Governor DeWine Announces $2.9M in Federal Funding to Strengthen Emergency Preparedness, Enhance BH Response Following Traumatic Events

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine today announced that the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) has been awarded nearly $2.9 million in federal funding from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to help state officials meet the behavioral health needs of citizens affected by traumatic events such as natural disasters, mass shootings, and other large-scale man-made and terrorist events. 

“The recent train derailment in East Palestine is a prime example of how disasters can impact the well-being of individuals, families, and communities,” said Governor DeWine. “It is essential that our behavioral healthcare system is able to quickly respond to the immediate and long-term behavioral health care needs of those adversely affected by trauma. These funds will accomplish just that by strengthening Ohio’s emergency preparedness planning and ensuring a swift, coordinated response when surges in behavioral health needs inevitably occur.”

OhioMHAS will use the funding to help establish necessary statewide and local partnerships, policies, procedures, and protocols that create the systemic changes necessary to immediately deploy essential behavioral health supports and resources in every community across the state in the aftermath of tragedies. Plans include development and enhancement of multidisciplinary mobile crisis teams that can be deployed rapidly 24/7, anywhere in the state for swift crisis support and response in providing care in the immediate days, weeks and months after a traumatic event.

This additional federal funding comes nearly a week after OhioMHAS was awarded a $209,402 federal Supplemental Emergency Response grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to help meet the immediate and ongoing behavioral health needs of the East Palestine community.

RecoveryOhio to Host BH Dashboard Trainings

The State of Ohio recently launched new data dashboards to better track and report data on overdose deaths and other substance-use related measures for all 88 Ohio counties. The dashboards report on 55 opioid-related measures including overdose deaths; high-risk prescribing; overdoses treated in emergency departments; naloxone units distributed by Project DAWN; individuals receiving and being continuously enrolled in treatment and EMS events involving naloxone administration. To help communities learn how best to implement the dashboards, RecoveryOhio is host virtual trainings on April 18 at noon and May 5 at 10:00 a.m. To learn more about the dashboards and to register for an upcoming training, please visit: https://recoveryohio.gov/resources/all-resources/ohio-integrated-behavioral-health-dashboards.

OCTF April National Child Abuse Prevention Month Webinars

In recognition of April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month, the Ohio Children's Trust Fund (OCTF) is hosting several upcoming webinars:

• April 12 at 1:00 p.m. – “How Trauma Impacts Relationships,” presented by Crystal Milner, Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
• April 20 at 11:00 a.m. – “Attachment Vitamins: A Trauma-Informed Prevention Program for Parents of Young Children,” presented by Alissa Huth-Bocks, PhD, on behalf of University Hospital Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital.
• April 26 at 11:00 a.m. – Ohio Commission on Fatherhood, presented by Joshua Counceller, Project and Operations Manager with the Ohio Commission of Fatherhood.

Equity Considerations in Crisis Response 

The next Crisis Academy on Equity Considerations in Crisis Response has been scheduled for May 10 from 9:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. This webinar will review equity considerations that should be addressed in working with rural communities, limited English-speaking communities, and communities of color. Speakers will use their cultural competence to offer insights on how Ohio can better respond to these communities. The speakers for this webinar include: Robin Roberts, MFT, Director of Mono County Behavioral Health (Mammoth Lakes, CA), Dr. Marilyn Sampilo, Cleveland Clinic, and LaToya Logan, LISW-S, Founder/CEO of Project Lift.

2023 Peer Recovery Summit — Aug. 16-17

Save the date! OhioPRO (Peer Recovery Organizations) will host the 2023 Peer Recovery Summit, Ohioans Thriving in Recovery, on Aug. 16-17 at the Marriott Columbus OSU. This event will serve as a place where certified peer supporters can gather to network, learn, and grow in a space dedicated to their advancement. The summit will feature Paolo del Vecchio, M.S.W., Director of the Office of Recovery and the Director of the Office of Management, Technology and Operations for SAMHSA, will provide keynote remarks. Registration for the summit will open in May and be limited to 400 attendees. Attendees will receive continuing education credits (CEUs). If you have any questions, please email OhioPRO Executive Director Michael Krause at mkrause@ohio-pro.com.

Survey Seeks Feedback on Updated NewsNow

The OhioMHAS Office of Public Affairs is committed to bringing timely information and news you can use directly to your inbox. Our NewsNow e-newsletter aims to help subscribers stay current with the latest announcements, funding opportunities, trainings, and headlines. We invite you to take a brief survey to let us know how we’re doing. Responses are confidential and will help our team gauge the quality and value of the redesigned NewsNow, and drive future content. The survey can be completed in 3-5 minutes. Please respond by 5 p.m. on Friday, April 28. For questions regarding the survey, please contact Nicholas Martt at Nicholas.Martt@mha.ohio.gov.