“Communities on the Edge”  highlights the fragility of the local safety-net of services for Ohio’s most vulnerable citizens due to the increased need and decreases in funding. More…

Ohio’s Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Boards ensure a local safety-net of services for some of Ohio’s most vulnerable citizens — men, women and children with a mental illness and/or addiction to alcohol or other drugs. Without access to these lifesaving health services, you can be certain that Ohio will see an increase in the number of adults and children with a mental illness and/or addiction who end up homeless, enmeshed within other social service systems, dropping out of school, in nursing homes, in jails and prisons, in emergency rooms, and in the worst case-dying.

Over the past decade, Ohio’s behavioral health professionals have worked to eradicate the stigma of mental illness and addiction, and educate people about the fact that mental illness and addiction are diseases, and that TREATMENT WORKS AND PEOPLE RECOVER. A perfect example of this is Ohio’s state and local efforts to address the opiate epidemic. Communities have come together to close pill mills, educate parents and youth on the dangers of abusing pain killers, and to talk about effective treatments. All of this education has worked! And now there are more people than ever who are trying to access services in order to treat their mental illness and/or addiction. In addition, over the past several years, many families in Ohio have been negatively impacted by the economy which also increases the number of individuals experiencing a mental illness and or/ problems with substance abuse needing access to behavioral health services.

Unfortunately, over the past decade or so, as more people have needed services, the State of Ohio has been cutting funding for Ohio’s non-Medicaid eligible individuals and for community behavioral health treatment and support services. Due to these cuts, providers are having to downsize or close and access to services for Ohioans in need of behavioral health treatment and support services has been decimated. While the state funding for non-Medicaid eligible individuals and services remained fairly flat from State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2011 to 2012, the fact remains that since SFY 2002 an overall 70% cut in non-Medicaid funding for community mental health services has occurred, while since SFY 2005 a 34% cut has occurred to non-Medicaid community addiction services funding. As passed, the 2012-2013 biennial budget includes a small increase from SFY 2012 to SFY 2013 for non-Medicaid community mental health services, with a further cut of 33% for non-Medicaid community addiction services. So as more people are trying to access services, more and more are being put on waiting list, or turned away altogether. Frankly, these cuts are unmanageable and untenable.

Looking Toward the Future

“Looking Toward the Future” that highlights ODMH, ODADAS and ODRC goals and objectives in improving the behavioral health system in Ohio.

ODMH – Opportunity in Change
Director Tracy Plouck, Ohio Department of Mental Health

With each day that passes, I note more reasons why I love this job. The diversity of people, issues and ideas creates a very dynamic and fast-paced environment. While there is no  shortage of challenge, there also is no disputing the fact that this is a fascinating time to be involved in behavioral health care in Ohio.

As we approach the end of September, it is worth noting the broad array of policy & operational change underway. A few examples that I feel are particularly exciting: housing  initiatives; opportunities related to peer supports; the establishment of Medicaid health homes for individuals with severe & persistent mental illness; creating a “system of care” that embraces best practices among our department’s six inpatient hospitals; increased investment in re-entry services and supports; regulatory reduction projects intended to decrease providers’ administrative costs; and the development of new community Medicaid services including ACT (Assertive Community Treatment) and IHBT (Intensive Home Based Treatment)…

ODADAS – Change in Addiction Recovery
Director Orman Hall, Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services

A number of state and national factors have converged to drive the biggest change in addiction recovery. Parity for addiction treatment, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), sentencing reform, an opiate crisis, and Medicaid elevation all mean dramatic changes in Ohio’s care system for individuals challenged with alcohol and other drug addiction.

In this brief article I’ll address the integration of addiction treatment with physical health care, the opiate epidemic, and our work aimed at diverting criminal offenders from jail and prison and reducing recidivism post-release. Ohio’s challenges are not unique, but our approaches may be.

Addiction care has historically been an elective course or one short class in a medical school curriculum. As we’ve been jumping up and down and waving our arms to get attention, health care in general has slowly realized that patients need care from a holistic perspective to get well.

ODRC – Journey of Tranformation and Change
Director Gary Mohr, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections

The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction is on a journey of transformation and change; and in response to the many challenges facing the criminal justice system, correctional practitioners are embarking on a road of necessary and essential reform. It is undoubtedly an exciting time to be a part of the criminal justice system in Ohio.

In the recent past, Ohio has faced steadily increasing inmate populations. These increases are not without consequence. Growing populations result in an increase in the number of violent incidents that put our staff and other offenders at risk. The state of our prisons and jails made it clear that there was an urgent need for sentencing reform, and this past summer Ohio took an impressive step in the right direction with the passage of Amended Substitute Bill 86 (effective September 30, 2011)…more

Opiate Summit Attracts Statewide Attention

On April 5, 2011 nearly 1,000 individuals gathered in Columbus for Ohio’s Opiate Epidemic: A Summit on Policy, Prevention, and Treatment. The participants in this Summit heard Governor John Kasich, Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Director Orman Hall, Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Theodore Wymyslo, State Representative Terry Johnson, and State Representative Dave Burke discuss their plans to address Ohio’s opiate epidemic.

There is no doubt that Ohio has an opiate problem.

• From 2000-2008, there was more than a 300% increase in overdose deaths where opiates were listed on death • certificates. (Ohio Department of Health)
• In 2010, 67 doses of opiates were prescribed for every man, woman, and child in the state of Ohio. (Ohio • Automated Rx Reporting System)
• Prescription painkillers accounted for nearly 37 percent of unintentional overdose deaths in 2008. (Ohio • Department of Health)

The Opiate Summit brought together physicians, professionals from health care, addiction prevention and treatment, judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement professionals to gain a common understanding of the problems and best practice solutions to address opiate abuse, addiction, and diversion. The morning session hit on policy goals and strategies and the afternoon provided details about current and developing programs to address the prevention, criminal justice, and treatment aspects of the opiate issue. (more…)

Download: November 2009 Newsletter

• Guest Articles
  

  Tom Stickrath, Director
  Ohio Department of Youth Services
  “Promoting Successful Reentry of Youth”

  Terry Collins, Director
  Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
  “Mental Health Leads to Successful Reentry”

  Sandra Stephenson, Director
  Ohio Department of Mental Health
  “Partnerships in Preparing for Reentry”

  Angela Dawson, Director
  Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services
  “Providing Access to Alcohol and Other Drug Addiction Treatment and Reentry Services”
  

• Board Spotlight
  

  Jody Demo-Hodgins, Executive Director
  Crawford-Marion Board of ADAMH
  “Reentry Coalition Eases Transition”

Download: September 2009 Newsletter

Guest Articles

Barbara Riley, Director Ohio Department of Aging “Simple Lifestyle Changes Promote Overall Wellness for Seniors” Nancy L. Wilson LCSW, Associate Professor of Medicine-Geriatrics Baylor College of Medicine “Healthy IDEAS in Ohio: Addressing a Condition that is Disabling, Deadly and Expensive”

Board Spotlight

William Harper, Executive Director County of Summit ADM Board “The Hidden Epidemic”