Research and Training Center for Children's Mental Health Department of Child
& Family Studies, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute
University of South Florida
http://rtckids.fmhi.usf.edu
The faculty and staff of the Research and Training Center for Children's Mental
Health work to strengthen the empirical foundation for effective systems of
care through an integrated set of research, training, consultation, and
dissemination activities. The Center also seeks to transform the system and
services for children with mental health challenges and their families,
consistent with the recommendations of the President’s New Freedom Commission
on Mental Health. The Center is part of the Department of Child and Family
Studies at the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of
South Florida, Tampa.
The Research and Training Center is jointly funded by the Center for Mental
Health Services of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the U.S.
Department of Education. The Center was first funded in 1984 for five years,
and has successfully obtained 5-year grants through a competitive process in
1989, 1994, 1999, and 2004. The Center also receives financial support from the
Department of Child and Family Studies.
Both the Center and the Department of Child and Family Studies consist of a
diverse team of researchers, evaluators, policymakers, administrators, parents,
and practitioners. The Center and Department are committed to interdisciplinary
approaches in their work, and specialize in the use of multiple methods to
conduct in-depth studies of important issues in system of care development and
implementation. The Center's research is based in complex, real-world
environments, and findings are disseminated in formats suitable for a variety
of audiences.
While the primary mission of the Center is to develop and disseminate new
knowledge on implementation of effective systems of care through its research,
the Center team is available to communities and States around the country for
consultation and technical assistance.
The Center also works in partnership with ORC Macro on the national evaluation
of the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their
Families Program. The Center is pleased to be a resource for communities
involved in this Federal program, and works in partnership with other centers
involved with the program as well.
AREAS OF ACTIVITY
Practical, Applied Research on System of Care Issues In keeping
with a grant application submitted and approved in 2004, activities for the
current grant cycle are based on investigating a theory of factors that
contribute to effective implementation of systems of care; within that theory
is a strong emphasis on the importance of understanding from a systemic
perspective the interrelationship between the different factors, and their
relationship to the community culture and context in which a service delivery
system exists.
Evaluation of Systems of Care
Both as a partner to ORC Macro in the national evaluation of the Comprehensive
Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families Program, and
in response to special requests, the Center engages in evaluating systems of
care.
Technical Assistance and Consultation to Communities
The Center engages in a variety of training, technical assistance, and
dissemination activities. The Center seeks to be responsive to technical
assistance requests, be they simple requests for information or requests for
ongoing assistance. The Center has provided assistance around topics such as:
-
developing and evaluating systems of care;
-
creating outcome-based accountability systems;
-
development of theories of change to help guide systems of care;
-
use of mixed methods in evaluation;
-
impact of managed care on service systems;
-
development of effective school-based services;
-
promotion of interagency collaborative efforts;
-
promotion of cultural competence;
-
integration of neighborhood and system-reform efforts; and
-
workforce development.
Conferences
As part of an effort to build the capacity of the children's mental health
field to conduct system of care research, and as an effort to disseminate the
most current information, the Center sponsors a range of special meetings and
conferences on contemporary issues. Since 1988, the Center has sponsored an
annual system of care research conference. This annual conference is arguably
the principal national forum for exploring emerging research methods and
findings on systems of care. Innovative methods presented at prior conferences
have been utilized in practice and policy, creating a framework of best
practices to improve the way communities address the mental health needs of
children and their families. The next research conference will be February
22-24, 2006, in Tampa.
Dissemination
The Center seeks to make information readily available to individuals in the
children's mental health field through a variety of channels. The Center’s work
is frequently published in refereed journals, monographs, and books; and Center
staff present current findings at professional conferences. With support from
the Center for Mental Health Services, and in partnership with the Research and
Training Center at Portland State University, the Center publishes Data Trends,
a series of brief summaries of important new research findings. Additionally,
the Center maintains a bibliography of material that it makes available to
others in the field, and disseminates new knowledge through its web site, CD
collections, presentations, training and technical assistance.
Professional Training and Workforce Development
The Center develops and delivers university-based training programs and
curriculum resources to equip a new generation of professionals with skills to
identify, understand, and provide leadership in the implementation of systems
of care. These programs are developed in collaboration with the colleges of the
University of South Florida (USF), and across partner institutions through the
System of Care Professional Training Consortium. The Center is in the process
of developing a 15-credit graduate certificate in children’s mental
health/systems of care in which all of the courses will be available through
distance learning. The Center’s academic program includes the Child &
Family Policy Program, an interdisciplinary doctoral level program offered
through USF, and continued partnership with the College of Public Health in
delivery of a graduate-level public mental health specialty track.
Service to the Field
Members of the Center's team provide leadership for national, state and local
committees and boards related to our goal of creating effective systems of care
for children with mental health challenges and their families. Center
investigators serve as editors for a range of professional journals,
participate in grant review activities, and contribute to task forces convened
to address contemporary issues in mental health services delivery.
The
Research Agenda
The mission of the Research and Training Center for Children’s Mental Health
has been to increase the effectiveness of service systems by strengthening the
empirical base for such systems through research and dissemination to key
audiences. With its current five-year research program, the Center expands its
mission with an integrated research, training, and dissemination program
targeted specifically at implementation issues for developing effective systems
of care.
The Center’s research program consists of six interrelated studies designed to
produce knowledge about the development and implementation of effective and
integrated systems of care for children and adolescents with serious emotional
disturbances and their families.
Research Study 1: A National Survey of Systems Of Care Implementation
Principal Investigators: Paul Greenbaum, Krista Kutash, Roger Boothroyd
This project will collect the first and only national survey data on system of
care implementation in a probability sample of counties across the United
States. The intent is to document national levels of systems of care
implementation in the U.S., examine changes during the course of the grant, and
develop an instrument and method that can be continued to be used after the
grant has been completed.
Research Study 2: Holistic Approaches to Studying Community-Based Systems of
Care
Principal Investigator: Sharon Hodges
The purpose of this study is to investigate how system implementation factors,
considered holistically and in relation to one another, contribute to the
development of systems of care, and to test the Center’s theoretical premises’
about systems of care implementation. This project will provide greater
understanding of how local communities develop systems of care that meet the
unique needs of their children with serious emotional disturbance and their
families.
Research Study 3: Financing Structures and Strategies to
Support Effective Systems of Care
Principal Investigators: Mary Armstrong, Sheila Pires, Beth Stroul and Ginny
Wood
This project uses a case study design to test whether the Center’s theory
regarding the hypothesized set of financing structures and strategies that
support effective systems of care is valid. The study will determine how the
components in its comprehensive financing framework operate separately and
collectively, within a community and systemic context.
Research Study 4: The School-based Mental Health Services Study (SBMH)
Principal Investigators: Al Duchnowski and Krista Kutash
The purpose of this study is to identify factors associated with effective
school-based mental health services for students who are identified as having
emotional disturbances and served in special education programs. Specific
components of effective school-based mental health services models will be
identified within the broad context of a comprehensive, integrated system of
service delivery.
Research Study 5: Accessibility of Mental Health Services:
Identifying and Measuring Organizational Factors Associated with Reducing
Mental Health Service Disparities
Principal Investigators: Mario Hernandez, Teresa Nesman and Mareasa Isaacs
This project will identify and describe measurable organizational factors
associated with increased accessibility for ethnically/racially diverse
children with serious emotional/behavioral disorders and their families to an
array of quality mental health services/supports. The project will also lead to
the development of a cultural competence organizational assessment protocol.
Activities will include documentation of the systemic
organizational strategies that influence service access, adaptations of
available services/supports and enhance utilization of services/supports for
ethnically/racially diverse children and their families.
Research Study 6: The Family Voice Study: Assessing the Role of Family
Organizations in Developing Family Voice in Systems of Care
Principal Investigators: Katherine Lazear and Mary Evans
This project examines how family voice, as represented through family-run
organizations, contributes to the implementation of effective systems of care.
Findings also will generate new knowledge of the factors related to development
and sustainability of family organizations.
STAFF
CENTER LEADERSHIP
Robert M. Friedman, Ph.D.
Center Director and Principal Investigator
Phone: 813-974-4640
E-mail: friedman@fmhi.usf.edu
Al Duchnowski, Ph.D.
Deputy Director
Phone: 813-974-4618
E-mail: duchnows@fmhi.usf.edu
Krista Kutash, Ph.D.
Deputy Director
Phone: 813-974-4622
E-mail: kutash@fmhi.usf.edu
STUDY 1: National Survey of SOC Implementation
Paul Greenbaum, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Phone: 813-974-4553
E-mail: greenbau@fmhi.usf.edu
Roger Boothroyd, Ph.D.
Co-Principal Investigator
Phone: 813-974-1915
E-mail: boothroyd@fmhi.usf.edu
Krista Kutash, Ph.D.
Co-Principal Investigator
Phone: 813-974-4622
E-mail: kutash@fmhi.usf.edu
STUDY 2: Holistic Approaches to Studying Community-based SOC
Sharon Hodges, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Phone: 813-974-6460
E-mail: hodges@fmhi.usf.edu
STUDY 3: Financing Structures and Strategies Study
Mary Armstrong, M.A.
Principal Investigator
Phone: 813-974-4601
E-mail: armstron@fmhi.usf.edu
Sheila Pires, MPA
Co-Principal Investigator
Phone: 202-333-1892
E-mail: sapires@aol.com
Beth Stroul, MS
Co-Principal Investigator
Phone: 703-689-0950
bethstroul@aol.com
Ginny Woods
Co-Principal Investigator
Phone: 602-288-0155
gmwood@worldnet.att.net
STUDY 4: School-based Mental Health Study
Al Duchnowski, Ph.D.
Co-Principal Investigator
Phone: 813-974-4618
E-mail: duchnows@fmhi.usf.edu
Krista Kutash, Ph.D.
Co-Principal Investigator
Phone: 813-974-4622
E-mail: kutash@fmhi.usf.edu
STUDY 5: Accessibility of Mental Health Services Study
Mario Hernandez, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Phone: 813-974-4637
E-mail: hernande@fmhi.usf.edu
Teresa Nesman, Ph.D.
Co-Principal Investigator
Phone: 813-974-7417
E-mail: nesman@fmhi.usf.edu
Mareasa Isaacs, Ph.D.
Co-Principal Investigator
Phone: 202-806-4727
E-mail: misaacs@howard.edu
STUDY 6: Family Voice Study
Katherine Lazear, M.A.
Principal Investigator
Phone: 813-974-6135
E-mail: lazear@fmhi.usf.edu
Mary E. Evans, Ph.D.
Co-Principal Investigator
Phone: 813-974-7374
E-mail: evans@fmhi.usf.edu
Center Integration Team
Karen Blase, Ph.D.
Phone: 813-974-4463
E-mail: kblase@fmhi.usf.edu
Stephen Banks, Ph.D.
Phone: 508-856-8829
E-mail: Tbosteve@aol.com
Robert Paulson, Ph.D.
Phone: 813-974-3117
E-mail rpauson@fmhi.usf.edu
University-based Training and Workforce Development
Carol MacKinnon-Lewis, Ph.D.
Project Director
Phone: 813-974-2075
E-mail: CMacKinnon@fmhi.usf.edu
KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER TEAM
Cindy Liberton
Coordinator, Knowledge Transfer Team
Phone: 813-974-6144
E-mail: liberton@fmhi.usf.edu
Daniel Casella, M.A.
Conference Coordinator
Phone: 813-974-6143
E-mail: casella@fmhi.usf.edu
Catherine Newman, M.A.
Co-Editor for Data Trends and Conference Coordination
Phone: 813-974-8429
E-mail: cnewman@fmhi.usf.edu
Jonathan Wilson
Web and Electronic Media
Phone: 813-974-6139
E-mail: jwilson@fmhi.usf.edu
|