volume to value. Register now for the Advancing Behavioral Health and Policy Summit, produced in partnership with Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness (ABHW), October 28-29, 2024, in Washington, DC. Early registration is open! Act now to save up to $800 off the final on-site rates. Use promo code "SM2024" when you register.* Here's what you can expect in 2024: • Prioritizing mental health: Prioritizing mental health with the same urgency, resources, and emphasis on prevention as physical health • Advocating for policy advancements in mental health and substance use disorder treatment services: Engaging federal and state policymakers to implement and sustain policies that accelerate care access and treatment approaches • Investing in preventive mental health services: Shifting from a reactive to a preventive/proactive approach to mental health • Addressing barriers to integrated, coordinated, and immediate access to critical care: Closing the gaps in implementing an integrated system of care through enhanced education and clinician training • Building a resilient employee workforce: Accelerating leadership’s role and adopting innovative preemptive programs to destigmatize mental health challenges and enable timely access to mental health resources • Bridging the gap in access to mental healthcare among rural and underserved populations: Ensuring comprehensive care for diverse populations including those residing in underserved communities • Leveraging technological advances to optimize care diagnosis and support: Keeping pace and unlocking the potential of digital therapeutics, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies to advance mental health services and substance use disorder treatment • Cultivating and inspiring the “NextGen” behavioral health workforce: Incorporating creative recruitment initiatives while leveraging federal and state resources to address workforce shortage and create a more diverse workforce to deliver behavioral health • Delivering care with cultural empathy: Providing individualized and culturally – contexed care through an individual’s own experiences and circumstances #thINcvalue #behavioralhealth #mentalhealth #VBC #health #healthcare #healthpolicy *All registrations subject to review by the thINc team. Promo codes not applicable for government rates or vendors/solutions providers. Discount codes are only applicable to NEW registrations.

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Advancing behavioral health equity means working to ensure that EVERY individual has access to health services. This #MinorityMentalHealth month learn how behavioral health providers can use culturally and linguistically appropriate services in their practice: https://lnkd.in/eK7f_XTz

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Featured article: The authors outline 7 cross-system collaboration strategies utilized in implementing the Ohio START initiative, aiming to enhance service access & outcomes for families affected by child maltreatment & parental substance use disorders. 🔗https://lnkd.in/g2VJvmi8

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Join us for a webinar on "Mass Incarceration is a Public Health Issue" on May 15th, 2024, at 11:30 AM CT. Mass incarceration, rarely discussed in our field, directly impacts all public health issues. This presentation sheds light on its effects on communities. Grounded in principles of abolition, we critically analyze the history of mass incarceration in the US, exposing its roots in oppression and the criminalization of our communities. The presentation emphasizes the field's insufficient research, policy, and practice in this area, which produces consequences beyond prison walls. The speakers will delve into how incarceration exacerbates and drives health disparities, leading to worse physical and mental health outcomes, especially for American Indians, Blacks, people of color, and other marginalized communities. The presentation concludes with reflective questions for the audience to envision a public health system that actively promotes equity and contributes to the abolition of the prison industrial complex. Register today: https://lnkd.in/gMdQ9jgY. #Webinar #massincarceration #publichealth #equity

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🌟 Navigate Alimony, Child Support, and Co-Parenting: Free Online Workshop 🌟 Advance registration is required at https://lnkd.in/e49ib7n7 Dealing with divorce involves complex decisions about finances and parenting. If you're grappling with questions about alimony, child support, or co-parenting, attend our expert-led webinar designed to provide clarity and strategic guidance. Seasoned professionals in divorce law, finance, and parenting from our N. Attleboro, MA/Providence, RI Hub will help you understand and manage these critical aspects effectively. What You'll Learn: ✅ Alimony and Child Support Calculations: How these payments are calculated and what factors are considered. ✅ Consequences of Non-Payment: Understand the legal and financial ramifications of failing to meet support obligations. ✅ Financial Management: How alimony and child support impact your cash flow and housing situation. ✅ Effective Co-Parenting: Techniques for positive communication that minimize the impact on your children. ✅ Parenting Plans: Key considerations when creating a plan that supports your child’s stability and growth. ✅ Practical Strategies: Tools to help your children maintain stability during and after the divorce transitions. Why Attend? This workshop is essential for anyone navigating the financial and parenting challenges of a divorce. Whether you're just starting the divorce process or adjusting post-divorce, gaining expert advice can make a significant difference in your approach and outcomes. #VestaDivorce #DivorceSupport #Alimony #ChildSupport #CoParenting #NAttleboroMA #ProvidenceRI

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New Project Report in RRH: Describing a medical school’s rural activity footprint: setting selection and workforce distribution priorities by Lara Fuller, Jessica Beattie, Vincent Versace, Gary Rogers and Matthew McGrail. https://lnkd.in/gDsZbJsw Australia’s medical workforce problem is primarily one of maldistribution, with both the geographic distribution of doctors and the relative supply of medical specialities not currently meeting the health needs of Australian rural communities. Recent studies from Australian universities that have prioritised recruiting students from the state or territory in which they are located, rather than just the ASGS-RA or MM classifications, have demonstrated promising results for ‘grow your own’ workforce strategies, with students who grew up and also trained in a region being up to 17 times as likely to work in the same region after graduation. With growing evidence supporting strategic ‘grow your own’ approaches to recruiting, training and retaining health professionals from and for underserviced rural communities, there is a need for sound methodologies by which universities with a social accountability mandate can accurately describe their region of rural focus, or ‘footprint’. This Project Report describes the process, outcomes and lessons learned through a project undertaken to formally describe Deakin University’s rural health activity footprint. #ruralhealth #meded #australia #workforce #medical Deakin University The University of Queensland Deakin University - Health Research Lara Fuller Vincent Versace Gary Rogers

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Peer support is becoming a fundamental part of mental health services in states like Massachusetts. Young adult peer mentors or certified peer specialists provide young patients a chance to build connections with someone who has shared a similar experience. Whether people are struggling with depression, anxiety, or BPD, it's overwhelming to feel alone. Despite the benefits of clinical work, mental health care settings realize that there is a real benefit to allowing patients to experience non-traditional methods of care. Dr. Ken Duckworth of the National Alliance on Mental Health comments: "There’s no big effort to create more psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers. So the opportunity is for peer support to become a material part of the equation for what helps people get better.” #MentalHealth #MentalHealthServices #PeerMentors #BehavioralHealth

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📰 Powerful Read: The heart-wrenching story of Harmony Ball-Stribling reminds us of the real people who are impacted by America’s national maternal health crisis and how it disproportionately affects those in underserved communities. In New Jersey, we are all too familiar with these disparities: · New Jersey is ranked 27th in the nation for maternal deaths and has one of the widest racial disparities for both maternal and infant mortality. · Black women are seven times more likely than white women to die from pregnancy-related complications. · Cumberland and Salem, rural counties in southern New Jersey, have the least healthy population in the state and have limited access to prenatal care. Burke is committed to addressing these disparities to ensure the health and well-being of New Jersey’s families across generations. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gvgy9Gtq #MaternalHealth #NJ #Moms #NewJersey

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Share your story with the New York State Trauma-Informed Network and Resource Center! We are always looking for people to share their story via our newsletter. If anyone is interested connect with me, Amplify your journey with the TINRC! :) #NYSTINRC #jointhejourney #shareyourjourney #mentalhealth #wellness #nystinrcnewsletter

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Families of children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) often struggle - both financially and emotionally. Almost half of CYSHCN are served by Medicaid. More than half have 3 or more health conditions they are struggling with. This MACPAC brief gives some valuable insight into what is working well in in serving this population, and where there is room to improve. What is working well: - Medicaid covered families reported feeling their coverage met their needs at a significantly higher rate than their privately insured counterparts. A reassurance that EPSDT is making a positive difference. - Medicaid covered families were about half as likely to report avoiding changing jobs to avoid gaps in coverage - an indicator that Medicaid is helping those families with economic mobility. - Less than 3% of Medicaid covered families in the data reported annual out-of-pocket expenses of more than $1,000 for their child versus more than 40% of those privately insured. Where there is room to improve: - Medicaid covered CYSHCN were significantly less likely to see a dentist than those covered by private insurance. We need better access to dental services for Medicaid recipients - especially children. - Medicaid recipients were significantly less likely to have a primary care clinician identified, and almost twice as likely to visit the ER, than their privately covered counterparts. - Almost 1 in 4 Medicaid recipients reported transportation as a barrier to access. Non-emergent medical transportation is a Medicaid covered service - we can do better. #medicaid #CYSHCN

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Gender-Based Violence Matters to Maternal Mental Health NCDVTMH Contributes Critical Insights to Maternal Mental Health National Strategy and Report to Congress: Urges Recognition of Gender-Based Violence as a Key Factor Early findings paint a troubling picture: pregnant and parenting survivors of domestic violence face a heightened risk of experiencing forms of abuse that weaponize the stigma surrounding mental health and substance use. This includes abusive tactics that deliberately reduce their access to essential resources and leverage claims about mental health or substance use to mobilize child welfare and legal systems against them. This creates devastating consequences for the safety and well-being of both domestic violence survivors and their children. Key initial findings on maternal mental health from NCDVTMH’s survey of over 18,000 domestic violence survivors include: *33% of the 18,000+ respondents were pregnant at the time their partner abused them. *83% of respondents who were pregnant at the time of abuse reported that their partner used abusive tactics that leveraged mental health stigma against them with powerful systems (e.g., child welfare, legal systems, housing) or restricted their access to mental health services. *88% of respondents who were pregnant at the time of abuse and sought help for substance use reported that their partner used abusive tactics that leveraged substance use stigma against them with powerful systems (e.g., child welfare, legal systems, housing) or restricted their access to substance use supports and services. *High rates of abusive tactics among survivors who were pregnant at the time of abuse and sought help for mental health or substance use: Those seeking mental health support said that their mental health concerns were used against them to restrict their access to mental health supports (60%), housing (63%), as well as to jeopardize child custody (62%) and get them in legal trouble (58%). *Those seeking substance use support said that their substance use concerns were used against them to restrict their access to substance use services (68%), housing (72%), as well as to jeopardize child custody (72%) and get them in legal trouble (66%). *78% of respondents pregnant at the time of abuse reported that an abusive partner made false claims about them having challenges with mental health and/or substance use. These types of false claims are often weaponized against survivors in their interactions with systems, such as child welfare and family court, as well as within criminal legal proceedings.

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Scientists in the Center for Autism Research at Kessler Foundation are developing #accessible and evidence-based research that provides new interventions for children, adolescents, and adults on the #spectrum, with particular focus on the critical transition from adolescence to adulthood. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/ekT3adwq #AutismAwarenessMonth #AutismResearch #AutismCommunity #KesslerResearch #KesslerChangingLives #AutismSpectrum

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