News Clips
Could mental health support be the key to keeping more Colorado preschool teachers in the field?
February 14, 2020
By: Erica Breunlin
Originally appeared in The Colorado Sun.
As Colorado starves for more early childhood educators, some are leaving the classroom because of kids’ behavioral challenges. A new focus on mental health could change that. Read the full story.
New bills aim to alleviate mental health workforce shortages
January 31, 2020
By: John Spina
A couple of times a week Sue Harig meets with clients from Mental Health Partners just to talk for a while. She’s not a psychotherapist or psychiatrist, but as a certified peer support specialist, Harig has firsthand experience with mental illness and has been trained by Mental Health Partners in Boulder County to help others along in their recovery — kind of like a mental health sponsor.
The “sessions” mostly consist of Harig visiting her clients at home, helping them with chores, or accompanying them in stressful situat...
Superintendent addresses recent student deaths
January 25, 2020
By: Rachel Skytta and Web Staff
Originally appeared on Fox31 News
ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. -- The Superintendent of Adams 12 shared a statement on Friday discussing the recent deaths of students within the Adams County School District.
"A number of families and schools within our community are grieving the sudden and painful loss of their children as we enter the final days of January. We have lost five children in our community over the past 40 days. They range in age from sixth grade to tenth grade and attended four different schools. The ...
Transportation, education and justice on the legislative agenda
January 22, 2020
By: Faith Miller and Pam Zubeck
Originally appeared in the Colorado Springs Independent
AND THEY'RE OFF
Don’t expect Democrats to back away from their progressive agenda during this legislative session, despite some backlash stemming from the long list of bills that their trifecta of power — controlling the state House, Senate and governor’s office — enabled them to push through last year.
One prominent example: the controversial red-flag bill.
While some sheriffs have said they’d refuse to enforce the red-flag law, which ...
North Range Behavioral Health moves into new, larger facility in Frederick
January 21, 2020
By: John Marinelli
Originally appeared in Time-Call.
North Range Behavioral Health, a northern Colorado mental health organization, opened a new, larger location in Frederick on Tuesday.
The 12,000-square-foot facility at 5901 Majestic St. in Frederick — a counseling center offering services including outpatient therapy, psychiatry, individual and group therapy and DUI education and treatment — was completed in late 2019, according to a press release from North Range Behavioral Health.
The organization previously operated for five ...
Bipartisan bill introduced to support Colorado’s mental health care, recovery providers
January 17, 2020
By: Ernest Luning
Originally appeared in Colorado Politics
Lawmakers on Thursday introduced bipartisan legislation to boost the role of peer support professionals in Colorado, potentially easing a shortage of specialists who can help treat patients with mental health and addiction issues.
House Bill 20-1139, sponsored by state Reps. Yadira Caraveo, D-Thornton, and Rod Pelton, R-Cheyenne Wells, would authorize Medicaid to pay for additional services provided by peers — caregivers who have experienced various mental health and substance-use ...
Telehealth is a good option – if your internet connection is fast enough
By: Anusha Roy
Date: January 16, 2020
Originally appeared on 9News
The idea of telehealth has been gaining popularity in Colorado but there's an issue of access to strong enough internet
DENVER — The idea of telehealth has been gaining popularity in Colorado, especially for people who live in rural areas where doctors and behavioral health specialists may be too far away.
However, there's a hurdle to telehealth working properly: Internet speed.
The Colorado Governor's Office of Information Technology shared a map of the state. The areas in green have ...
Big Ideas Gov. Jared Polis and Colorado lawmakers pitched for 2020
January 15, 2020
By: Erica Breunlin, Jennifer Brown, Moe Clark, John Ingold and Jesse Paul
Originally appeared in The Durango Herald
Teen vaping, mental health parity, a public option and teacher bonuses make list
From mental health to teacher pay, Colorado’s leaders are exploring innovative ideas to tackle the state’s biggest challenges.
Gov. Jared Polis and four state lawmakers pitched their ideas Tuesday at the Big Ideas Forum hosted by The Colorado Sun, CBS4 and the University of Denver.
Here’s a look at their ideas and the challenges they face ...
The cost of establishing 988, a national mental health crisis line
By: Anusha Roy
Originally appeared on 9News.
Dialing 988 would simplify the process of getting mental health help by phone, but how will the costs be covered?
DENVER — Calling 911 works because someone on the other line answers the phone.
Calling 988, a national mental health crisis line, would only work if there are enough people to keep up with those calls.
At the Rocky Mountain Crisis Services center, where the phone rings more than 180,000 times a year, Chief Executive Officer Bev Marquez said having quality time to spend on those calls is very ...
Colorado’s new parity law for mental health hits a Medicaid snag
By: Evan Wyloge
A new Colorado law that requires insurers to reimburse behavioral health care providers for mental conditions on par with compensation for physical conditions left a gap that advocates fear will make it harder for the state’s poorest and most complicated patients on Medicaid to get optimal care.
The sweeping overhaul, signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis last year, was meant to create parity in care for the mentally ill, and supporters say it significantly strengthened coverage.
Read the full article in The Gazette
