Older Adults with Behavioral Health Needs

The National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD) is a partner in a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and Administration on Aging (AoA) funded technical assistance center on the needs of older adults with behavioral health support needs.  Other key partners include the National Council on Aging (NCOA) and the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD). 

The Technial Assistance Center will create:

• Webinar Series: A series of 10 webinars will be offered to the Enhance Older Adult Behavioral Health Services grantees, as well as the broader aging services network and behavioral health community. Taken together, the webinar series will constitute a science-based, coherent and integrated review of behavioral health for older adults, with a particular focus on the issues of the prevention of suicide, anxiety and depression, prescription drug misuse and abuse, and alcohol abuse. The webinars will be recorded and made available for download. 
• Fact Sheets/Issue Brief Series: 14 fact sheets/issue briefs will be produced to address behavioral health issues that are important to older Americans. The Issue Briefs identify key information and opportunities for action that can improve the lives of older people.  The first brief offers an overview of issues, facts, evidence-based programs and practices, partnering opportunities, financing and other resources.
• Coordinate a two-day Grantee Meeting bringing together key staff from each of the five BHS grantees, Federal sponsors and subject matter experts to discuss critical issues related to behavioral health and older adults; program implementation, fidelity and sustainability; engaging and working with community partners; and health care reform.
• Regional Policy Academy Meetings: The second main initiative of this Center is to coordinate five Regional Policy Academy (PAR) Meetings in the U.S. Department of Health and Humans Service's (HHS) Regions. Each State will be invited to attend one PAR meeting; State teams will consist of representatives from the Mental Health Authority, State unit on aging, Single State Authority and one additional person to be determined. The PAR meetings shall result in a comprehensive understanding of the prevalence of behavioral health issues among older adults, the current state of prevention and maintenance programs and policies, the resources available to promote older adults’ behavioral health and recommendations for future action. State teams will also work together to develop a State action plan to take back to their respective State from implementation.

Please check back regularly for information, resources and events as the technical assistance center is launched.  For more information, please contact Rachel Feldman at rfeldman@nasuad.org or 202-898-2578.