New Mexico First News:

ALBUQUERQUE — New Mexicans attending a statewide town hall on behavioral health in mid-June delivered eight proposals to reform and improve the state’s mental and behavioral health systems.  

These proposals are part of the entire Final Report from the “Transforming Behavioral Health in New Mexico” Town Hall, which was released today on the New Mexico First website.

Public policy non-profit New Mexico First convened the organization’s 44th bi-annual town hall gathering, which hosted nearly 200 New Mexicans Wednesday and Thursday, June 15 and 16, on Isleta Pueblo to discuss the state’s behavioral and mental health system.   

During New Mexico First town halls, residents from all over the state converge on a chosen topic, discuss solutions, and agree by consensus on a slate of reforms that New Mexico First and its partners then advance through legislative engagement and other means. Some past town halls hosted by New Mexico First have tackled healthcare, economic vitality, and water.  

“The pandemic that began in 2020 both contributed to behavioral health challenges in the state and helped elevate the issue for policymakers,” Danielle Gonzales said, executive director for New Mexico First. “Even prior to the pandemic though, there were critical issues to address in our behavioral health system and individual New Mexicans play a critical role in informing and determining solutions.” 

The final recommendations include: 

3. Expand training for providers to increase competency to serve clients of all cultures, languages, ages, gender identification/sexual orientation to include survivors of and those who have been exposed to sexual trauma and violence; 
4. Create, fund, and integrate mental health services in all N.M. public educational systems and implement public outreach campaigns and resources to parents, caregivers, and guardians;  
5. Implement and support mentorship/internship opportunities in underserved areas within provider health systems and create linkage to students who are aspiring mental health professionals; 
6. Expand covered services, funding, and provider rates for Medicaid to ensure more New Mexicans, including incarcerated individuals where allowable, have secure access to medical and behavioral health resources, including simplifying and improving the provider billing process, identifying barriers to out-of-state services that impede access, and initiate interstate agreements that will streamline payers acceptance of out-of-state services; 
7. Fully fund the continuum of behavioral health professionals and staff at rates above national competitive market rates and further incentivize culturally and linguistically appropriate service delivery for all in need as measured not only by contacts but by outcomes; 
8. Create and implement a statewide platform inclusive of databases (such as Health Information Exchange, Homeless Management Information System, etc.) with access to information to provide comprehensive services for clients; 
9. Streamline the licensing and credentialing process from internship through employment; and  
10. The state of New Mexico shall create a permanent fund dedicated to behavioral health needs. 

Using a background report on the issues of mental and behavioral health in the state and feedback from six community conversations hosted across the state and online as a starting point, the participants convened using New Mexico First’s deliberative town hall format. The nine discussion groups – four in-person and five online – then worked to propose recommendations on improving behavioral health in New Mexico. After deliberations, the proposals were brought before the entire group for consensus-based voting. The eight final recommendations received 85 percent or higher of the vote for final approval. An implementation team – made up of volunteers from across the state – will work together with policymakers to advance these recommendations.  

NM First Implementation Team Co-Chair Mika Tari, LMSW from The National Association of Social Workers-NM Chapter, said she “sees her participation as an opportunity to both maintain the progress on the behavioral health system and to introduce a possible paradigm shift in addressing behavioral health in our state”.  

“I wholeheartedly believe our poor outcomes in health, education, economic stability, and overall happiness will not change until we change our understanding and beliefs of prevention, treatment, and recovery – even with a full spectrum of treatment services that are trauma-informed and culturally responsive,” she said. “In the true spirit of a public health, a model taken from indigenous peoples, we cannot solely treat the sick person. We must gather and address ourselves as an unhealthy community. If change does not occur, we will be stuck in this cycle of identifying gaps in the system, implementing the most current evidence-based treatment practice, and wondering where the evidence is for where all the money went.”

Led by Tari, the Behavioral Health Town Hall Implementation Team will meet throughout the Fall to help further the goals set at the Town Hall in June. 

“It is inspiring to see New Mexicans come together to build consensus and drive positive policy change in the area of behavioral health,” Gonzales said. “In a time of increased political polarization, I am optimistic that New Mexicans working together can make the change that will help improve quality of life for New Mexicans today and for generations to come.”