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What’s next for the BHI

We are changing lives

through the BHI and need

your help sharing this news.

Learn what’s happening and

how you can help share the

BHI story with our community.

In this issue

Hear how we are building a

continuum of care through

new services and leveraging

existing resources to improve

outcomes in our community

from Bernalillo County

Manager Julie Baca.

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BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INITIATIVE

Investing in changing lives and promoting health

May 2018

Issue 4 • Vol. 2

May is Mental Health

Awareness Month. Join the

Changing Lives celebration

on May 22 at Civic Plaza.

Plus read about the new

supportive housing project

approved by the ABCGC.

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A publication of the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County collaborative

With 75% of the annual behavioral health tax dollars allocated, one might

wonder what is next for the Behavioral Health Initiative (BHI). Since 2016, the

work of the subcommittees has resulted in 14 approved projects, eight of

which are implemented today. The four BHI subcommittees –– Crisis Services,

Supportive Housing, Community Supports, and Prevention, Intervention and

Harm Reduction –– will continue to meet as needed. Their work will evolve to

include the review of outcomes and recommendations for implemented

projects in addition to vetting any new project proposals that emerge

through the BHI.

Included in this issue are descriptions of the work underway by the county, city

and UNMH, the three main partners that make up the BHI. Through the

collaboration, representatives from each organization are in continuous

discussions to fill the identified gaps in our continuum of care and to further

develop capacity for behavioral health services where needs have been

identified. The summary by each partner demonstrates how we have come

together as a community to leverage resources and coordinate efforts towards

building stronger linkages into care across the continuum. Some projects have

emerged through the BHI, while other opportunities are resulting through the

alignment of resources and the will to make it happen.

What we need now are ambassadors to help use share the many stories on how

we are changing lives for those in need. If you have a personal story to share,

are interested in joining a BHI speaker’s forum and/or know of an event where

we can share the BHI story, let us know via email at BHInitiative@bernco.gov.

2 May 2018

Collaborating for a Continuum of Care

Bernalillo County Manager Julie Baca

In response to the community’s

support for the 2014 gross receipt

tax earmarked for behavioral

health services, Bernalillo County

continues to dedicate resources

towards identifying priorities,

leveraging resources, engaging

community, procuring services, overseeing outcomes,

and communicating results of enhancement efforts

and BHI programs. In fact, we were just informed that we

are being recognized with an Achievement Award from

the National Association of Counties (NACo) for our

innovative BHI program. In July, Bernalillo County will be

recognized by NACo during its 2018 Annual Conference

and Exposition event.

It’s been a lengthy process to get to this point. To date,

we have allocated 75% of the annual behavioral health

tax dollars and leveraged resources from our partners on

14 programs. I realize that our community is waiting for a

crisis triage center, an emergency room for people in our

community who are having a mental health crisis. But

before we build such a facility, we need services to

discharge individuals to as well as laws in place to enable

an effective crisis and stabilization system.

The recent passage of Senate Bill 220, legislation that

clarifies the definition of a Crisis Triage Center, has opened

the door for discussion between the county and UNMH to

collaborate for a center on UNM Hospital’s footprint.

BernCo is committing its encumbered behavioral health

dollars to the center; UNMH is committed to incorporating

their adult psychiatric center into the crisis triage center;

and we are currently in other discussions with the state for

funding for a children’s psychiatric center as part of a

Triage Stabilization Center.

While some may say progress is slow, I am proud of the

following accomplishments made thus far through the BHI.

We are addressing addiction through the appointment of

the Addiction Treatment Advisory Board; reversing

historical recidivism trends while improving the health of

individuals discharged from jail through Transition Planning

and the soon to open Re-Entry Resource Center;

confronting Adverse Childhood Experiences for children

and their families; complementing our workforce through

Peer Support and Community Engagement Teams;

collaborating with APD to improve crisis response; and

addressing homelessness through innovative approaches

–– all with help from our community partners. Following are

other initiatives underway from the collaboration.

City of Albuquerque

Without the addition of new funding sources, the city has

aligned its existing behavioral health dollars to the priorities

outlined in the BHI. The city is supporting crisis services

through a joint procurement with the county for the newly

Through the BHI initiative, Bernalillo County, the City of Albuquerque and University of

New Mexico Hospitals have come together to leverage resources and align funding

towards building an array of much needed services. The efforts underway for the past

three years are beginning to shape a comprehensive continuum of care for

individuals and their families. Following are details from the County Manager on what

each partner is doing to help improve behavioral health outcomes in our community.

3 May 2018

established Mobile Crisis Teams; redirecting funds now

paid by Medicaid to provide intensive case management

services for individuals with substance abuse disorder;

collaborating with the county on a jail re-entry diversion

program called Community Connections; and expanding

existing supportive housing models to benefit individuals

who require a more intensive level of services to maintain

stability through capital investment in the Single Site

Permanent Supportive Housing project.

Implementation of Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) is

another behavioral health partnership underway primarily

with the city, Second Judicial District Court and UNM

Psychiatric Center. AOT is an evidence-based practice

that has demonstrated effectiveness in improving

treatment outcomes and enhancing public safety.

It is a court-supervised treatment for individuals with

severe mental illness who have a history of treatment

non-compliance that results in repeated hospitalizations

or arrests.

A cross-section of members from the court, county, city,

UNM, and Disability Rights NM have come together to

form the AOT Implementation Advisory Team. Through an

agreement with the court to support a funding stream to

establish an AOT program in Bernalillo County, we are

adding yet another service within the continuum for those

in need. A pilot program is planned to start in July. University of New Mexico Hospitals (UNMH)

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Department

The collaboration with UNM is helping to build a

comprehensive system of care for Behavioral Health

patients in Bernalillo County. Efforts are resulting in joint

strategies to develop services to fill identified gaps in the

continuum of care and to develop capacity for

behavioral health services where an identified need exists.

Following are services and strategies that have been

implemented or are being pursued at UNMH.

UNM Children’s

Psychiatric Center (CPC)

now offers an inpatient

option for the most

complex patients with

substance use disorders complicated by psychiatric illness.

The new service is an extension of UNMH’s Addiction and

Substance Abuse Program’s (ASAP) STAR Program that

offers outpatient services for addicted teens including

detoxification and psychotherapy.

Sandia Ridge Center, a 136-bed skilled nursing center

operated by Genesis HealthCare, opened a new Mental

Health and Recovery Unit in collaboration with the

UNM Health System. The new 26-bed unit offers a

recovery-based program aimed at helping patients

manage their disease and live in a physically and

emotionally healthy manner.

To support the Transition Planning underway at MDC and

the soon to open Resource Re-entry Center (RCC), UNMH

is assisting with identifying high need inmates prior to

discharge to provide direct connections to services. In

addition, UNMH will be staffing the RCC and helping to

navigate individuals into services.

Other services currently under consideration are

expanding Urgent Care capacity by increasing the hours

of operation; seeking provisions for intermediate levels of

care that include partial hospital admission, a daily

therapeutic outpatient program; renovating and

expanding the Psychiatric Emergency Services unit;

developing a step down unit focused on stabilization with

case coordination, case management services and peer

support; assisting Mobile Crisis Teams with triage services;

providing enhanced care coordination for high needs

behavioral health patients through the Behavioral Health

Homes program; and creating a Crisis Stabilization Center

for adults and children aimed at assessment and

immediate stabilization of acute symptoms of mental

illness, alcohol and drug disorders.

4 May 2018

In March, the ABCGC approved

the Single-site Permanent

Supportive Housing (PSH) project, a

housing model proven successful in

other communities for individuals

who require a more intensive level

of services to maintain stability. The

project provides 40 to 60 individual

housing units with on-site services.

“By clustering services on-site,

residents can easily access much

needed supports including case

management, medical and

behavioral health services,

counseling, employment and

education services, and assistance

with federal and state benefits,”

explained Robert Baade, chairman

of the BHI Supportive Housing

Subcommittee.

The building will be staffed 24-hours

a day, with security cameras both

inside and outside of the building.

Vouchers will be project-based

and provided to single adults

aged 18 or older who are

homeless or precariously housed;

who have a diagnosable mental,

behavioral or emotional disorder,

substance abuse disorders, and/or

serious mental illness; and

experience significant behavioral

BHI Community Updates Leveraging resources through collaboration to fill the gaps in our behavioral health system continuum

New Permanent Supportive Housing Model Approved

Mental Health Awareness Month

Wear your green and

come out and join us

on May 22, at Civic

Plaza in downtown

Albuquerque, from 10

am – 2 pm for information tables,

food trucks, testimonials, music,

and more to raise awareness and

demonstrate how we are

Changing Lives in our community.

Led by Bernalillo County, the City

of Albuquerque and the

Albuquerque Bernalillo County

Government Commission

(ABCGC), this year’s Changing

Lives celebration commemorates

the National Mental Health

Awareness Month.

Prior to the event on Civic Plaza,

representatives from the city,

county and UNMH will hold a

news conference and ribbon

cutting to announce the official

opening of the Resource Re-entry

Center (RRC) located at the

Public Safety Center, 401 Roma

NW. The RRC will provide

individuals transitioning from

MDC with an effective front door

to a network of services and

resources.

health challenges that require a

more intensive level of services to

maintain stability. Clients housed in a

single-site facility may experience

more independent living, higher

rates of treatment retention,

improved socialization, increased

housing stability, and improved

health and social outcomes. It can

be a means for recovery for the most

vulnerable individuals in the county.

The proposed budget includes one-

time nonrecurring capital investment

costs of $4 million, with a $2 million

commitment from the City of

Albuquerque and up to a $2 million

match from Bernalillo County for site

development, and $1 million from

BernCo for recurring support services

and housing vouchers.

Thus far, the ABCGC has approved

14 projects that total more than $19

million in annual allocations from

both the City of Albuquerque and

Bernalillo County.