Please go to The Maine Beacon to read the full article.  By: Dan Neumann ~~Excerpt The number of people who have enrolled in the state’s Medicaid system, MaineCare, which Mainers voted to expand in 2017, reached 40,770 this month. Within that group, according to the latest tally released by Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services, are 5,752 individuals who are now receiving treatment for substance use disorder who were not prior to Medicaid expansion. “Expansion is working ... Read More ›

Please go to Pine Tree Watch to read the full article.  Maine will need an estimated $2 billion by 2030 to treat and care for opioid-affected children By: Barbara Walsh ~~Excerpt Babies withdrawing from opiates. Children watching their parents shoot up heroin. Orphans growing up in foster care. They are the opioid epidemic’s youngest victims. Nationally, an estimated 2.2 million children and adolescents were in crisis as of 2017 — 28 out of every 1,000. According to The Ripple ... Read More ›

The Maine Juvenile Justice System Assessment and Reinvestment Task Force is studying how our state responds to youth in the juvenile justice system and will be recommending ways that Maine can help young people avoid involvement with the justice system and develop into health and productive adults. As part of the assessment process, the Task Force has developed a Community Survey to gather input, which can be completed online or downloaded and mailed in. To complete a paper copy of the ... Read More ›

Please go to Seacoast Online to read the full article.  ~~Excerpt SANFORD -- Partners Bank is proud to announce that Crossroads behavioral health and addiction treatment center has been awarded a gift of $500 as the October recipient of the Bank’s monthly Employee Donation Program. Since the program’s inception in 2015, Maine organizations have received more than $21,000 in support. ... Read More ›

Please go to The County to read the full article.  Lorraine Chamberlain (Courtesy of Aroostook Mental Health Center) By: Contributed ~~Excerpt CARIBOU, Maine — Aroostook Mental Health Center has been selected to serve on a national Advancing Health Equity Learning Collaborative, a component of the Advancing Health Equity: Leading Care, Payment, and Systems Transformation program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Lorraine Chamberlain, program director ... Read More ›

Please go to the Portland Press Herald to read the full article.  A new report from the agency's Office of Child and Family Services recommends 33 additional caseworkers, on top of 33 already funded by the Legislature, to handle a growing volume of abuse and neglect reports. By: Joe Lawlor, Staff Writer ~~Excerpt Maine’s child welfare agency said Tuesday that the state needs to double the number of new caseworkers to handle an increasing number of abuse and neglect ... Read More ›

Please go to the Portland Press Herald to read the full article.  Jessica Pollard, who has been teaching at the Yale University School of Medicine, returns to her native state to lead an office that plays a key role in responding to the opioid crisis. By: Eric Russell, Staff Writer ~~Excerpt A Maine native who spent the last six years as a psychiatry professor at the Yale University School of Medicine has been named director of Maine’s Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health ... Read More ›

Thursday, October 3, 8:30AM – 3:30PM Augusta Civic Center, Augusta Maine This year’s conference, A New Day for Health Care in Maine, is designed to blend celebration with resolve and commitment. Progress being made to improve access to quality and affordable health care in Maine will be celebrated.  At the same time, we will highlight the need to protect, preserve and build on gains made to expand access to affordable coverage, preventative care and other health care including prescription ... Read More ›