LOUISIANA Community Mental Health Services Block Grant ...

pledged on-going pro-bono consultation to assist Louisiana in developing cultural and linguistic
competencies. NAMBHA utilized the Center for Mental Health Services‟ nine guiding principles for
cultural competence in disaster mental health programs as their guide, as well as data and information
gathered from focus groups. One of the primary learning objectives was to train staff that cultural
and linguistic competence is a journey and a process; and the most ardent champion spends a lifetime
acquiring skills that continue to make them more culturally competent. Unfortunately, due to
budgetary constraints and loss of personnel, this committee has for all practical purposes become
dormant. It is hoped that in the near future, the committee will become active once again.
OBH continues to explore is ability and capacity to expand the provision of evidence-based practices
(EBPs). The state has isolated pockets where evidence-based practices are in place, but in the past,
the practices have not been brought to a state-wide scale. In an effort to ameliorate this problem,
during 2009-10, statewide EBP trainings have been offered to educate clinicians on such topics as
Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy.
Crisis intervention and the development of resiliency in children and youth is an important area of
need. In an effort to begin to address this need, the Child/Adolescent Response Team (CART) was
developed. The CART response process is a time-limited series of crisis intervention steps. The six
phases of the CART approach to crisis intervention consists of a cluster of services available to
children and families initiated through a crisis phone line. The crisis plan establishes a time-line
addressing all necessary elements (i.e., least restrictive setting issues, family supports, transportation,
etc.) and includes a plan to link the family back to any pre-existing resources or new resources as
needed. There are now crisis services for children statewide, although two LGEs (JPHSA and
FPHSA) utilize their own model of crisis intervention for children.
The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals and the American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists – Louisiana Section has a relatively new program designed to address poor birth
outcomes in Louisiana. The Louisiana Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral, and Treatment
(SBIRT) – Health Babies Initiative is designed to reduce the use of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug
use during pregnancy. The program also screens and provides appropriate referral for domestic
violence, depression in pregnancy and inadequate parenting. The initiative is different from, but
designed to work in concert with, specialized or traditional treatment. Historically, the primary focus
of specialized treatment has been targeted toward persons with more severe substance use or those
who have met the criteria for a Substance Use Disorder. SBIRT, however, targets those individuals
with non-dependent substance use and provides effective strategies for intervention prior to the need
for more extensive or specialized treatment. Mechanisms are also in place to refer those with the
greatest addiction severity to specialized treatment. A pregnant woman's concern for her unborn
child often motivates her to respond positively to her medical provider‟s advice. Therefore, the longterm
goals of the Louisiana SBIRT initiative are to screen all pregnant Louisiana women at the site of
prenatal care within both, public and private health facilities; and incorporate screening as a routine
part of prenatal care. The Louisiana SBIRT-Healthy Babies Initiative began as a partnership with the
Office of Addictive Disorders and the Office of Public Health within the Louisiana Department of
Health and Hospitals, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), March of
Dimes, Fetal Infant Mortality Review and The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living.
Additional programs are also in place that address the need for a more integrated approach to care.
Although the separation of treatments for mental illness and substance abuse is still all too common
in the state, the reorganization of the two separate offices into the Office of Behavioral Health is
PART C LOUISIANA FY 2011 PAGE 74
SECTION II: ADULT & CHILD/ YOUTH
IDENTIFICATION & ANALYSIS OF SERVICE SYSTEM’S STRENGTHS, NEEDS, & PRIORITIES
UNMET SERVICE NEEDS & PLANS TO ADDRESS UNMET NEEDS