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13 <br /> 1 <br /> 2 Background <br /> 3 Initiated by the Orange County Health Department to determine the barriers professionals face <br /> 4 as they seek to refer county residents aged 0-25 to mental health and substance abuse <br /> 5 treatment services. <br /> 6 ➢ Youth hospitalization records from 2009-2015 indicate: <br /> 7 o Increase in mental health visits due to psychoactive substance abuse. From <br /> 8 27% to 31% <br /> 9 o Increase in 0-25 mental health visits as a proportion of all mental health visits. <br /> 10 From 18% to 24% <br /> 11 Research Methodology <br /> 12 ✓ 10 informational interviews with prominent figures in the mental health community <br /> 13 ✓ 150 individuals surveyed based in the fields of healthcare, social services, criminal <br /> 14 justice, behavioral therapy, K-12 education, and others <br /> 15 <br /> 16 Barriers to Accessing Treatment <br /> 17 The most common barriers for Orange County residents aged 0-25 who need mental health <br /> 18 and/or substance abuse treatment services were: <br /> 19 ➢ Affordability: Many low-income residents either do not have insurance or find their <br /> 20 coverage inadequately covers these services <br /> 21 o High deductibles, few sliding scale/pro bono options, low maximum number of <br /> 22 appointments <br /> 23 ➢ Accessibility: Based on a variety of factors, all of which result in barriers to access <br /> 24 o Citizenship status, language/cultural, location, type of condition, where/how to <br /> 25 find care, transportation <br /> 26 <br /> 27 Phase 2: Focus groups <br /> 28 January 2017 <br /> 29 <br /> 30 Purpose & Format <br /> 31 Health department hosted 39 survey participants at a session to strategize three overarching <br /> 32 priorities for improving the mental health system in FY 2017-18. <br /> 33 <br /> 34 Feedback <br /> 35 The majority of focus group participants were in favor of increasing the capacity for three <br /> 36 overarching priorities: <br /> 37 1. Restore funding for mental health services for birth to age 5 <br /> th <br /> 38 2. Provide greater in-school mental health services in K-12 grade (e.g. external, licensed <br /> 39 providers who can bill for insurance and Medicaid in the schools) <br /> 40 3. Improve community's ability to access services (e.g., know: who to call, what number to <br /> 41 call, when to call) <br /> 42 <br /> 43 Next Steps <br /> 44 ➢ Mental Health Program Coordinator to work on priorities 1&2 (to be requested with the <br /> 45 FY 17-18 Budget process) <br /> 46 ➢ National Grant with UNC to address priority#3 <br /> 47 ➢ Look for ways to use MH MOE funds to address priorities <br /> 48 <br /> 49 Commissioner McKee said he wanted to mention the Maintenance of Effort (MOE) <br /> 50 money, and the coordination with Cardinal Innovations. He said in some areas the allocation of <br />