In our efforts to strengthen the health, safety, and independence of everyone who lives in Idaho, many divisions in the department work directly with the state’s five tribes to make sure they have access to the services and resources they need.

We recently created a new annual report called 2021 Tribal Community Report and have shared it with the tribes to help strengthen these partnerships.

In the past several years, the department has expanded opportunities to communicate and share ideas with the tribes. This translates into more collaborative solutions to sometimes challenging problems because there are more opportunities to work together.

We’ve also provided services and support to help influence the physical and mental health of tribal members.

One example of this work includes boosting the tribes’ education and awareness programs that help members quit commercial tobacco and vaping products. More than half of all tribal members have reported regularly smoking or chewing tobacco or vaping, all of which can be harmful. Another example includes providing funding and support for tribal efforts to curb substance use and overdoses.

DHW is also working to make sure tribal representatives are involved in the process that helps children who have experienced abuse, neglect, or abandonment, and their families. The Division of Family and Community Services strives to make sure tribes have access to resources and services they need to keep their families together.

More details are available in the report. I hope you’ll take the time to read it.

I hope you stay safe and healthy on this extended weekend. The department will be closed on Monday, in honor of the Juneteenth holiday.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is dedicated to strengthening the health, safety, and independence of Idahoans. Learn more at healthandwelfare.idaho.gov. 

Idaho WIC (short for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) is a federally funded nutrition program for women, infants, and children. The program promotes healthy choices for pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and children up to their fifth birthdays.

The names of the programs may sound similar, but the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) or food stamps, is a different program. You can be eligible and get benefits from both. If you have SNAP or Medicaid, then you may also be able to get WIC.

What does WIC do?

WIC helps families by providing: 

• WIC funds to buy healthy foods from local grocery stores
• Nutrition education
• Help finding healthcare and other community services
• Breastfeeding information and support

What breastfeeding services does WIC offer?

Idaho WIC provides services to help Idaho remain one of the top breastfeeding states in the nation:

• Peer counseling: Counselors help cheer on and support pregnant women before and after they’ve had their babies as they decide how to feed their babies. Counselors have experience breastfeeding their own children and understand the challenges and joys that come with breastfeeding. 
• Professional breastfeeding support: WIC provides free clinic and phone discussions with trained breastfeeding professionals, including international board-certified lactation consultants (IBCLC’s), certified lactation counselors/educators, and registered dietitians.
• Supplemental foods for breastfeeding women: Breastfeeding women receive the deluxe WIC food package with more food and variety.
• Breastfeeding equipment: WIC may supply breast pumps and other equipment or supplies to help women provide breast milk for their babies.

Contact your local WIC clinic to learn more about breastfeeding services.

Who is eligible for WIC?

To be eligible for WIC, you must meet certain requirements:

• Be a resident of Idaho
• Meet income guidelines
• Be pregnant, breastfeeding, had a baby in the last six months, or be parents, guardians, or foster parents of infants and children up to their fifth birthdays

Visit signupwic.com to find the WIC clinic closest to you. Determine what to bring to your first appointment.

Leah Sallas is the Idaho WIC program director. She has worked for the department since 2015.

Follow the Department of Health and Welfare on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for updates and information you can trust.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is dedicated to strengthening the health, safety, and independence of Idahoans. Learn more at healthandwelfare.idaho.gov. 

As part of Strategic Goal 3, the department is committed to serving Idahoans by making sure that:

• The suicide rate in Idaho is reduced
• Idahoans become as healthy and self-sufficient as possible through community-driven health initiatives
• There is a measurable reduction in abuse, neglect, and other damaging adverse childhood experiences in Idaho families

This article highlights and celebrates some of our key achievements from the current Strategic Plan.

Objective 3.1: Reduce Idaho's suicide rate by 20 percent by 2025.

• We believe that suicide deaths are preventable. The department’s Suicide Prevention Program has successfully recruited healthcare partners to implement a suicide care model called Zero Suicide. The model is that patients get the care they need when they need it. The provider partners are Shoshone Medical Center in Kellogg, Snake River Community Clinic in Lewiston, and Caribou Medical Center in Soda Springs. Additional medical providers plan to implement Zero Suicide in Idaho.
• Suicide postvention is the actions taken after a suicide has occurred to prevent additional suicides. The department’s Suicide Prevention Program has an Idaho suicide postvention toolkit, and is working with each of Idaho’s local public health districts to develop postvention goals. The team also launched a suicide prevention social media campaign called Rock Your Role: Know the Signs.
• The campaign and postvention toolkits help expand resources to agricultural and farming community members in rural Idaho. Other activities to help raise suicide prevention awareness and promote postvention resources included distribution of gun locks and medication/drug lock boxes.

Objective 3.2: Address health disparities and the social determinants of health (SDOH) associated with the priority health issues (diabetes, obesity, injury, and behavioral health) by partnering with and investing in at least one high-risk community per year, through June 2024.

• The department successfully worked with the Western Idaho Community Health Coalition (WICHC) in Elmore County. WICHC will invest in community-level approaches that impact health such as housing, neighborhood conditions, and education. The priorities identified in Elmore County are the healthcare system, and neighborhood and physical environment. The department awarded a second high-risk community subgrant to Southeast Idaho United Way, focusing on Bannock County.
• The department published an evaluation on the progress of Get Healthy Idaho work. The report includes opportunities for new funding possibilities and recommendations to help Get Healthy Idaho grow so communities are equipped to thrive. One of these recommendations involved establishing a partnership with the Idaho Funders Network. The Get Healthy Idaho team took part in the first Idaho Funders Summit in September 2021.
• DHW partnered with Boise State University to develop the Idaho Health Report Card at the request of the Health Quality Planning Commission. The vision of the health report card is to promote a unified approach to assess the health of Idaho, identify areas of greatest concern, and drive action among partners and policy-makers invested in supporting Idahoans to live their healthiest lives possible. 
• This team also partnered on the Healthy Idaho Places Index. They completed Phase 1 of the project, which included defining the data process methodology and finalizing the metrics for the Idaho Health Report Card and the Healthy Idaho Places Index. The team expects to launch the index this summer. It will be a rich source of data that combines the social determinants of health and Idaho’s existing health outcomes to identify highest-risk communities and neighborhoods that need support. It also will serve as a driver for health policy decisions and resource dedication across state partnerships.

Objective 3.3: Implement three evidence informed initiatives that reduce harmful adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in Idaho families by July 1, 2023.

• The department worked with medical providers to increase screening to interrupt the intergenerational transmission of ACEs in families. A Parent Advisory Committee assisting with this task used focus group feedback to develop trauma-informed, human-centered screening guidelines for physicians.
• New screening guidelines are being integrated into provider practices in the Treasure Valley this fall, with a plan to expand beyond the Treasure Valley in coming years.
• The department has organized a dynamic ACEs team with more than a dozen members from divisions throughout the department. The team is developing a clear picture of what ACEs data the department has, and how we can use the data to support programs to address ACEs as an agency. The desired outcome is to identify work already started in DHW and with partners, and to build a coordinated approach to the data that identifies shared indicators about where DHW can focus as an agency.

You can follow the DHW’s work toward our mission and read more about our Strategic Plan on our website.

I hope you have a safe and healthy weekend.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is dedicated to strengthening the health, safety, and independence of Idahoans. Learn more at healthandwelfare.idaho.gov. 

COVID-19 trends in Idaho are heading in the wrong direction. We’re hearing about more infections, and 9 percent of COVID-19 test results are positive (up from 7.6 percent the week before). In addition, hospitalizations also are ticking up. The good news is that hospitalization increases are small, and the number of deaths is not rising, likely due to some population immunity from circulating strains.

After the Memorial Day holiday and recent graduations — when many people gather with friends and family -- we’re watching to see if these trends continue. If Idaho follows the trends east coast states have experienced , we may see our rates level off in a few weeks, but a lot depends on new variants of the virus that emerge and whether people will avoid behaving in ways that can result in spreading the virus that causes COVID-19.

We’d like to remind Idahoans that we have tools that work to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The vaccines work well to keep most people out of the hospital. We can choose to wear masks in crowded places or when we can’t keep our distance from others. We have more immunity as a population, and we also have more treatment options and an understanding about the virus that we didn’t have when the pandemic began.

It may be difficult to assess your own risk as you eye COVID-19 trends. Here’s some information that might help. 

What precautions should I take?

Getting vaccinated and boosted if you’re eligible still offers the best protection against serious illness, even if you’ve had COVID-19. Try to gather outdoors with friends and family this summer, and if you’re indoors open doors and windows to keep air flowing. Consider wearing masks indoors when it's crowded or if you can't spread out, especially if you are around people at higher risk for severe disease. Using at-home tests is an easy and convenient way to make sure you don’t unknowingly spread the virus.

Most importantly, if you’re sick, stay home and call your medical provider.

Do masks work?

High-quality masks work best to protect both people who wear them and the people around them who don’t. These masks keep you from spitting germs on others, and they keep others’ germs from getting in your mouth and nose and making you sick. The more people who wear them the better, but high-quality masks still work if you’re the only person in a crowded room wearing one.

Some masks do not work as well as others. Loosely woven cloth masks are the least likely to protect you. Finely woven layered masks work better, and well-fitting disposable surgical masks and KN95s offer even more protection than woven cloth masks. Well-fitting NIOSH-approved respirators, including N95s, offer the highest level of protection.

Any mask you wear should fit closely on the face without any gaps along the edges or around your nose and be comfortable enough when worn over your nose and mouth that you can keep it on when you need to. 

More details about masks: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/types-of-masks.html

When should I get tested?

If you have COVID-19 symptoms, you should get tested right away.

If you’ve had close contact with someone who had COVID-19, you should get tested at least five days after you were with them even if you don’t develop symptoms.

If you’re planning to attend a party or crowded event, think about getting tested as close to the event date as possible.

If you’re traveling, you can learn more about the requirements on the travel page on the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

If you have had COVID-19 in the past 90 days and recovered, you do not need to be tested unless you develop new symptoms.

Dr. Kathryn Turner is the deputy state epidemiologist in the Division of Public Health. She has worked for the department for 17 years and oversees the epidemiology, immunization, food protection, communicable disease surveillance, and refugee health screening programs for the division. She has been focused almost entirely on Idaho’s pandemic response since February 2020.

COVID-19 resources:

• Idaho’s Coronavirus website
• CDC COVID-19 website
• Masks are available for Idahoans: KN95 masks (one pack of 10 per household) are available for free at various locations around the state. Call the Idaho CareLine by dialing 2-1-1 or 800-926-2588 or your local public health district to find a location near you. https://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/health-wellness/community-health/public-health-districts
• Free, at-home COVID-19 tests are available from the federal government at covidtests.gov. Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order four free, at-⁠home COVID-⁠19 tests. Orders will usually ship in 7-12 days.
• Find COVID-19 and flu vaccines/boosters near you: Use vaccines.gov to find a location near you, then call or visit their website to make an appointment. 

Follow the Department of Health and Welfare on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for updates and information you can trust.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is dedicated to strengthening the health, safety, and independence of Idahoans. Learn more at healthandwelfare.idaho.gov. 

The Idaho Behavioral Health Council (IBHC) is working toward a future where adults, children, and their families who live with mental illness and addiction receive the behavioral health care services they need when they need them. This will help to make sure they have a better quality of life, less chance of getting involved with the criminal justice system, and their communities are healthier and safer places to live.

That is quite a tall order, but as the council’s co-chairperson, I am pleased to be able to say that successful work has begun. (Administrative Director of the Courts Sara Omundson is the other co-chairperson.)

The council selected nine of the 34 recommendations in its strategic action plan as priorities for the next three years, and all nine have been started. Here is more information about a few of those recommendations. You can see more details about the status of all nine recommendations on the council’s website under the strategic action plan link.

Recommendation: Improve Idaho’s civil commitment process and procedures by proposing amendments to the Mental Health Act to incorporate the action items.

The civil commitment process is what happens when someone is involuntarily committed for mental health treatment because they are a danger to themselves, a danger to others, or they are determined to be gravely disabled because of mental illness. The intent of this initiative is to update the definitions of mental illness including gravely disabled, clarify the roles of the state vs. the counties, and streamline the process. 

Legislation was proposed and passed unanimously in both the Idaho House and Senate in the 2022 legislative session.

Recommendation: Develop and implement a comprehensive workforce plan to increase licensed and/or certified behavioral health professionals across the full continuum of service care throughout the lifespan in Idaho.

This recommendation was formed after the IBHC’s Advisory Board and several IBHC workgroups created proposed action items identifying significant workforce needs in Idaho. Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) are federal designations that specify geographic areas or populations that don’t have enough primary care, dental, or mental health professionals. The entire state of Idaho has a mental health HPSA designation.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare published a Behavioral Health Workforce Plan in January 2022, in accordance with this recommendation. The plan outlines a five-point framework to expand the behavioral health workforce in Idaho. The framework includes Promotion, Education, Credentialing, Employment, and Retention. A specific implementation plan will be finalized in July 2022. 

Recommendation: Develop and implement a crisis response system model for youth. Strengthen and broaden a crisis response system model for adults based on community capacity.

DHW currently provides behavioral health crisis services across Idaho and intends to enhance the system. Based on best practices, Idaho has identified five core principles of the crisis system and many essential components.

DHW’s core principles for the development of the crisis system are:

• Collaboration with stakeholders
• Centralized organization
• Community-based, competent, and diversified workforce
• Non-coercive practice
• Resolution mindset

DHW has already implemented:

• Regional mobile response teams
• Crisis stabilization centers
• Access to urgent walk-in crisis care
• Crisis collaboratives in each region
• System oversight and management

The essential components of the crisis system that need development include:

• Centralized call center, including implementation of 988 on July 16
• Access to mobile response
• Integrated substance use and medication as treatment solutions
• Inclusion of peers and recovery coaches
• Access to urgent care

Idaho’s behavioral health delivery system will be improved significantly by 2023 through the negotiation of a new Idaho Behavioral Health Plan contract, which will include a crisis system for all Idahoans with a crisis call center, mobile response teams, and crisis stabilization facilities.

Idahoans having a behavioral health crisis often are jailed, hospitalized, or treated in hospital emergency departments because treatment or care to meet their needs is not available. The goals of the crisis system are to address mental health needs at the right time or level of care, avoiding time in jail and the use of hospital emergency departments.

For more information about the Idaho Behavioral Health Council, its strategic plan, and the Implementation Template, visit https://behavioralhealthcouncil.idaho.gov/

This is the third post in a series that focuses on how Idaho is working to improve the behavioral health system so Idahoans can get the care and services they need when they need them. My previous posts are available at https://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/dhw-voice/dhw-director-dave-jeppesen-gov-littles-leading-idaho-plan-provides-critical-funding and https://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/dhw-voice/dhw-director-dave-jeppesen-working-improve-behavioral-healthcare-all-idahoans.

I hope you have a safe and healthy weekend.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is dedicated to strengthening the health, safety, and independence of Idahoans. Learn more at healthandwelfare.idaho.gov. 

Now that school is out and long summer days beckon us all into the outdoors, it’s time to be aware of potential infections that can be transmitted through the bite of ticks and mosquitoes. A bite from either can cause a disease that might seriously impact your health. It’s important to do everything you can to avoid getting bitten.

Tick- and mosquito-borne diseases can vary by region in the United States. What are the insect-borne diseases we should be aware of in Idaho?

That is a great question – before you head into the outdoors, you should learn more about the diseases associated with local ticks and mosquitoes. In Idaho, public health officials are most concerned about West Nile virus from mosquitoes and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, tick-borne relapsing fever, and tularemia from ticks.

Is Lyme disease in Idaho?

We often hear about Lyme disease in the national media, but cases in Idaho are rare and generally occur in people who traveled to other areas of the country where infected ticks have been found. The tick that carries Lyme disease is not known to live in Idaho. Even so, cases are tracked by where a person lives rather than where they were infected, and Idaho will report cases every year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is an excellent resource if you want to learn more about the risks of insect bites by geographic region.

What are some of the symptoms of the diseases ticks and mosquitoes transmit in Idaho?

Most of these diseases cause a fever, and some can cause a rash. For example, most people infected with West Nile virus will not have any symptoms, but about 20 percent or so will develop illness that could be anywhere from mild to serious and may include fever, headache, body aches, a rash, and swollen glands. Some people might develop serious illness infecting the brain or spinal cord. People most at risk are those older than 50 and those who have underlying medical conditions or weakened immune systems.

For those with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, symptoms can include fevers and chills, headaches, confusion, and a rash that may begin a few days after the other symptoms start.

To learn more about tularemia and tick-borne relapsing fever visit these CDC websites: https://www.cdc.gov/tularemia/index.html and https://www.cdc.gov/relapsing-fever/index.html

What are the best ways to prevent tick and mosquito bites?

• For both mosquitoes and ticks, use insect repellent approved by the EPA on exposed skin and clothing. Follow instructions on the product label, especially if you’re applying it to children.
• Avoid mosquito bites by staying indoors or wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts if you’re outside, particularly during dusk and dawn hours when mosquitoes are most active. Ticks will be more visible if you wear light-colored clothing.
• Check for and remove ticks from your clothing, body, hair, and pets when you have been outside.
• Make sure window and door screens in your home and camper are in good repair so mosquitoes can’t get in.
• Talk to your veterinarian about tick prevention products for your pets. Ticks can hitch a ride on your pet and end up in your home.

When should you seek medical attention?

If a tick is biting you, use a fine tweezers or notched tick extractor to remove it as close to the skin as possible without squeezing or crushing it. Disinfect the bite site and wash your hands with soap and water. If you have any symptoms listed above in the hours or days after a tick bite, see your medical provider immediately. Early treatment reduces the risk of complications. Idaho does not test ticks for microbes that can cause disease.

There is no specific treatment for West Nile virus, but hospitalization and treatment of symptoms may improve the chances of recovery for those with severe infections. There is no vaccine for humans, but there are several choices for horses, who, like humans, can become seriously ill if infected.

Leslie Tengelsen, PhD, DVM, is the state public health veterinarian in the Division of Public Health. She has worked for the department since 1998 and focuses on zoonotic disease prevention.

Resources:

• How to remove a tick
• Symptoms of tick-borne illness
• West Nile virus: Fight the Bite
• Travel health notices

Follow the Department of Health and Welfare on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for updates and information you can trust.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is dedicated to strengthening the health, safety, and independence of Idahoans. Learn more at healthandwelfare.idaho.gov. 

The Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) has engaged with our Strategic Plan as a “living” document. Each week, the senior leadership team discusses real-time updates. This work is informed by subject matter experts and the staff throughout the department.

As part of Strategic Goal 2, the department is committed to serving Idahoans by ensuring that:

• All children who experience abuse or neglect have safe and permanent homes, as quickly as possible

• Adults with serious mental illness and addiction can receive behavioral healthcare services

• People with developmental disabilities who have severe behaviors receive services that are person-centered, trauma-informed, and delivered in the least restrictive environment possible

• We improve the treatment and support provided to children and youth with functional impairment, and to their families

This blog post highlights and celebrates some of the key achievements from the second of four goals in our Strategic Plan. Throughout May and June, this blog series will continue with a focus on the third and fourth strategic goals.

Making progress toward Strategic Goal 2: Protect children, youth, and vulnerable adults

Objective 2.1: Ensure children who have experienced abuse or neglect have safe, permanent homes by increasing in-home safety services to prevent the entry of children into foster care by July 1, 2022, and improving children in foster care’s time to permanency by 10 percent, by July 1, 2023.

• Children who have experienced abuse or neglect need to have safe, permanent homes. DHW staff have been working to expand both the quality and quantity of in-home safety services. In-home safety services focus on keeping children safely with their families to avoid the trauma that results when children are placed in out-of-home care. This work has begun in Region 1 (Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai, and Shoshone counties) and Region 5 (Blaine, Camas, Cassia, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka, and Twin Falls counties), and will continue to be expanded throughout the state.
• The department is working to develop evidence-based services for in-home and foster care cases. Evidence-based services have been shown, through rigorous evaluation, to improve outcomes for children and families. The department’s Family First Team has selected seven evidence-based services to develop throughout the year: Parent Child Interactive Therapy, Homebuilders, Familias Unidas, Brief Strategic Family Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Parents as Teachers (PAT), and Nurse Family Partnerships (NFP).
• The department is working on a risk assessment tool for families that identifies needed planning and/or service provisions to be delivered through in-home prevention case management. The tool is called Family Advocacy Support Tool (FAST). It will monitor safety and risk and target needs and services. An implementation workgroup has formed, which includes DHW staff from the Division Behavioral Health and Child Welfare Program, front-line staff, the Praed Foundation, and parents with lived experience.
• The department has successfully designated more than six Idaho facilities as Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTP). These treatment centers work with youth struggling with psychological, behavioral, and/or substance use issues to provide live-in services for those who are too ill or require services that are not available in a less secure or less restrictive environment.
• To support child welfare, the department has set a goal of improving the retention rate for child welfare social workers. The Idaho Legislature expressed support of this initiative through the approval of 24 new child welfare positions, as well as a 7 percent increase for some social workers. However, staffing challenges persist, and the department continues to develop new strategies to recruit and retain staff.

Objective 2.2: Develop and implement a behavioral healthcare system in Idaho that provides the services that people need, when they need them, through implementation of the YES implementation plan and the IBHC strategic action plan by July 1, 2024.

• The Idaho Behavioral Health Council’s completed strategic action plan was submitted in July 2021. This plan is focused on improving the entire behavioral healthcare system. The department is leading the work of six of the nine prioritized recommendations from the approved plan.
• The department is also working to implement the Youth Empowerment Services (YES) plan to improve the children’s mental health system. This progress is measured by an improvement of the cumulative Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) score. The CANS score can help providers and families measure improvement toward goals and see how needs and strengths change. In July 2019, the score was 23.37 percent. As of March 2022, the CANS score increased to 35.58 percent. As the department continues to introduce new services for these children, we anticipate more improvements.
• The department has organized a service system between Children’s Mental Health, Medicaid, and Child Welfare programs, as directed by the Legislature. This work has included focus groups with families, law enforcement, and hospitals. The system has been enacted and the team continues to meet as needed to assist with complex cases throughout the state.
• A cross-divisional team is working toward a better service coordination system for Idahoans with developmental disabilities and mental illness. This is intended to improve customer experience as measured by the establishment of a Customer Effort Score.
• The department and stakeholders are on track to implement a 988 system/Behavioral Healthcare crisis line by July 16, 2022. The system will provide access to emergency behavioral healthcare services to Idahoans experiencing a behavioral health crisis. The Idaho Legislature has supported progress on this work through funding approvals.

Objective 2.3: Establish a long-term system of care for individuals with developmental disabilities who exhibit severe behaviors by July 1, 2022.

• A cross-divisional project team has been established to develop the new treatment model for people with developmental disorders and complex needs.
• To build support for initial execution of the long-term system of care, the department has developed and implemented a communications plan with staff and key stakeholders.
• The project team has launched new treatment model design elements. These include a signed contract with the Center for START to provide best practice training and implementing participant outcome tools to gather baseline data for the future model.
• On Jan. 31, 2022, I presented a budget request to the Idaho Legislature to propose funding for the new treatment model, including development of buildings, and changes to the Medicaid Management Information System. The requests were subsequently funded.

You can follow the DHW’s work toward our mission and read more about our Strategic Plan on our website.

I hope you have a safe and healthy Memorial Day weekend. Please remember that our offices will be closed on Monday, in observance of the holiday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has expanded and strengthened its recommendation for COVID-19 booster shots.

CDC expanded booster recommendations to children 5 through 11 years old. As cases increase in Idaho and across the country, a booster dose can help vaccinated children avoid getting sick enough to have to go to the hospital. Since the pandemic began, more than 4.8 million children ages 5 through 11 have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Of those, 15,000 have been hospitalized and, tragically, more than 180 have died, the CDC said last week in its statement.

Who should get a booster now?

Everyone 5 years old and older should get a COVID-19 booster dose after they have received the primary series of the vaccine. Those who got Moderna or Pfizer vaccines are eligible 5 months after the initial series, and those who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are eligible at least two months after the first dose. Pfizer is currently the only vaccine recommended for children ages 5-17.

In addition, CDC strengthened its recommendation that those 12 and older who are immunocompromised and those 50 and older should receive a second booster dose at least 4 months after their first.

Why should vaccinated people get a booster dose now?

COVID-19 cases are increasing in Idaho, as the latest data shows. Protection from COVID-19 vaccines decreases over time, and the virus continues to change and may infect more people. A booster dose will improve your level of protection against the virus so you can avoid getting sick enough to have to go to the hospital, or worse.

How do I get a booster dose?

There are a few ways to schedule an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine or booster.

• Use the Vaccine Finder to find more information about vaccine locations, the vaccine brands available, and walk-in or scheduling details.
• If you have a cell phone, you can text your zip code to 438829 (GETVAX) to have vaccine locations in your area pushed to you. For Spanish, text your zip code to 822862 (VACUNA). You can also contact the national call center at 1-800-232-0233. 
• You also may want to discuss your options with your regular healthcare provider. More information about vaccines in your area may be available by visiting your local public health district website.

Dr. Christine Hahn is Idaho’s state epidemiologist and the Division of Public Health’s medical director. She is board certified in infectious disease and works in an Idaho tuberculosis clinic twice monthly. She also serves on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and since late February 2020, has been focusing almost solely on responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

COVID-19 resources:

• Idaho’s Coronavirus website
• CDC COVID-19 website

Follow the Department of Health and Welfare on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for updates and information you can trust.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is dedicated to strengthening the health, safety, and independence of Idahoans. Learn more at healthandwelfare.idaho.gov. 

Idaho is doing some incredible work to expand and connect the behavioral health system in the state. The recent addition of crisis centers and recovery centers has moved the behavioral health system forward, however, there is still much work to do.  

As you may have read in a previous blog post, the Idaho Behavioral Health Council is leading this work. The council was established in 2020 to bring together all three branches of state government, local governments, and community partners to transform Idaho’s behavioral health system. The improved statewide system will ensure an effective, efficient, recovery-oriented healthcare system for all adults, children, and their families who live with mental illness and addiction.

Gov. Brad Little’s Leading Idaho plan provides critical support for expanding and connecting Idaho’s behavioral health system. It recommends investing more than $60 million in initiatives advanced by the Behavioral Health Council, including support for new certified community behavioral health clinics, psychiatric residential treatment facilities, and youth crisis centers. The Leading Idaho plan also includes converting the suicide prevention line to the national behavioral  health crisis line, which will be reached by dialing 9-8-8 starting July 16.

Thanks to the Leading Idaho plan, Idaho is investing:

• $15 million for at least three youth psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTF) located across the state. PRTF certification is required for Medicaid to pay for these services. Idaho currently only has one psychiatric residential treatment facility that only serves young females. This means at any given time about 100 Idaho youths are placed in out-of-state facilities. This funding will allow these vulnerable youths to be treated in Idaho, close to family.
• $6 million each year for two years for certified community behavioral health clinics, to expand access to behavioral health services and services to people who are in crisis.
• $4.4 million for the 9-8-8 crisis system, which will provide one number nationally and in Idaho starting July 16 for people to call if they feel they might harm themselves or are experiencing any behavioral health crisis.
• $4.4 million for youth crisis centers. The adult crisis centers have been a huge success. This one-time funding will cover start-up costs for youth crisis centers.

For more information about the Idaho Behavioral Health Council, visit https://behavioralhealthcouncil.idaho.gov/

I hope you have a safe and healthy weekend.

In recognition of May as Mental Health Awareness Month, this is the second post this month that focuses on how Idaho is working to improve the behavioral health system so Idahoans can get the care and services they need when they need them. You can read my first post at https://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/dhw-voice/dhw-director-dave-jeppesen-working-improve-behavioral-healthcare-all-idahoans.

It truly takes a village to raise a child, even in the best of times. But when a family is struggling to provide a safe and nurturing home for their children, it sometimes becomes necessary for a child to be placed with a foster family so they can be safe while their parents address issues until they can provide a safe home for their child.

When children can’t remain safely with their parents, placement with relatives or close family friends is the preferred option because it helps children maintain close family relationships and cultural traditions.

Idaho has tens of thousands of kinship caregivers who take on the role of parenting when the child’s parents are unable to fulfill that role. These living arrangements may be made formally through the Department of Health and Welfare's Child Protection Program or the court system, but are often arranged without formal intervention.

Often, family members voluntarily take relative children into their homes during family crisis. This can be challenging legally, financially, and emotionally. If you are one of the kinship care providers in Idaho, you are not alone, and help is available.

Idaho’s Kinship Program offers resources for kinship caregivers to help with financial costs, legal resources, support groups, respite resources, and more.

If children don’t have a relative or close family friend who can take them in during a crisis, foster families are an option. About 1,500 children are in foster care at any given time in Idaho, and the need for foster families is always high.

More information on how to become a foster parent is available on the department’s website, or you can call 2-1-1 or 800-926-2588 and a foster care representative will contact them.

Cameron Gilliland is the administrator of the Division of Family and Community Services. He has worked for the department since 1996 in various capacities and was promoted to administrator in August 2021. He has been trained as a clinical social worker and has overseen policy for the Child Welfare Program and managed several developmental disability programs in the department.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is dedicated to strengthening the health, safety, and independence of Idahoans. Learn more at healthandwelfare.idaho.gov.