Improvement and advancement of ccbhc behavioral health services for 1,400 high-needs individuals experiencing health disparities in nassau county, NY - with consumer and family input, central nassau…

Improvement and advancement of ccbhc behavioral health services for 1,400 high-needs individuals experiencing health disparities in nassau county, NY - with consumer and family input, central nassau guidance & counseling services (CN guidance) will, through a proposed certified community behavioral health clinic (ccbhc) advancement project, harness 50 years of behavioral health experience to improve access to high-quality mental health and substance use treatment services to populations in nassau county (NY) facing the greatest (pandemic-exacerbated) health disparities. CN guidance will use samhsa funding to improve access and treatment to reach and serve: (1) individuals with serious mental illness; (2) individuals with substance use disorders, including opioid use disorder; (3) children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbance; (4) individuals with CO-occurring mental and substance use disorders; and (5) individuals experiencing a mental health or substance use-related crisis living in the most health-challenged localities across nassau county. Our target population is disproportionally composed of black and latinx residents who are UN/under-insured and residing in mostly segregated, lower-income communities. Our program will include supports for social determinants of health. In coordination with two designated collaborating organizations (long island federally qualified health centers for primary care and south shore child guidance center for overnight crisis support), our clinical team will use nine recovery-oriented evidenced-based practices (ebps), proven effective among each targeted segment of our local population: (1) peer support-improved with the cross-training and certification of peers in both mental health and substance use to provide comprehensive support; (2) motivational interviewing; (3) integrated treatment for CO-occurring disorders; (4) medication assisted treatment/therapy (mat)-advanced by the additional option of sublocade (injections), which is less susceptible to diversion than pills; (5) cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT); (6) family psychoeducation; (7) wellness management & recovery (WMR); (8) individual placement and support; and (9) structured trauma-informed care models, including seeking safety. IT will be the increasing integration and CO-use of these nine ebps that will advance stronger behavioral and physical health outcomes to local consumers. Our overarching goal is to improve health outcomes for marginalized individuals in our community experiencing disparities in health care. A sampling from our 13 recovery-oriented goals and correlating objectives comprises the following milestones by grant end (year four): (1) increase number of at-risk persons receiving mental health and substance use screenings / assessments by conducting =700 screenings/assessments using evidence-based tools; (2) increase capacity to provide community-based crisis response and equity-based stabilization services by assuring 700+ new consumers gain access to 24/7 mobile crisis DE-escalation services; (3) improve mental health of consumers by reducing risk of depression and suicidal behaviors among consumers: 40%+, during or following intervention, will show reduced symptoms per PHQ-9/PHQ-a or columbia suicide severity rating scale screenings; and (4) improve social determinants of health factors by boosting by 15% the number of consumers who report stable housing by grant end, while increasing employment (20+ with jobs) among consumers by year 2. We expect to serve 300 unduplicated individuals in year one, 375 in year two, 375 in year three, and 350 in year four, with a total of 1,400 served across the lifetime of this ccbhc improvement and advancement project.