Proposed SAMHSA budget includes huge additions for block grant

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (22) ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Alison Knopf
Keyword(s):  
The Forum ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-247
Author(s):  
Ryan LaRochelle

AbstractThis article sheds new light on how conservatism has affected American state development by tracing the history of how block-granting transformed from a bipartisan tool to solve problems of public administration in the 1940s into a mechanism to roll back and decentralize the welfare state that had reached its zenith in the 1960s. By the early 1980s, conservative policymakers had coopted the previously bipartisan tool in their efforts to chip away at the increasingly centralized social welfare system that emerged out of the Great Society. In the early 1980s, Ronald Reagan successfully converted numerous categorical grants into a series of block grants, slashing funding for several social safety net programs. Block-granting allows conservative opponents of the postwar welfare state to gradually erode funding and grant more authority to state governments, thus using federalism as a more palatable political weapon to reduce social welfare spending than the full dismantlement of social programs. However, despite a flurry of successes in the early 1980s, block-granting has not proven as successful as conservatives might have hoped, and recent efforts to convert programs such as Medicaid and parts of the Affordable Care Act into block grants have failed. The failure of recent failed block grant efforts highlights the resilience of liberal reforms, even in the face of sustained conservative opposition. However, conservatives still draw upon the tool today in their efforts to erode and retrench social welfare programs. Block-granting has thus transformed from a bipartisan tool to improve bureaucratic effectiveness into a perennial weapon in conservatives’ war on the welfare state.


CNS Spectrums ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-178
Author(s):  
Eric D. Achtyes ◽  
Kari Kempema ◽  
Zhehui Luo ◽  
Katharine N. Thakkar ◽  
Catherine Adams ◽  
...  

AbstractStudy ObjectivesCoordinated specialty care (CSC) is widely accepted as an evidence-based treatment for first episode psychosis (FEP). The NAVIGATE intervention from the Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode Early Treatment Program (RAISE-ETP) study is a CSC intervention which offers a suite of evidence-based treatments shown to improve engagement and clinical outcomes, especially in those with shorter duration of untreated psychosis (DUP). Coincident with the publication of this study, legislation was passed by the United States Congress in 2014–15 to fund CSC for FEP via a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) block grant set-aside for each state. In Michigan (MI) the management of this grant was delegated to Network180, the community mental health authority in Kent County, with the goal of making CSC more widely available to the 10 million people in MI. Limited research describes the outcomes of implementation of CSC into community practices with no published accounts evaluating the use of the NAVIGATE intervention in a naturalistic setting. We describe the outcomes of NAVIGATE implementation in the state of MI.MethodsIn 2014, 3 centers in MI were selected and trained to provide NAVIGATE CSC for FEP. In 2016 a 4th center was added, and 2 existing centers were expanded to provide additional access to NAVIGATE. Inclusion: age 18–31, served in 1 of 4 FEP centers in MI. Data collection began in 2015 for basic demographics, global illness (CGI q3 mo), hospital/ED use and work/school (SURF q3 mo) and was expanded in 2016 to include further demographics, diagnosis, DUP, vital signs; and in 2018 for clinical symptoms with the modified Colorado Symptom Inventory (mCSI q6 mo), reported via an online portal. This analysis used data until 12/31/19. Mixed effects models adjusted by age, sex and race were used to account for correlated data within patients.ResultsN=283 had useable demographic information and were included in the analysis. Age at enrollment was 21.6 ± 3.0 yrs; 74.2% male; 53.4% Caucasian, 34.6% African American; 12.9 ± 1.7 yrs of education (N=195). 18 mo retention was 67% with no difference by sex or race. CGI scores decreased 20% from baseline (BL) to 18 mo (BL=3.5, N=134; 15–18 mo=2.8, N=60). Service utilization via the SURF was measured at BL (N=172) and 18 mo (N=72): psychiatric hospitalizations occurred in 37% at BL and 6% at 18 mo (p<0.01); ER visits occurred in 40% at BL and 13% at 18 mo (p<0.01). 44% were working or in school at BL and 68% at 18 mo (p<0.01). 21% were on antipsychotics (AP) at BL (N=178) and 85% at 18 mo (N=13) with 8% and 54% on long acting injectable-AP at BL and 18 mo, respectively. Limitations include missing data and lack of a control group.ConclusionThe implementation of the NAVIGATE CSC program for FEP in MI resulted in meaningful clinical improvement for enrollees. Further support could make this evidence-based intervention available to more people with FEP.FundingSupported by funds from the SAMHSA Medicaid State Block Grant set-aside awarded to Network180 (Achtyes, Kempema). The funders had no role in the design of the study, the analysis or the decision to publish the results.


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