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TWG Prevention Advisory Group Recommendations

Presenter: David Brenna

September 26, 2008

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Market Mental Wellness

I. Create and support campaigns to market mental wellness.A. Develop a longer-term strategy for a social marketing

effort promoting mental health. 1. Conduct a literature review on definitions of mental

wellness and examine/report specific practices and approaches.

2. Convene an expert panel to examine the literature review and recommend next steps towards a social marketing model with a population-based approach and a recommended formative research design.

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Bring Services to PeopleII. Policies, funding and practices should be advanced

that work to bring services to people where they live. A. Fund a report that contributes to better understanding of

the challenges of implementing evidence-based home visitation/home-based programs with fidelity to the model designs.1. Support current efforts to replicate evidence-based home

visitation programs by funding a collaborative effort (i.e. the Children’s Mental Health EBP Institute, the Council for Children and Families and others with relevant expertise) to convene key stakeholders, including family members and providers, to examine the research base and existing efforts and to prepare a report on the issues critical to implementing models such as Nurse-Family Partnership and Program to Encourage Active Rewarding Lives for Seniors( PEARLS).

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Integrate Services into Schools

III. Policies, funding and practices should be advanced that integrate health and mental health services into school programming. A. Convene TWG agencies and health plan organizations to

address and recommend administrative and infrastructure models to assure reimbursement/eligibility improvements to school based health centers (SBHCs). 1. SBHC programs need to be developed that can effectively bill

insurance, including Medicaid. Barriers to reimbursement are typically infrastructure and administration in nature. Agencies representing the vested interests: SPI, DOH, DSHS (HRSA) should develop working agreements on how to support infrastructure and billing procedures.

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Integrate Services into Schools (Continued)

B. Fund the School Based Health Center (SBHC) Interagency Workgroup convened by DOH and ongoing technical assistance to SBHCs.

1. The SBHC Interagency Workgroup should be supported in order to strengthen its role in policy development, interagency coordination, and promotion of new SBHCs. SBHCs include mental health services and work to integrate mental health and primary care, as well as integrating with school health, mental health, and other student support efforts.

2. Technical assistance should be provided to existing and developing SBHCs, including but not limited to those funded by DOH.

C. Fund the development of a teacher “handbook” on trauma-informed classroom strategies.

1. Trauma-informed training for educators should be advanced and a handbook developed as part of a toolkit to assist in classroom strategies along with school/community-wide approaches to develop improved supportive learning environments that are trauma sensitive.

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D. Fund an additional conference to provide trauma-informed training to educators. 1. In August of 2008, MHTP funded OSPI to host a statewide

trauma-informed training summit. The third event of its type (prior efforts include “Hurt-to-Hope conferences in Tacoma and Spokane with over 900 educators, stakeholders and parents attending), the conference provided team-based training to 275 participants. Due to the date of the conference, several schools were not able to attend and have expressed interest in another summit. OSPI should convene another statewide “compassionate schools” summit.

Integrate Services into Schools (Continued)

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E. Fund the expansion of pilots implementing companionate school models in a minimum of two communities.1. In the 2008 contract period, MHTP funded SPI to develop a

trauma sensitive pilot project in two school districts. A total of twelve school buildings are now advancing approaches and a “lessons learned” report is being prepared for release in December 2008. The TWG should continue this effort with funding made available to at least two additional school districts.

F. Fund various state wide training efforts supporting the trauma-informed model.1. Social and emotional learning2. Response to Intervention/Positive Behaviors, Interventions and

Supports (PBIS)3. Trauma informed schools4. Mental Health in Schools project out of UCLA5. Community Schools

Integrate Services into Schools (Continued)

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G. Participate and support the CDC effort to conduct Adverse Childhood Experience study of children in Washington State.1. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has expressed interest in

exploring a potential to expand the ACEs study to include real-time student impact of adverse childhood experiences in Washington State. Funding for meeting with CDC staff and developing a potential outline and strategy should be provided. Once cost determinations have been made, the TWG should consider funding planning costs and a portion of the study, as well as assisting in convening partners within the state to participate and support the effort.

Integrate Services into Schools (Continued)

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H. Convene parent advocacy entities, train parents and create capacity for schools to work with parents.1. Develop and implement a training plan for parents as mentors to

other parents who require support. A training plan has been developed out of the Readiness to Learn (RTL) Program. The program is called “Natural Leaders” and contains a strong component for English Language Learning parents. This curriculum would be made available from the RTL program. TWG should fund, to the extent possible, training forums in three areas of the state for districts who have parents interested in becoming mentors.

Integrate Services into Schools (Continued)

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Policies, Funding and PracticesIV. Policies, funding and practices should be advanced

that engage people with supports and services as they participate in life activities of the community. A. Fund a second round of training for Mental Health

Consultation Development Teams. 1. The TWG should continue the training and technical assistance

to communities implementing MH Consultation Development Teams (DEL/Council for Children and Families contract). The current institute had an overwhelming response; 27 communities vied for six openings at the institute.

B. Fund continued technical assistance to the six communities developing Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Development Teams.1. Support should be offered to the six communities currently

involved in the Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation institute to advance their development

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V. Blend or braid treatment funding for treatment and support services for persons with co-occurring disorders and eliminate duplicative or conflicting regulations within the DASA and MHD service systems.A. The TWG agencies most directly effected

(DSHS/DASA/MHD) should develop a work plan for addressing funding and regulatory issues.

Treatment and Services