Pull Up Your Chair

In March 2023, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) presented several options for complying with federal Conflict-Free Access and Planning (CFAP) requirements, prompting the Community Mental Health Association of Michigan (CMHA) to express serious reservations. These concerns, particularly about the potential disruption to service integrity and the risks posed to clients, were detailed in a document shared with MDHHS leadership.

Following discussions, MDHHS conducted listening sessions to gather feedback from those affected by Michigan's public mental health system. Participants echoed CMHA’s concerns, particularly regarding the potential for increased system fragmentation and access barriers under the proposed CFAP compliance strategies.

In response to a recent MDHHS announcement on implementing these strategies, CMHA has intensified its advocacy efforts, including reaching out to legislators. While CMHA supports eliminating conflicts of interest, it criticizes the proposed methods as overly disruptive and potentially more harmful than the issues they aim to resolve.

Call to Action: CMHA urges stakeholders to contact state legislators and the Governor to advocate for a halt to MDHHS's current CFAP implementation plan. They request pushing for an alternative approach in collaboration with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and inclusion of specific language in both the FY24 supplemental and FY25 MDHHS budgets.

Stakeholders, including Board members, staff, and community partners, are encouraged to amplify this message by forwarding this information and engaging in advocacy efforts.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) will host a webinar on May 22, 2024, from 1:00 to 2:00 P.M., focusing on implementing conflict-free access and planning for behavioral health providers. This session will cover federal requirements, Michigan's approach, roles of MDHHS and PIHPs, impacts on providers, and the implementation timeline, following discussions with Incompass Michigan and the Michigan Assisted Living Association.

Providers can register for this webinar here. Questions? Contact [email protected].

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is using $1.3 million from opioid settlement funds to expand rooming-in programs in five state birthing hospitals, enhancing care for substance-exposed babies and their families. This initiative is part of a broader strategy launched in 2022 to address opioid-related issues, emphasizing prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery with a focus on pregnant and parenting individuals. The rooming-in approach allows infants born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and their caregivers to stay together, which has been shown to reduce hospital stay lengths and the need for medication. Positive outcomes reported include significant reductions in pharmacological interventions and hospital stay durations for substance-exposed infants since implementing the rooming-in model. Additional efforts under Michigan's opioid strategy include increasing access to family-supportive recovery housing, stigma reduction training, and expanding recovery resources and services for pregnant individuals. See Rooming in NR.pdf.

Recently passed bipartisan legislation (HB 4523 and HB 452) in Michigan, spearheaded by Representatives Kara Hope and Graham Filler, aims to expand mental health and drug treatment court programs by allowing participation from individuals previously barred due to certain violent crime convictions. These treatment courts provide alternatives to jail or prison, focusing on comprehensive substance abuse and mental health support services. Amendments to the legislation ensure that individuals charged with child pornography-related crimes remain excluded from this option. Representative Filler highlighted the success of treatment courts in rehabilitating individuals with substance abuse issues, advocating for more inclusive eligibility. The bills, which emphasize a collaborative, bipartisan development process, have now moved to the Governor's desk for final approval.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) hosts two Behavioral Health Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Provider Update Sessions. These sessions are scheduled for Thursday, May 30, 2024, from 3:00-4:30 PM (register here: Session One Registration) and Friday, May 31, 2024, from 1:30-3:00 PM (register here: Session Two Registration). Both sessions aim to update providers on ongoing monitoring and compliance activities related to HCBS behavioral health services, following the transition into the compliance monitoring phase after meeting the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 2014 HCBS rule requirements. Attendees can submit questions before the sessions to be addressed by the MDHHS HCBS team, with additional time allotted for live questions if possible. The sessions are particularly relevant for providers of specialized residential services, community living supports, and skill-building out-of-home services whom MDHHS has contacted for survey purposes. Please forward all questions or comments to Ariel Hawthorne at [email protected].

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The Kent County Sheriff's Office is re-opening its female mental health unit within our correctional facility, following renovations and an expansion. This milestone exemplifies KCSO's and the Kent County's Board of Commissioners' continued commitment to the comprehensive care we provide our incarcerated population. This unit will prioritize mental health treatment, therapy, and case management for the women within our correctional facility to promote successful reintegration into our community upon their release and ultimately reduce recidivism. Press Release: Expansion of KCSO's Mental Health Unit

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