Identifying Effective Practice-Based Strategies for Engaging Families and Youth

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Identifying Effective Practice-Based Strategies
for Engaging Families and Youth

• Bill Hobstetter Carol Cecil
• Kentucky Partnership for Families and Children
• Vestena Robbins
• Kentucky Department for Mental Health
• and Mental Retardation

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WHY DO WE STUDY FAMILY AND YOUTH INVOLVEMENT?

• Family-driven and youth-guided systems of
• care create opportunities for family and
• youth involvement at multiple levels.
• The Department for Mental Health and
• Mental Retardation Services contracted with the
  Kentucky Partnership for Families and Children to
  gauge family and youth involvement at multiple
  levels within regional systems of care.

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WHY DO WE STUDY FAMILY AND YOUTH INVOLVEMENT?

• PURPOSE
• Define levels of family and youth involvement in
  systems of care
• Describe the process for assessing family and
  youth involvement
• Identify effective practice-based strategies for
  involving families and youth
• Discuss how assessment results are being used

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• We will use the survey to guide
• us in developing our family
• and youth involvement
• benchmarks for next year
• Dawn C.
• Local Resource Coordinator

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HOW DO WE STUDY FAMILY AND YOUTH INVOLVEMENT?

• Instrumentation
• Goals of the Family Youth Involvement Survey
• To have the CMHC self-report their current level
  of family and youth involvement
• To identify effective regional practice-based
  strategies
• To identify possible action steps to further
  build family and youth involvement
• Document review

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HOW DO WE STUDY FAMILY AND YOUTH INVOLVEMENT?

• Levels of Family and
• Youth Involvement
• Program actively supports staff and promotes
  efforts to create an environment that encourages
  family and youth involvement
• Family members and youth are involved in their
  own planning, treatment, and evaluation
• Family members and youth are provided various
  opportunities for peer support
• Family members and youth are provided various
  opportunities to develop leadership skills and
  become community leaders
• Family members and youth are involved as
  policymakers and advocates
• Family members and youth are involved in program
  quality assurance and evaluation activities

McCammon, Spencer, Friesen (2001)
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• These data will help the state
• identify effective practice-based
• strategies that can be shared
• with other regions across the state.
• Tena R.
• State Mental Health Agency
• Childrens Best Practice Coordinator

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HOW DO WE STUDY FAMILY AND YOUTH INVOLVEMENT?

• Process for completing the
• Family/Youth Involvement Survey
• State Mental Health Agency will identify 4
  Community Mental Health Center regions to
  participate in the survey process each year.
• State Mental Health Agency will contact Community
  Mental Health Center CEOs to inform them of the
  process and the Family Organizations
  involvement.
• State Family Organization will send a letter to
  the Childrens Services Director asking that a
  team be assembled to meet with Family
  Organization representative.
• State Family Organization will schedule meetings
  with Childrens Services Directors.

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HOW DO WE STUDY FAMILY AND YOUTH INVOLVEMENT?

• Process for completing the
• Family/Youth Involvement Survey
• State Family Organization will send a letter
  confirming meeting that includes a copy of the
  survey process.
• State Family Organization will review Community
  Mental Health Centers documentation.
• State Family Organization representative will
  visit each of the four regions to meet with
  teams, complete the survey, and tour two
  Community Mental Health Center offices.
• State Family Organization representative will
  host a focus group with Parent Support Group, if
  one exists, or will interview parents if no
  Support Groups exist.

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HOW DO WE STUDY FAMILY AND YOUTH INVOLVEMENT?

• Process for completing the
• Family/Youth Involvement Survey
• State Family Organization representative will
  host a focus group with Regional Youth Council,
  if one exists, or will interview youth if no
  Youth Council exists.
• State Family Organization representative will
  follow up with a report to the State Mental
  Health Agency and to regional participants.
• State Family Organization representative will
  send a thank you to regional participants.
• State Family Organization will host a debriefing
  session with State Mental Health Agency
  representatives and regional participants after
  all regional visits are completed for the year.

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• This will forever change the
• way we do business.
• Mike D.
• Childrens Services Director

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WHAT ARE WE LEARNING?

• Lessons learned about the process
• State Mental Health Agency needs to introduce the
  process via a letter to CEOs
• Emphasize that purpose is not about monitoring
  for compliance This is a Paradigm Shift
• Strengths-based report is a positive
• Create a less intimidating process
• Consider focusing on family and youth involvement
  across populations MH, MH/SA, and MH/SR
• Host an annual debriefing session with
  participating Community Mental Health Centers and
  State Mental Health Agency personnel

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WHAT ARE WE LEARNING?

• Lessons learned about family involvement
• Cross-training of parents and professionals
• Devoting a computer for family member use
• Providing food, door prizes, childcare and
  transportation at support groups
• Establishing committees within support groups to
  help promote ownership
• Establishing and monitoring regional benchmarks
  for family and youth involvement
• Holding family focus groups to inform Community
  Mental Health Centers plan and budget process
• Hosting family retreats and fun events

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WHAT ARE WE LEARNING?

• Lessons learned about youth involvement
• Having Regional Youth Councils conduct needs
  assessment and share results with Mental
  Health/Mental Retardation Board of Directors
• Conduct a youth training needs assessment
• Hold Youth Council meetings in conjunction with
  Parent Support Groups
• Sponsor a poster contest for youth
• Host community-wide youth events (e.g., Battle of
  the Bands) to promote youth involvement

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HOW ARE WE USING WHAT WE LEARN?

• State Family Organization
• To provide targeted technical assistance to
  regions on building family and youth networks
• To build stronger relationship between the family
  organizations and regional Community Mental
  Health Centers
• Regional Community Mental Health Centers
• To increase awareness and strategies for
  involving families and youth at multiple levels
  in the system
• To guide regional-level action planning
• To guide development of benchmarks for family and
  youth involvement
• State Mental Health Agency
• To identify effective family and youth
  involvement strategies being implemented across
  the state for possible replication in other
  regions
• To inform the Mental Health Block Grant
  application process and to meet requirements for
  monitoring Regional Community Mental Health
  Centers