(Updated) Millions coming for RI trauma-informed schools, 988 hotline, mental/behavioral health…

Rhode Island’s FY 23 budget includes $30 million for community behavioral health clinics, funding to establish Mental Health Treatment Court, $1.8 million to establish the 9-8-8 Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Hotline, and $1 million for the study of suicide prevention barriers.

The Governor signed two bills on Aug. 18th:

• H6667B (Representative Marcia Ranglin-Vassell) and S2556A (Senator Sandra Cano): This legislation directs the commissioner of elementary and secondary education to establish a trauma-informed schools implementation plan to support the academic, behavioral, social and emotional needs of all students.

• H7501 (Representative Joseph McNamara) and S2605 (Senator Alana DiMario): This legislation increases public access to professional psychological services by allowing for telepsychological practice across state lines as well as temporary in-person, face-to-face services in a state where the psychologist is not licensed to practice psychology.

The event was held at Thrive Behavioral Health in Warwick. Participating were:

Governor Dan McKee

House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi (D-Dist. 23, Warwick)

Rep. Joseph M. McNamara (D-Dist. 19, Warwick, Cranston), bill sponsor

Rep. Marcia Ranglin-Vassell (D-Dist. 5, Providence), bill sponsor

Sen. Sandra Cano (D-Dist. 8, Pawtucket), bill sponsor

Sen. Alana M. DiMario (D-Dist. 36, Narragansett, North Kingstown), bill sponsor

Ana Novais, Acting Secretary, Executive Office of Health and Human Services

Richard Charest, Director, Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals

Newport Behavioral Health President and CEO Jamie Lehane

Laurie-Marie Pisciotta, Executive Director of the Mental Health Association of Rhode Island reacted to these initiatives – “We are grateful to Governor McKee and the General Assembly for investing in our behavioral healthcare system. Undoubtedly, many lives will be saved, and that’s worth celebrating. However, we cannot build a full continuum of care without raising Medicaid and commercial insurers’ reimbursement rates for outpatient behavioral healthcare providers. We hope our leaders will prioritize this in 2023. Rhode Islanders are languishing on waitlists for every level of care.” 

To read the details of the legislation, click on the blue hyperlinks, above.

UPDATES: From the press conference and bill signing –

The Governor’s office released these further details on the mental health/behavioral health programs to come:

Among the investments included in the budget from June are:

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• $30 million to begin the transition to the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) model of community-based mental health care which will improve access to care and the quality of care
• $4.2 million to create a Mental Health Treatment Court
• $8 million to build a 25-bed short stay unit at Butler Hospital to provide behavioral health care services, crisis intervention, and other related services
• $1.9 million to support the 9-8-8 Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Hotline
• $1 million for the design and engineering of suicide barriers on the state’s four tallest bridges

These investments are in addition to $170 million that the state is investing in Eleanor Slater Hospital over the next several years to pay for renovations, new construction, and an electronic medical records system.

“We all know that behavioral health care is an essential component of our health care system, and these investments will result in more support and better results,” said Governor Dan McKee. “The 988 hotline and the transition to the CCBHC model of community-based health care will help us reach and help more people. In the long run, this will reduce the need for longer-term hospitalizations. At the same time, having a Mental Health Court will divert people away from the criminal justice system and connect them with community-based treatment services, and adding barriers to our largest bridges will help to save lives.”

Richard Charest, Director of the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals, said the transition to a CCBHC model is critical. “CCBHCs offer mental health and substance use treatment services, including 24/7 mobile crisis response, which enables the team to engage clients where they are. This reduces the transportation barrier when someone is in crisis. CCBHCs also provide a comprehensive range of services for anyone who needs help with behavioral health or substance use conditions.”

House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi said, “Working closely with Governor McKee, the General Assembly included many facets of behavioral health investments in the budget. I am proud we addressed this issue from many fronts, ranging from community-based mental health care to school-based services that expand social, emotional and behavioral programs for students. Access to behavioral health care is necessary for our families, and our whole state, to thrive.”

The signing was for the two new bills related to behavioral health, noted above –

“Each and every one of us experiences trauma at some point in our lives, some more than others, and the trauma we experience as children can shape our lives forever. The difference that determines whether we are able to be resilient and recover is whether we are supported by those in our community,” said Rep. Marcia Ranglin-Vassell (D-Dist. 5, Providence), a teacher at E-Cubed Academy in Providence. “In schools, teachers like myself see kids suffering every day from the trauma they have experienced, particularly during the pandemic the last couple of years. The mental-emotional needs of our children need to be met with care, and teachers and staff need resources to know how they can respond in ways that are helpful.”

Said Sen. Sandra Cano, Chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, “By enacting the Trauma Informed Schools Act today, we help our educators who often struggle to meet the needs of these children. By supporting students’ needs around the issues of trauma, we will help them come to school better prepared to learn and provide them with the opportunities they deserve to set them on the path for lifelong success.”

“As lawmakers, we have been working on creative ways to reduce the barriers providers face in obtaining a license to practice,” said Rep. Joseph M. McNamara. “This legislation is another creative way to address the shortage of mental health professionals to get all Rhode Islanders the care that they need.”

“Through passage of this legislation, we would be joining 33 other states to allow for telehealth services across state lines in participating states with a universal credential through the compact that maintains high standards of patient protection and care,” said Sen. Alana M. DiMario. “Without passage of this bill the temporary COVID waivers allowing this will expire at the end of June…”