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Sept. 1, 2022
In this issue ...
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As we say farewell to summer flowers and hot days, the autumn season is upon us, and we welcome the red, yellow and brown leaves and crisp evenings of fall. Children are eagerly heading back to the classroom for the new school year. While this time comes with a lot of excitement for children and parents alike — seeing old friends, making new ones, learning new skills, creating artwork that will grace offices and refrigerators — it can also come with some anxieties.
My child is entering the first grade and concerns around safety in the time of COVID are very common for parents and students alike. How do we keep our children safe, but also help them enter the world?
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Thankfully, there are many resources and safety measures set in place for students, teachers and families that take into mind both mental and physical health for the 2022-2023 school year. Oregon Department of Education (ODE) has layered health and safety measures to help provide equitable and inclusive access to full-time, in-person learning and reduce disruptions for students, staff and families.
Dr. B. Grace Bullock, Senior Mental Health Officer at ODE, said, “Last year, the department was excited to see that more than half of Oregon’s school districts kicked off the school year with a Care and Connection week. Many of you continued to devote time to cultivating healthy relationships and communities throughout the school year.” Dr. Bullock added that ODE has “compiled some great examples [of Care and Connection activities] from across the state.” You can find those examples here.
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This school year, ODE also launched Oregon Classroom WISE, a program that offers tools and resources to support the mental and emotional well-being of students and school staff. Oregon Classroom WISE resources include free, online, self-guided modules for adults and youth interested in strengthening mental health and well-being.
As we enter the next season, we can breathe a little easier, knowing we are ushering our children into school and ourselves into community with all the beauty that autumn brings.
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Many children, adolescents and adults in Oregon with mental health issues remain untreated or experience significant delays before beginning treatment. The Oregon Psychiatric Access Line (OPAL) offers psychiatric telephone consultation to all primary medical care providers in Oregon, regardless of the age or insurance status of the patients. There are two options: OPAL-K for individuals under age 18, and OPAL-A for adults.
Funded by the state of Oregon, OPAL is available at no cost. OPAL’s goal is to expand the availability of high-quality mental health treatment to all Oregonians via:
- Timely psychiatric phone consultation to medical providers,
- Practitioner education,
- Primary care treatment protocols, and
- Promotion of linkages with private and public community mental health professionals.
OPAL helps build a system where primary care providers:
- May be able to treat youth with mental health issues right away, rather than placing patients on waiting lists to receive care they need.
- Can get evidence-based psychiatric treatment information.
- Can deliver the best possible care.
OPAL-A and OPAL-K consultant include subspecialists in substance use disorder and older adult mental health. The service is available at 503-346-1000 in the Portland metro area, and 855-966-7255 toll free.
For more information, please visit the OPAL website.
As we plan the direction of the CFBH over the next year, we want to share the core three pillars that currently underpin the road map for this work. In all our current and future work, we will:
- Center health equity,
- Focus on youth and families from marginalized communities, and
- Promote trauma-informed principles toward the goal of achieving health equity in the continuum of care, policy and partnership formation.
Health Equity
All people can reach their full potential and well-being and are not disadvantaged by their race, ethnicity, language, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, social class, intersections among these communities or identities, or other socially determined circumstances.
Youth and Family
We are centering communities of color, Indigenous and Tribal communities, LGBTQIA2S+ population and other historically marginalized groups, and incorporating meaningful youth and family participation.
Trauma Informed
Traumatic experiences include abuse, historical trauma, complex and medical traumas, and many others. We recognize that traumatic experiences terrify, overwhelm and violate the individual or community. Trauma-informed care is a commitment not to repeat these experiences and, in whatever way possible, to restore a sense of safety, power and self-worth.
The three strategic pillars: Health Equity, Youth and Family, and Trauma Informed
Strategic goal pathways
CFBH work in the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) follows these strategic pathways:
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Continuum of Care: Addresses gaps and quality concerns in the children’s behavioral health continuum of care and centers communities that have been disproportionally impacted by health inequity and systemic racism.
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Youth and Family Engagement: Incorporates meaningful youth and family participation centering communities of color, Indigenous and Tribal communities, LGBTQIA2S+, and other traditionally marginalized populations.
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Data: Centers health equity by making policy and program decisions based on accurate and timely data and by seeking data that can assist in understanding health inequities.
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Cross System Collaboration: Supports and prioritizes cross-system collaboration to improve the behavioral health continuum of care for youth and families.
These four goal pathways are supported by expert consensus opinions and are evidence informed. In addition to including feedback from the voices of youth and families with lived experience, the goal pathways also integrate Oregon’s current state health improvement plan (Healthier Together Oregon) and other state agency, community reports and guidance documents, with the work being done.
Suicide prevention is important every day, all year, and September is Suicide Prevention Awareness month. Our state is brimming with advocates and champions for suicide prevention, including the Oregon Alliance to Prevent Suicide. What can you do to help?
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) Certification Training
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is an evidence-based treatment to help children and adolescents recover after trauma. Research shows that TF-CBT successfully resolves a broad array of emotional and behavioral difficulties associated with single, multiple and complex trauma experiences. This is a structured, short-term treatment model that effectively improves a range of trauma-related outcomes in 8-25 sessions with the child/youth and caregiver.
Dr. Alicia Meyer, a national trainer in TF-CBT and a global Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, is offering a two- day online training, Oct. 20-21, from 8 to 4 p.m. each day, for clinicians to become certified in TF-CBT treatment. The training is free for people sponsored by Oregon Health Authority otherwise it is $500. For more information, including prerequisites and required reading materials, visit Dr. Meyer’s website. The prerequisite TRCBT course costs $35 and offers 11 CEU’s and must be completed prior to the two-day training.
Collaborative Problem Solving
OHA recently awarded funding to The Child Center to help families strengthen positive relationships and build the skills needed for success at home, at school, in the community and throughout life.
The Child Center:
- Offers free Collaborative Problem Solving classes to people throughout Oregon. Sessions are once a week for eight weeks.
- Is focused on providing services to seven regions in Oregon that have limited mental health provider resources.
For more information, please visit The Child Center’s website and share widely with families and communities.
Eating disorder treatment training series
Struggling to diagnose eating disorders?
Have you ever wondered about options for screening a young person for an eating disorder? Did you know that there were several tools that could be used?
Our August Eating Disorder training covered what tools are out there and how to choose what to use depending on your setting. Check out the resources and link to the webinar for this information and consider joining this free series or recommending it to others.
Eating disorders affect 30 million Americans and 95 percent of those affected are between the ages of 12 and 25. To address the lack of knowledge and expertise on this subject among health professionals in Oregon, we have engaged Therese Waterhous, PhD, RDN, CEDRD-S, owner, clinician and trainer at Willamette Nutrition Source, LLC, to offer a seven-month virtual training series. Therese will be joined by two guest speakers to address specific health equity considerations in eating disorder treatment. This training is made available through federal funding and there is no charge to registrants.
For more information, visit our website. You can register at Eventbrite. You may register for as many trainings, including the entire series, as you like, and this training is open to everyone. The next lecture is Sept. 21 from noon to 1:15 p.m. with Dr. Therese Waterhous. The topic will be: “Measurement Tools, Involving Supportive Others & How to Talk to a Person you Think May Have an Eating Disorder."
If you have questions from the prior trainings that you’d like answered, send them to Sam Haskins at sam.l.haskins@dhsoha.state.or.us.
If you have general questions about the series or need more information, contact Kathleen Burns at kathleen.m.burns@dhsoha.state.or.us.
Mental Health Approaches to Intellectual/Developmental Disability (I/DD) trainings
In September 2021, OHA sponsored a Mental Health Approaches to I/DD Train the Trainer event. Trainings are available for our community partners. If you are interested in hosting a training for your organization, please contact Jessica Stout at jessica.l.stout@dhsoha.state.or.us.
Suicide prevention trainings
Question Persuade Refer (QPR): QPR Training for Trainers
Virtual training
- Wednesday, Sept. 21, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Contact QPR@linesforlife.org for more information.
Sources of Strength
Virtual Info Sessions (Elementary and Secondary models): register here
- Sept. 15, 8 to 9 a.m.
- Oct. 19, noon to 1 p.m.
Elementary Coaches training
Training for Trainers for Middle and High School programs
- Feb. 27 - March 2, 2023, in the Medford area
If you are interested in attending either of these trainings, please fill out an interest form here.
System of Care Learning Collaborative
Every second Tuesday of the month, from 3 to 4:30 p.m., Oregon Family Support Network, Youth ERA and OHA facilitate a conversation for people involved with System of Care work.
Conversation topics include how to develop skills that center youth and families, how to be culturally and linguistically responsive and how to ensure services and supports are community-based. Bring your questions and a desire to learn and unlearn!
Contact Nat Jacobs at nat.jacobs@dhsoha.state.or.us for more details.
A Time for Families
A Time for Families is a weekly drop-in discussion hour for parents and family members hosted by Chelsea Holcomb and OHA’s Family Partnership Specialist, Frances Purdy. Join us Thursdays from noon to 1p.m.
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Click here to join the meeting conference ID 676907 or
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Join by phone:1-669-254-5252 | Meeting ID: 161 993 2307 | Passcode: 676907 | One tap mobile: +16692545252,,1619932307#,,,,*676907#
Warmline
Reach Out Oregon, funded by OHA as part of Oregon Family Support Network, has a warm line at 833-732-2467, a website, a chat room for any family member needing support and a weekly virtual support group.
Suicide surveillance data
OHA and the CFBH unit regularly track data on suicide and suicide-related visits to Emergency Departments (ED) and Urgent Care Centers (UCC). The graph below shows the annual data line for 2019 through 2022. This shows that suicide-related visits to EDs and UCCs for youth ages 18 and under in the first quarter of 2022 were higher than previous years but started to recede in the second quarter.
 For more information on this and other data, visit Oregon ESSENCE or email Oregon.ESSENCE@dhsoha.state.or.us.
Capacity in the children’s psychiatric and substance use disorder residential system
The CFBH unit has been closely monitoring capacity at all Oregon Health Plan child behavioral health residential facilities since spring 2021. The goal of this work is to develop a centralized access process, so we know how many children and families need services. As a result, we can identify where capacity needs to be increased to support people with the right service, at the right time.
Goal capacity:
- Acute psychiatric and psychiatric residential: 286 beds
- Substance use disorder residential: To be determined
Operational capacity as of August 3:
- Acute psychiatric and psychiatric residential: 150 beds (62% operational capacity, 52% goal capacity)
- Substance use disorder residential: 24 beds (39% operational capacity)
Projected operational capacity: Acute psychiatric and psychiatric residential
- By fall 2023: 268 beds (94% goal capacity)
Mobile Response and Stabilization Services ($6.5 million)
The 988 call center contracts have moved through the public comment phase, and 988 went live July 16, accepting calls from people of all ages in crisis. Learn more about 988 in Oregon on OHA’s 988 web page. If you do promote the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL) in your work, consider how you will switch messaging from NSPL over to 988. Note that the NSPL number (1-800-273 TALK (8255)) remains available.
Mobile Response and Stabilization Services (MRSS) planning continues toward its January 2023 go-live date. Currently, the Oregon Administrative Rule encompassing MRSS is in the Rules Advisory Committee where it is receiving guidance and insight from community members, those with lived experience, crisis response staff, and those from traditionally underserved and underrepresented communities.
OHA has distributed a portion of the funding for crisis response services across the lifespan and will distribute MRSS funding to counties based on an equitable funding formula that directs funding to where it is needed most. In anticipation of the January go-live date for MRSS, OHA holds Learning Collaboratives the second Monday of each month to gather further insight and inform the community of MRSS.
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Click here to join the meeting conference
- Or call in (audio only): +1 971-277-2343,,359995712#
- Phone Conference ID: 359 995 712#
Contact Brian Pitkin at brian.m.pitkin@dhsoha.state.or.us with any questions.
Psychiatric Residential Treatment Services ($6 million)
In 2021, OHA’s Legislatively Approved Budget provided funding to support investment in treatment services for Oregon’s youth and families experiencing an intensive behavioral health crisis.
OHA has issued a Request for Grant Applications (RFGA) to support the development of Children’s Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities for children with severe emotional disorders.
The Children’s Psychiatric Residential RFGA is committed to addressing the needs of children experiencing a need for psychiatric residential treatment intervention in Oregon. These children currently experience delays in accessing all levels of care, and in some cases, Oregon’s system does not have capacity available to provide residential treatment to accommodate them. The goal is to create an equitable, inclusive, and effective approach to providing treatment to children with severe emotional disorders.
The RFGA will be open through 11:59 p.m. Friday, Sept. 24, 2022.
Interested applicants can learn more about the grants on the Social Determinants of Health web page, under the RFGA: Children Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities.
Applicants can apply for real property, new construction, or acquisition/rehabilitation projects with start-up costs listed in Attachment A, under Application Documents.
For any questions about grant applications, please email Richard Malloy at richard.f.malloy@dhsoha.state.or.us.
Restorative Services and Juvenile Psychiatric Security Review Board services
OHA continues to seek providers interested in working with this complex and dynamic group of youth.
- Organizations must be experts (or would need to become experts or increase capacity) in Psychiatric Treatment Services with a specialty in forensic support and collaboration with families and the court system
- Young people receiving restorative services or under the Juvenile Psychiatric Review Board are generally dealing with a complex set of circumstances, and the work is both rewarding and challenging.
If you are interested in this work, please contact Jessica Stout at jessica.l.stout@dhsoha.state.or.us.
Young Adult Residential Treatment Homes ($9.2 million)
Developed in collaboration with the Intensive Services, Housing & Social Determinants of Health Unit, the Request for Grant Application (RFGA) focuses on Young Adult Residential Treatment programs.
This RFGA focuses on:
- Centering health equity, expanding the Young Adult Residential programs, including up to an additional 20 residential treatment home beds for ages 17.5 through 24 years of age, and
- Developing a 10-bed Secure Residential Treatment Facility for young adults aged 18 through 26 years of age with higher acuity needs.
The RFGA is now posted on the Social Determinants of Health web page, under the “Our Programs” section.
Contact Jessica Stout at jessica.l.stout@dhsoha.state.or.us with any questions.
Interdisciplinary Assessment Teams ($5.7 million)
We continue to meet with community and system partners to assess the need of the Interdisciplinary Assessment Team (IAT) project and creative ways to move forward. The goal is to provide expedited services early on to avoid the significant fallout that can happen while a youth and their family wait for evaluations. While we are developing the IAT to reach its full potential, we have made significant progress with smaller versions of IAT.
Expedited Evaluation Services (EES) provide much needed support to our communities that are clearly struggling. In some situations, youth only need a full psychological evaluation to help the youth and family get on the right path to access the appropriate systems and services they need. Through a new and exciting collaboration between the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS), Office of Developmental Disabilities Services (ODDS), 988/MRSS, community providers and OHA, we hope to significantly shorten the timeline from crisis to access.
We are still considering demonstration project ideas with various system partners and plan to have more options available throughout the state soon.
If you are interested in this work, please contact John Linn at john.r.linn@dhsoha.state.or.us.
For feedback and suggestions for our newsletter and information: kids.team@dhsoha.state.or.us
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