Mental health consultation in state government: a program evaluation

Abstract

The Clinical Consultant position was established by the New Jersey Division of Child Behavioral Health (DCBHS) to provide clinical guidance to caseworkers from the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) tasked with the job of managing the complex needs of the children and families under their supervision. Due to the urgency of the need for this service the Clinical Consultant position was created and implemented with a loose job definition while an extensive needs assessment and program evaluation was conducted that would form the basis for an informed, comprehensive and detailed training manual. This needs assessment and program evaluation was carried out by the author eighteen months after the position was formally implemented, with the goals of a) identifying the most critical issues that the clinical consultants face, b) clarifying and refining the organizational conceptualization of the position, c) providing a resource for the clinical consultants to assist them in carrying out their duties effectively and efficiently and d) standardizing practice. The methods used in carrying out this program evaluation were modeled on those described by Hepburn, Kaufmann, Perry, Allen, Brennan and Green in Early childhood mental health consultation: An evaluation tool kit, and involved an extensive review of the consultation and organizational diagnosis literature, semi-structured interviews with involved personnel, and observation. A qualitative database was created from the semi-structured interviews identifying important themes and analyzing them within the larger context of the theoretical foundations of mental health consultation. Specific duties and tasks associated with these dimensions were isolated and examined in light of these theoretical foundations and within the framework of practical and logistic considerations. Presentations of findings were made to major stakeholder groups. The significant themes that arose from the evaluation included differing organizational understandings of the Clinical Consultant position, varying conceptions of the important dimensions of the position and associated tasks, and significant inter-system dynamics influencing communication and utilization of the position at large. These are considered with relevant observations from the author’s own experience serving as a consultant to the larger system in which the Clinical Consultants operate.Psy. D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Kathryne Stuart Blauvel