9:15am – 9:30am 

Break

 

9:30am – 10:40am

Concurrent Sessions

 

1.  Critical Time Intervention (CTI): Opportunities and Lessons Learned from Hospital-Based and Community-Based Lens

Gerald Garland, MSW, MBA, Director, Care Management, Northwell Health
Tiffany Garcia, MSW, Supervisor, Social Work Services, Northwell Health
Kayla Miata, MSW, Senior Director, Central Nassau Guidance and Counseling Services
Ryan Weldon, MSW, Team Leader, Central Nassau Guidance and Counseling Services

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This presentation examines the development of the CTI program from two different agencies' perspectives. An example of a hospital-based CTI team with particular focus on developing a partnership with an inpatient team (Staten Island University Hospital) and a community-based CTI team perspective. The presentation will focus on lessons learned from integrating operations with a partner hospital and the community, developing data infrastructure, and utilizing collaborative tools to support integration. Additionally, the presentation will highlight the importance of motivational interviewing in fostering the engagement of CTI members throughout their program journey. 
 

 

2.  The EQ Listen: Radical Presence for Maximum Impact

Tracy Solarek, MBA, ACC, NYSWBE | Founder & Chief Inspirer, Optymum Potential

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Are you listening or just waiting for your turn to speak? As the founder of Optymum Potential, I’m here to help you shift from "selective hearing" to Empathetic Listening—the highest level of communication where you listen with your ears, eyes, and heart. We are going to dive into a high-energy self-assessment to uncover your "brutally honest" listening score and identify the specific habits that are leaking trust in your professional relationships. Get ready to walk away with a personal Accountability Action Plan that turns passive presence into active, EQ-driven influence!

 

​3.  Embedding Care Management in Behavioral Health Settings

Jessica Torres, BA, MS, Manager, Behavioral Health Services, Northwell Health

Lisa O'Neill, BA, MSEd, Manager, Care Coordination, Northwell Health

Jacqueline Acevedo , BA, Supervisor, Case Manager, Northwell Health

 

This presentation outlines an Embedded Care Management Model, integrating Health Home Care Managers into clinical sites and inpatient units across facilities like Zucker Hillside, South Oaks Hospital, Mather and Cornerstone.  It emphasizes early engagement and comprehensive transitional planning for complex behavioral health populations. Focusing on proactive, data-driven, holistic support with community links the model aims to reduce costs, combat clinician burnout, improve health outcomes and ensure safe, sustained discharges through enhanced coordination.

 

4. Partnering to Increase Collaboration with Families

Aqueelah Sumpter, BA, Family Policy Advisor, Families Together in NYS/OCFS Buffalo Regional Office

Kateri Serpas, Family Policy Advisor/ OCFS Native American Services, Families Together in NYS/Cayuga County System of Care

Sumner Young, Lead Family Coordinator, Families Together in NYS/ Cayuga County System of Care

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This workshop emphasizes the importance of engaging families and youth as stakeholders. Key concepts include access, voice, and ownership. Participants will have an opportunity to engage in activities, discuss engagement strategies, and conduct readiness assessments. The goal is to ensure service effectiveness and transparency by incorporating families' unique perspectives.

 

5. Patient in Focus: A Comprehensive Transition Snapshot

RuthAnn Craven, MS, Business Development Manager, Hixny

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Effective transitions of care are critical, high-risk periods where fragmented communication leads to poor outcomes.  This presentation highlights the vast range of information available in real time and how that information flows among members of the patient’s care team to evolve from a fragmented, disease-focused discharge to a unified, patient-centered care plan that addresses each patient’s complete needs - clinical, behavioral, and social. The Comprehensive Transition Snapshot includes: Real-time alerts to notify care managers immediately when patients are discharged from any hospital across New York State; Advance directives and medical orders for life sustaining treatment (eMOLST) forms, to understand patient goals, lifestyle and preferences; Accurate, real-time information about the hospital stay including medication lists, diagnostic test results; Data on depression, anxiety and cognitive screenings and information from the Psychiatric Services and Clinical Knowledge Enhancement System (PSYCKES) database to understand the patient’s challenges with following post-discharge instructions and Information about non-medical factors that influence health, such as housing transportation and food insecurity that may present barriers to care and the need for community support for the patient. Leveraging technology including hospital alerts and health information exchange ensures information about the whole-patient is available to incorporate in the patient-centered care plan, supporting safe and efficient transitions of care in accordance with the patient’s preferences – resulting in lower cost of care.

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6. Understanding Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) and its Role in the Community and with Care Management

Dorota Kearney, LMHC, MA, CCBHC Unit Director, New York State Office of Mental Health

Valerie Bradley, MSW, CCBHC Program Specialist, NYS Office of Mental Health

Scott Ebner, MSW, CCBHC Program Specialist, New York State Office of Mental Health

Amelia Green, MS, CCBHC Program Specialist , New York State Office of Mental Health

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This session will offer participants the opportunity to learn more about the CCBHC program model and its implementation in New York State.  We will explore how CCBHCs are embedded in communities and how Care Managers can coordinate with CCBHC programs to best serve individuals in your communities with transitions in care. The session will also focus on the role care managers play in CCBHCs by exploring the different roles care managers play in coordinating care, both inside the program and within the community.

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7. ​Health Homes: DOH Priorities for SFY2027

Sarina Master, MHA, Director, Bureau of Adult Special Populations, NYSDOH

Hillel Hirshbein, LCSW, MPH, Health Home Program Director, NYSDOH

 

At the 2025 Care Management Conference DOH presented on the development of the HH program over the past decade, laid out a framework describing changes expected over the coming years. This year’s session delves into DOH priorities for the coming year, in the context of the broader vision for the role of the HH Program in the broader healthcare and Medicaid environments.

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8. Systems Literacy: Children's Mental Health System

Meredith Ray-LaBatt, MA, MSW, Acting Associate Director, Division of Children and Families, NYS OMH

Kimberly Heffner, Director, Bureau of Intensive Community Services, Division of Children and Families, NYS OMH

 

In this presentation, staff from the NYS Office of Mental Health Division of Integrated Community Services for Children and Families will review the array of services available through the children's mental health system continuum of care and other resources available to children with mental health needs and their families.  The presentation is ideal for new staff or those needing a refresher on children’s mental health programs in NYS.

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10:40am - 10:50am

Stretch Break

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10:50am – 12:00pm  

Concurrent Sessions

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1. ​Compliance, Quality, and Risk: CMA and HHSC Roles
Dawn Loeffler, Program Manager, Children’s Health Home of Upstate New York (CHHUNY)
Nicole Bryl, Chief Executive Officer, Children’s Health Home of Upstate New York (CHHUNY)

The Health Home model is a unique model in NYS in which the HIPAA covered entity is dependent upon the subcontracted agency (the CMA) to be compliant with policies and procedures to mitigate risk for both the Health Home and the CMA.  In this session, we will discuss what an effective compliance and quality program should entail, where does the responsibility fall, and ultimately, how do we safeguard ourselves (as a entire network of providers) from future OMIG audits. CHHUNY will provide an overview of our quality monitoring and compliance programs and what oversight we would expect from a CMA to be an effective, low risk partner for the Health Home. CMAs would be able to utilize these best practices internally as effective supervision strategies or to work with internal quality and compliance departments at their agency to reduce their risk.

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2. Health Homes: Descriptive and Performance Data

Fatima Aboul-Seoud, MA, Manager of Data Analytics and Integrated Care, Health Home Program, NYSDOH
Shehzil Shah, MPH, Data Insights Advisor, Health Home Program, NYSDOH
Hillel Hirshbein, LCSW, MPH, Health Home Program Director, NYSDOH

The Department of Health presents the latest descriptive and performance data for Health Home enrollees, including demographics, outcomes on nationally recognized quality measures, and changes in service utilization before and after enrollment. This session goes beyond the numbers. Through interactive discussion, participants will use their frontline care management experience to help interpret emerging trends, add real-world context, and explore the “why” behind the data. Together, we will surface practical insights, challenge assumptions, and highlight what the data reveals about the true value and impact of the Health Home Program.

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3. Beyond Translation: Building Cultural Bridges in Health Home Practice and the Workplace

Sharon Amtzis, LCSW, Clinical Director, JEMCare

Zunayet Hussain, Senior Advisor - Health Home Program, JEMCare

Andrei Akhtirskii, Senior Supervisor - Health Home Program, JEMCare

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The presentation will cover how our team has utilized various techniques of team building to bring the care management team together, discussion of similarities and how to build relationships upon these. Further discussion into practicing these within the team and how they will transfer to the people we serve and how to better serve those that may appear to be very different but in fact are not in many ways. Utilizing these techniques can also lead to a more person centered comprehensive assessment and plan of care.

 

4. Trauma Informed Care and Leadership
Elizabeth Christy, DSW, LCSW, CASAC-MC, Associate Vice President, Behavioral Health, Fortune Society
 

This presentation will provide an overview of the different forms of trauma, effects on individual, group, community, and societal levels. Additionally, the presentation seeks to help expand knowledge of potential trauma responses and forms of intergenerational trauma transmission in addition to the concept of post-traumatic growth. These aspects of trauma are explored to better inform direct client care and build trauma-informed leadership practices.

 

5. Implementing Team Building that Supports Staff Retention and Enhanced Comprehensive Care Management 
Melanie Corbett, Care Management Supervisor, Erie Shore Care Management (Arc Wayne)
Gabriella Rickett, Care Manager, Erie Shore Care Management (Arc Wayne)

The presentation will cover how our team has utilized various techniques of team building to bring the care management team together, discussion of similarities and how to build relationships upon these. Further discussion into practicing these within the team and how they will transfer to the people we serve and how to better serve those that may appear to be very different but in fact are not in many ways. Utilizing these techniques can also lead to a more person centered comprehensive assessment and plan of care.

 

6. The Continued Eligibility for Services Tool: Data analysis, lessons learned, and benefits after two years of implementation

Ana Tabachneck, LCSW, Chief Policy and Compliance Officer, CCMP Health Home

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CCMP Health Home will share information about their network's experience with the CES Tool after more than two years of implementation. This includes qualitative and quantitative data, impact on census, CMA implementation strategies, and recommendations.

 

12:10pm – 1:20pm  

Concurrent Sessions

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1. ​Navigating the NYS Office of Mental Health Housing Continuum
Rana Meehan, BS, Mental Health Program Specialist 3, NYS Office of Mental Health

This training provides an overview of the OMH housing system, with a focus on how programs, providers, and partners navigate the system, and collaborate effectively. Participants will gain a clearer understanding of referral pathways, roles and responsibilities, and communication across levels of care, while exploring practical strategies for working together to reduce service gaps and support recovery-oriented, person-centered outcomes

 

2. Best Practices for Preventing Abuse and Neglect
Brandi Young, Quality of Care Facility Review Specialist, NYS Justice Center
Sara Nelson, Supervising Quality of Care Facility Review Specialist, NYS Justice Center

The Justice Center considers prevention to be one its key pillars. This presentation will include an overview of the Justice Center’s abuse prevention efforts, including a look at the Justice Center’s resources, guidance, and tools to help prevent incidents of abuse and neglect.  The Justice Center’s library of resources includes topics such as corrective action planning, professional boundaries, and responding to medical emergencies.   This session will also highlight the Justice Center’s “Could This Happen In Your Program” manual and offer best practices for incorporating information from this resource into a program’s daily operations.  This presentation will provide an overview of the toolkits available to providers and highlight best practices to promote the health, safety, and dignity of all people with special needs.

 

3. Combatting Compassion Fatigue: Using Meditation and Yoga to Improve Resiliency
Sarah Gigante, PT, DPT, Physical Therapist, Yoga Therapist, OLV Human Services

Mental health professionals routinely hold space for others’ trauma, distress, and healing—often at the cost of their own emotional reserves. This presentation focuses on compassion fatigue as an inevitable occupational hazard in mental health work and explores how meditation and yoga can support sustainable care, emotional regulation, and professional longevity.  Participants will gain a brief understanding of the signs and impact of compassion fatigue, followed by practical, trauma-informed meditation and gentle yoga techniques designed to calm the nervous system and restore balance. Emphasis is placed on evidence based, realistic practices that fit into busy clinical schedules and ethically support both personal well-being and effective client care.  This session invites mental health workers to view self-care not as optional, but as a clinical and professional responsibility—one that allows compassion to remain present, grounded, and resilient over time.  Yoga and meditation experiential practice will be included

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4. The SWAP: A Tool for Building Cohesive Teams
Luis Lopez, Director, ICONECT

Samantha Sonia Headley, Implementation Specialist/Trainer, ICONECT

Marissa Messiah, Implementation Specialist/Trainer, ICONECT

Person-centered language transformed behavioral health by shifting the field from pathology toward dignity, empathy, and engagement. Yet many organizations still experience internal cultures marked by burnout, disconnection, and psychological strain. When Person First principles are applied only to client care and not to staff experience teams can unintentionally replicate the very trauma-responsive gaps they seek to prevent.

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This interactive workshop introduces the Safety & Wellness Action Plan (SWAP) as a structured, replicable tool that helps organizations put into action Person First values across supervision, team dynamics, and agency culture. Moving beyond philosophy, participants will learn how the SWAP bridges the gap between intention and implementation supporting psychological safety, a sustainable sense of team belonging and collaboration.

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Originally developed for teams working in high-stress, trauma-impacted environments, SWAP provides a practical roadmap for identifying what staff need to feel supported, recognizing early indicators of individual and collective distress, and creating proactive and reparative pathways for connection. Participants will leave with concrete strategies they can immediately bring back to their teams.

 

5. Training and Development in Hybrid Environment

Lilliene Mine, BSN, MSN, Clinical Professional Development Educator, Northwell Health

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Training and Development (T&D) in a Hybrid Environment is the strategic design and seamless delivery of learning experiences for a workforce that integrates both remote and in-office arrangements. It's dedicated to ensuring all employees, regardless of their daily location, have equitable access to knowledge, skills, and resources vital for effective performance, professional growth, and sustained organizational success. This approach strategically blends virtual classroom platforms, Learning Management Systems (LMS), and targeted in-person sessions. By leveraging advanced technologies, it moves beyond traditional training paradigms to create a dynamic, adaptable learning ecosystem that caters to diverse learning styles and evolving work schedules. A prime example of this approach is a 14-week hybrid learning course designed to address critical behavioral health workforce gaps. This program specifically upskills frontline team members, community health workers (CHW’s), care managers, first responders, clergy, and other health professionals. Its comprehensive curriculum focuses on essential mental health counseling skills, de-escalation techniques, and improving the overall human experience in care delivery.​

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1:20pm

Boxed Lunches Available & Adjournment