The News
Daily coverage of the developments shaping health and human services. From policy shifts to program innovations, reports on trends-shaping mental health, addiction treatment, child and family services, autism and I/DD, disability support and long-term care, social services, corrections, juvenile justice, chronic disease management, health care systems, and more-helping leaders make timely, informed decisions.
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Consumer AI Chatbot Therapists Failed To Meet Counseling Ethics Standards, With 15 Types Of Ethical Risks Identified
March 25, 2026Large language models (LLMs) that offer artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots for consumer use consistently failed to adhere to mental health counseling ethics standards established for human therapists. Even when the LLMs were instructed to use established ethical psychotherapy approaches, the… -
In Structured Test, ChatGPT Health Undertriaged 52% Of Emergency Cases, Often Advising Delayed Care
March 25, 2026ChatGPT Health, a new artificial intelligence (AI) application focused on triaging consumer health concerns, undertriaged 52% of emergencies, according to a recent report. Researchers tested the technology with clinical vignettes of varying urgency to assess triage accuracy. The technology correctly… -
Four States Join Federal ‘Home For Every Child’ Foster Care Pilot
March 25, 2026Four states (Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee) have announced plans to participate in a new federal foster care pilot initiative called A Home for Every Child that was established in November 2025 by a presidential executive order. The goal of… -
Washington State Creates PreK Promise Account To Expand Preschool Capacity With $1 Billion In Private Funding
March 25, 2026Washington State is implementing a fund, called the PreK Promise Account, that can accept private donations to support the state’s Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP). ECEAP provides high-quality preschool for low-income families. The PreK Promise Account was created by Senate Bill 5872. Governor Bob Ferguson signed… -
Personalized Antidepressant Treatment Reduced Discontinuation In Major Depressive Disorder (17% vs. 27%)
March 24, 2026People with major depressive disorder (MDD) who received a personalized antidepressant selected using a web-based clinical decision-support system were less likely to discontinue treatment within eight weeks. The discontinuation rate was 17% for those who received a personalized antidepressant prescription… -
One-Third Of Physician Assistants Have Daily Interactions With People Needing Treatment For Mental Health Disorders
March 24, 2026Nearly one-third (33.1%) of the 189,907 physician assistants in the United States had daily encounters with consumers needing treatment for mental health disorders during office visits in 2024, according to a recent workforce survey report. About 33.1% of physician assistants… -
Private Equity Acquisition Of Addiction Treatment Facilities Linked To Higher Buprenorphine Use, Lower Treatment Retention
March 24, 2026At addiction treatment facilities acquired by private equity, the number of people with opioid use disorder (OUD) receiving buprenorphine increased, according to a recent comparison. However, the duration of treatment retention related to buprenorphine prescribing decreased. The analysis included 90… -
VA & DOJ Agreement Allows Federal Attorneys To Pursue Guardianship For Veterans Without Decision-Making Capacity
March 24, 2026The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) signed a memorandum of understanding allowing DOJ to appoint VA attorneys as special assistant U.S. attorneys to pursue guardianship for veterans who lack decision-making capacity. The agreement… -
Supreme Court Rules Immigration Detention Contractor Not Automatically Immune From Detainee Lawsuits
March 23, 2026The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a federal contractor operating an immigration detention facility is not automatically immune from lawsuits filed by detainees, allowing a long-running forced-labor case against GEO Group, Inc. to move forward. The case,… -
Five-Day Accelerated rTMS As Effective As Six Weeks Of Standard Treatment For Depression
March 23, 2026Accelerated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for major depressive disorder (MDD) was as effective as conventional once-daily rTMS, according to a recent study. rTMS uses noninvasive electromagnetic fields targeted to specific areas of the brain. The treatment helps regulate neural…