Good morning.
Exactly 21 years ago, the Supreme Court released a decision that would end up significantly impacting the political direction of the United States. What decision did the Supreme Court release? The answer is at the end of the newsletter. 🗽
Hint: It involves your favorite painter.
News
Social Workers in Police Departments
👮♀️Police departments across the country continue to bring on social workers, and mental health clinicians in general, in an effort to more effectively respond to public mental health crises. Results by programs such as B-HEARD in New York City have shown positive, albeit mixed results.
B-HEARD was launched on June 6, 2021, and allowed both mental and physical health professionals to respond to 911 mental health emergency calls. A report about the program highlights some important data:
Of the 1,478 emergency mental health calls made to 911 operators, 23% were routed to the B-HEARD teams.
Only 48% of people assisted by the B-HEARD teams were transported to the hospital for additional care (compared to the traditional response, which led to 86% of people transported)
In 91% of cases, people accepted assistance from B-HEARD teams, a higher proportion than the 86% that accepted assistance from traditional 911 responses by New York Police Department and Emergency Services.
Integrating mental health expertise into policing is a trend that will likely continue. Nevertheless, despite promising initial results, the data shows that these programs must continue to transform and improve.
Drug-Related Deaths
There were an estimated 100,306 drug overdose deaths in the United States during the 12-month period which ended on April 2021, an increase of 28.5% from the 78,056 deaths during the 12-month period prior to this one.
💊The Florida Annual Drug Report also indicated a 17-percent increase in total drug-related deaths throughout the state.
Why are drug overdose deaths increasing? One reason may be due to the worsening opioid epidemic. For example, over the past 12-month period, overdose deaths by opioids increased from 56,064 to 75,673.
Some strategies being used to fight the epidemic include fentanyl test strips that can detect fentanyl. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is similar to morphine but is 50 to 100 times more potent. When fentanyl is combined with other drugs, the results may be death. The theory behind the strips is that knowing what's in the drugs can lead to safer drug use.
Utah’s Welfare System
Utah’s safety net for the poor is so intertwined with the Latter-day Saints Church that individual bishops often decide who receives assistance. Some deny help unless a person goes to services or gets baptized.
Utah’s welfare system has become deeply entangled with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A Propublica article highlights the stories of families who were denied benefits because they did not want to participate in services with the church or get baptized.
One woman, a single mother who was eventually denied benefits, recounts that “ the bishop of her local congregation, called a ward, decided that as a precondition of receiving welfare, she would have to read, understand and embrace LDS scripture.”
Medicaid
Medicare fee-for-service telehealth visits increased 63-fold between 2019 and 2020, with visits to behavioral health specialists showing the largest increase.
What is Medicare fee-for-service? It’s a health care payment that is paid separately for each service provided. For example, think of a clinical social worker getting reimbursed for a therapy session with a client. Alternative payment methods may be value-based or bundled payments where providers are paid based on outcomes or efficiency.
The report found that telehealth use varied by geography and demographics, with black and rural beneficiaries showing a lower use of telehealth than white and urban beneficiaries. A survey featured in the report found that these discrepancies in telehealth use may be due to differences in availability of telehealth equipment and a lower inclination to use telehealth in general.
Policy
Practicing across state lines
The Compacts, Access and Responsible Expansion (CARE) for Mental Health Professionals Act [introduced by U.S. Representative Joe Neguse] would reform medical licensure and establish a grant program to encourage interstate mental health provider networks.
In other words, the act would help expand access to mental health services by allowing mental health licenses to be recognized in multiple states. The premise behind the act is that telehealth can continue to enable “rural, disconnected, and economically disadvantaged communities access the quality, affordable mental health care services everyone deserves.”
Mental health coverage
A report by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), a non-profit that focuses on major healthcare issues facing the nation, highlighted that states are continuing to expand access to Medicaid behavioral health care, and mental health services in general.
The report outlines certain key takeaways:
Many states expanded telehealth to increase access to care during the COVID-19 pandemic, and as of July 1, 2021, nearly all states covered telehealth delivery of behavioral health services. Many states plan to continue this coverage post-pandemic.
Another takeaway pertains to community-based mobile crisis teams, which are groups of mental health professionals, including social workers and peer specialists, who provide short- and long-term care for people experiencing mental health crises.
The American Rescue Plan Act, which became law on March 11, 2021, provided states with 85% federal matching funds for 3 years for these community-based mobile crisis teams. The report showed that:
More than half of states indicated they will or probably will take up the new option under ARPA to provide community-based mobile crisis intervention services … About two-thirds of responding states indicated they have other, non-ARPA-related crisis service initiatives in place in or planned for FY 2022.
Finally, the report found that states continue to expand access to other Medicaid behavioral health services including substance use disorder (SUD) benefits that expand coverage for intensive outpatient services, school-based services, and supportive employment services.
Research
Virtual Reality (VR) is touted as the next groundbreaking technology. Research on using VR as an intervention for mental health disorders such as PTSD and anxiety disorders has shown promise. Unfortunately, the research-practice gap may be one of the reasons why we haven’t seen many promising treatments such as VR make their way into practice.
Immigrant-friendly cities are cities that have embraced pro-immigration policy. An article in the journal Social Work Research found that “only 7% of cities and 6% of counties [in the United States] were found to have immigrant-friendly policies”.
Other social work happenings
Three hundred scientists working in psychology, technology, and health have published an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg, asking “the Meta CEO to open his company's doors to outside researchers who need to investigate the effects of Facebook and Instagram on child and teen mental health.“
The tragic death of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes last summer has continued to spark outrage in the UK, and some are placing blame on social workers.
The New York Times spotlighted Constance Ahrons, a social worker who helped popularize “collaborative divorce”, a process of coming to an agreement on the terms of a divorce without litigation and fighting.
The National Association of Social Workers released a statement supporting workplace vaccination requirements.
A NYT article features Propel, an incredible technology company that helps welfare recipients manage their benefits, save money, and earn income
Answer: Bush v. Gore 👨
Hint: George W. Bush is really into painting.