sed on child health and wellness. Panelists discussed resumption of routine care, missed immunizations, lead poisoning screening, sleep, and child neglect and abuse. The first slide in this slide deck includes a link to the recorded 75-minute webinar.
COVID-19 OBSSR Research Tools: Lists and links to data collection instruments, including surveys, for assessing COVID-19-related behavioral and social sciences domains for clinical and population research. The National Institutes of Health [NIH] Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research has compiled this table, whose contents can be accessed to detect/identify physical and mental health impacts of the pandemic and its consequences. Included tools can support screening among students, families and even educators as a predicate to arranging responsive treatment and support when indicated.
School Counseling During COVID-19: Provides guidance and materials to support school counselors to provide effective services and supports to students during COVID-19-related school shutdowns and student absences, with complementary materials for parents. The American School Counselor Association [ASCA] furnishes three tailored toolkits:
- Virtual Elementary School Counseling
- Virtual Middle School Counseling
- Virtual High School Counseling
States Expand Medicaid Reimbursement of School-Based Telehealth Services: Highlights the types of school-based telehealth services that states reimbursed through Medicaid prior to COVID-19, and policy changes during the pandemic. This May 2021 issue brief by the National Academy for State Health Policy discusses those policies and key considerations for states during and beyond the pandemic. The issue brief also links to a concise state-by-state chart showing the range of Medicaid-covered telehealth services in schools, with hyperlinks to each state’s guidance documents supporting that reimbursement (Medicaid-Reimbursable School-Based Telehealth Services)
CMS Physician Payment Rule Promotes Greater Access to Telehealth Services, Diabetes Prevention Programs: Announces CMS’ new Calendar Year (CY) 2022 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) final rule that will promote greater use of telehealth and other telecommunications technologies for providing behavioral health care services, and will boost payment rates for vaccine administration. The new rule (November 2021) means counseling and therapy services, including treatment of substance use disorders, will be more readily available to individuals, especially in areas with poor broadband infrastructure. Click here to access a fact sheet CMS has developed about the new rule; and access the full (more than 2,400 pages) rule here.
Telehealth Learning Series for SUD Treatment and Recovery Support Providers: Provides a (free) national online discussion and resource sharing opportunity for substance use disorder (SUD) treatment providers and peer support specialists who are transitioning their services to the use of telephone and video-conferencing methods in response to COVID-19 social distancing guidelines. This website archives webinars and training presentations, curated tools, forms and other resources, and a Frequently Asked Questions and Recommended Resources document contributed by SAMHSA’s Addiction Technology Transfer Center [ATTC] Network, the Center for Excellence on Protected Health Information [CoE-PHI], the National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers, and the Center for the Application of Substance Abuse Technologies [CASAT] at the University of Nevada - Reno.
Pediatric Mental Health Care Access (PMHCA) and the American Rescue Plan Act - Pediatric Mental Health Care Access - New Area Expansion (ARP-PMHCA) Programs: Announces expansion of Pediatric Mental Health Care Access (PMHCA) projects into new states and geographic areas, including tribal areas. Through these programs, new state and regional networks of pediatric mental health care teams can now provide tele-consultations, training, technical assistance and care coordination for pediatric primary care providers to diagnose, treat and ref