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CARING FOR EVERY CHILD’S MENTAL HEALTH CAMPAIGN
(National Association of State Mental Health Program
Directors/
Vanguard Communications/
Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health
Background
Since its inception in 1994, the Caring for Every Child’s Mental Health Campaign
has supported system of care communities through the strategic use of social
marketing and communications strategies. Funded by a contract with the
Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families
Program, the Campaign operates through a partnership between the National
Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD), Vanguard
Communications (Vanguard) and the Federation of Families for Children’s Mental
Health (the Federation). The team works together to address the needs of
diverse system of care communities using social marketing and communications
techniques that are youth- and family-driven, culturally competent and
responsive to individual community needs.
Founded in 1959, NASMPHD is a non-profit organization that represents the $23
billion public mental health service delivery system serving 6.1 million people
annually in all 50 states, 4 territories and the District of Columbia.
Vanguard, an Hispanic woman-owned firm specializing in public education, social
marketing and culturally competent communications on behalf of social issues,
has supported the Campaign since its inception. The Federation is a national
family-run organization dedicated exclusively to helping children and youth
with mental health needs and their families achieve a better quality of life.
Increasing awareness around children’s mental health has been one of the core
goals of the Caring for Every Child’s Mental Health Campaign since its
inception in 1994. The core messages and themes, materials, and products
initially developed still play a significant role in national public education
initiatives. Now in its third phase, the expanded Campaign is working with
system of care communities across the country to reach new audiences and
forging partnerships in the public and private sectors to further refine the
national agenda on children’s mental health.
The overarching purpose of the Campaign is to stimulate support for a
comprehensive system of care approach to children’s mental health services. To
accomplish this, the Campaign has set the following primary goals:
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Reduce stigma associated with mental illness and promote mental health.
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Use social marketing strategies to help increase the likelihood that children
and youth with SED and their families are appropriately served and treated.
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Increase awareness of mental health needs and services for children and youth
among mental health providers, SOC communities, intermediary
groups/organizations, and the public.
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Demonstrate to communities that the mental health needs of children and youth
with SED are best met through the utilization of systems of care.
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Use social marketing strategies to help build capacity within SOC communities
to sustain services and support to children and youth with SED and their
families.
To achieve the goals outlined above and to support system of care communities in
their efforts to promote and sustain systems of care, the Campaign established
an advisory group known as the Campaign Resource Group (CRG). They advise the
Campaign on issues such as marketing, materials and message development,
training, cultural competence, and evaluation. The CRG consists of culturally
diverse family members, youth, communications professionals, and project
directors from several system of care communities.
Technical Assistance in Social
Marketing/Communications
Communications plays an important role in promoting awareness of the need for
coordinated services—systems of care—for children and adolescents with mental
health needs and their families. Following is a summary of social
marketing/communications activities and resources available to system of care
communities through the Campaign.
On-call/Onsite Consultation. All system of care communities of
the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their
Families Program have access to on-call assistance from our social
marketing/communications professionals for guidance on any
communications-oriented effort. Communities can call the Campaign Team any time
during business hours (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. E.T.) with communications
questions. Onsite technical assistance is available to system of care
communities who have demonstrated a need that cannot be fulfilled via any other
communications technical assistance offerings.
Communications Listserv. The Campaign operates the
Communications Listserv (a real-time, online e-mail exchange) to provide system
of care communities and program partners with a venue for dialogue and lesson
learning on communications/social marketing with other system of care
communities, updates on Campaign activities and system of care community
materials, and updates on media coverage related to children’s mental health.
There is no obligation to post messages, but people are encouraged to actively
participate. To become a member of the listserv, please send an e-mail message
to 4-THE-CHILD-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Write “Subscribe to 4-THE-CHILD” in
the body of the message (not the subject line) then send the message. You will
be notified when you are accepted as a new listserv member.
Bimonthly Conference Calls. The Campaign hosts bimonthly
conference calls to discuss social marketing/communications topics of interest
and address communications training needs and/or timely topics related to
current events (e.g., school violence, release of national data). The purpose
of the conference calls is to provide a forum for system of care communities to
receive peer education that is augmented with professional assistance from the
Campaign. If you are not currently receiving conference call announcements,
please contact Jane Tobler at 202-331-9816 or jtobler@vancomm.com.
Resource Center. The
Campaign coordinates the Campaign Resource Center, which serves as a central
library of system of care community communications materials. Communications
plans, brochures, videos, fact sheets, newsletters, promotional items, posters,
press releases, local news clips, and other materials are all appropriate for
the center. To be most helpful, it is important to have every system of care
community represented in the resource center. Please include the Campaign on
your distribution lists and send samples of your outreach efforts to Campaign
Resource Center, c/o Scott LaLonde, 2121 K Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington,
DC 20037 or via email to slalonde@vancomm.com.
Tip Sheets. The Campaign distributes Communication Matters
to all system of care communities over the Communications Listserv and via fax.
Communications Matters is a monthly tip sheet that provides an
at-a-glance resource for a variety of communications options that can be
incorporated into communities’ outreach programs. Topics for Communication
Matters are selected based on issues of timely interest as well as
system of care community activities and requests. If you are not currently
receiving the tip sheets, please contact Erin Turner at 202-331-9816 or
eturner@vancomm.com.
Workshops. Social marketing/communications workshops are
integrated into the agendas of national and regional meetings supported by the
Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families
Program. These sessions address a variety of communications-related topics,
including involving families in outreach efforts, utilizing data for
communications, persuasive storytelling, event planning and more.
Training Academies. These hands-on, training sessions help
increase system of care community communications capacity. Topics for the
Academies vary and reflect system of care community feedback on social
marketing and communications challenges. These training sessions have received
national recognition awards from a number of organizations, including the
International Association of Business Communicators. Special adaptations of the
Academies for youth and Tribal populations are offered. For more information,
please contact Leah Holmes Bonilla at 202-331-9816 or
lholmes-bonilla@vancomm.com.
Excellence in Community Communications and Outreach (ECCO) Recognition
Program. To highlight and celebrate innovation and creativity in
communications and social marketing, the Campaign sponsors the annual ECCO
Recognition Program. Recognized by the National Association of Government
Communicators with a Blue Pencil Award, this popular program provides an
opportunity for system of care communities to submit materials and initiatives
related to communications and community outreach. Annual ECCO Recognition
celebrations are held at a system of care community meeting. Watch the mail and
listserv for entry information or contact Scott LaLonde at 202-331-9816 or
slalonde@vancomm.com.
Stakeholder Education Products. Families and children, as
well as the agencies that serve them – including mental health professionals,
child welfare workers, juvenile justice officials, and educators – are key
audiences targeted in the Campaign’s product development
initiatives. Products developed for these groups draw heavily
on discussion group research as well as field input.
Materials tailored for educators, for example, focus on the
academic status of children in systems of care; dropout and expulsion rates;
and are accompanied by testimonials from families involved
with systems of care. The Campaign’s collection of materials includes
brochures, posters, print ads, screensavers, coloring books and other outreach
materials. Check out what’s available at the National Mental Health Information
Center at www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/child.
Contacts
Caring for Every Child’s Mental Health Campaign
National Communications Campaign
2121 K Street NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20037
Phone: 202-331-9816
Fax: 202-331-9420
Website: www.vancomm.com/campaign
Brenda Foster
TA and Training Director
E-mail: bfoster@vancomm.com
Andrea Fiero
Technical Advisor
Phone: 703-739-9333
E-mail: andrea.fiero@nasmhpd.org
Leah Holmes-Bonilla
Training Manager
E-mail: lholmes-bonilla@vancomm.com
Barbara Huff
Family Outreach Director
E-mail: Bhuff2837@sbcglobal.net
Scott LaLonde
Event Coordinator
E-mail: slalonde@vancomm.com
Beverly Lancaster-Hyde
Deputy Project Director
E-mail: blancaster-hyde@vancomm.com
Clarice Leslie
TA Provider
E-mail: cleslie@vancomm.com
Lorrin McGinnis
Youth Outreach Director
Phone: (801) 380-3591
E-mail: lgehring@ffcmh.org
Juanita Panlener
TA Provider
E-mail: jpanlener@vancomm.com
Roy Praschil
Contract Manager
Phone: 703-739-9333
E-mail: roy.praschil@nasmhpd.org
Maria Rodriguez
Project Director
E-mail: mrodriguez@vancomm.com
Jane Tobler
TA Manager
E-mail: jtobler@vancomm.com
Erin Turner
Technical Assistance Coordinator
E-mail: eturner@vancomm.com
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