Creating the Organizational Capacity to Serve Families with Parental Mental Illness: The Implementation of Family Options

Summary: The purpose of this presentation is to present preliminary findings describing the organizational context of a traditionally adult-serving community mental health program, Employment Options, Inc., as they implement a family-centered, strengths-based intervention for families living with parental mental illness

The Massachusetts Family Networks Implementation Study

Family Networks is a comprehensive systems transformation initiative to redesign and integrate traditional categorical services across the Commonwealth into local systems of care for children, youth, and families served by the child welfare system. The Family Networks Implementation Study, a partnership between the Massachusetts Department of Social Services (MA/DSS) and the University of Massachusetts Medical School, is a two-year study of the process of implementing local systems of care that began in January 2007, and will continue through December 2008. Findings from the Family Networks Implementation Study will inform MA/DSS strategic planning, system refinements, and the Family Networks outcomes evaluation. Continuous quality improvement strategies, drawn from study findings, will be relevant and useful to other Massachusetts EOHHS agencies with similar service delivery systems and agendas. Project activities and products will promote the Commonwealth’s participation in the national dialogue regarding systems transformation in child welfare, mental health, and juvenile justice

Implementation Challenges in Wrapping Interventions Around Families Living with Parental Mental Illness

Summary: Parental mental illness challenges service providers in adult mental health, child welfare and children’s mental health systems of care. This presentation describes the development and implementation of Family Options, a family-centered, strengths-based, family-driven intervention for families living with parental mental illness. Findings from the Family Options implementation study suggest strategies for the replication of the intervention, as well as recommendations for the enhancement of existing programs like children’s systems of care to meet parents’ needs and improve outcomes for all family members

The Family Options Project: Implementing an Innovative Intervention for Parents with Mental Illnesses and Their Families

The Family Options Project reflects a productive partnership between researchers and providers at the UMMS Center for Mental Health Services Research and Employment Options, Inc., Marlborough, MA The Family Options Intervention is an evidence-informed psychiatric rehabilitation intervention, developed and tested within the context of a community-based agency setting

Mothers with Mental Health Disorders: Mental Health Promotion in the Context of Parenting

Parenting is a meaningful role for the majority of American women, including those with mental health disorders. Success in this role, particularly for women with mental health disorders, would seem to be intimately related to mental health promotion, the recovery process, and successful functioning in other major life domains (e.g., employment, community living, and personal health and well-being). The achievement of maximum social participation for women with mental health disorders may hinge on addressing the challenges they face as parents

The incidence of varicella and herpes zoster in Massachusetts as measured by the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) during a period of increasing varicella vaccine coverage, 1998–2003

BACKGROUND: The authors sought to monitor the impact of widespread varicella vaccination on the epidemiology of varicella and herpes zoster. While varicella incidence would be expected to decrease, mathematical models predict an initial increase in herpes zoster incidence if re-exposure to varicella protects against reactivation of the varicella zoster virus. METHODS: In 1998–2003, as varicella vaccine uptake increased, incidence of varicella and herpes zoster in Massachusetts was monitored using the random-digit-dial Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. RESULTS: Between 1998 and 2003, varicella incidence declined from 16.5/1,000 to 3.5/1,000 (79%) overall with ≥66% decreases for all age groups except adults (27% decrease). Age-standardized estimates of overall herpes zoster occurrence increased from 2.77/1,000 to 5.25/1,000 (90%) in the period 1999–2003, and the trend in both crude and adjusted rates was highly significant (p < 0.001). Annual age-specific rates were somewhat unstable, but all increased, and the trend was significant for the 25–44 year and 65+ year age groups. CONCLUSION: As varicella vaccine coverage in children increased, the incidence of varicella decreased and the occurrence of herpes zoster increased. If the observed increase in herpes zoster incidence is real, widespread vaccination of children is only one of several possible explanations. Further studies are needed to understand secular trends in herpes zoster before and after use of varicella vaccine in the United States and other countries

The oboe works of Richard Dubugnon

In his relatively brief musical career, French-Swiss composer Richard Dubugnon has written orchestral, solo, and chamber works for most instruments and voice types. His symphonic compositions have been performed by such prestigious American orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Dallas Symphony Orchestra. He has written pieces for acclaimed soloists and recording artists, including oboist Nicholas Daniel and violinist Janine Jansen. Despite these recent successes, his exposure has been mostly restricted to the European market. In the last five years, however, Dubugnon has gained momentum as a composer in the United States. Although he has experienced increased popularity with American conductors and musicians, there is relatively little known about him, his musical philosophy, and his compositional process. The majority of Dubugnon's catalog for woodwind instruments has been composed for the oboe. He has written three pieces for oboe thus far: Cinq Masques, Op. 10 (1995) for solo oboe, Canonic Verses , Op. 16 (1996) for oboe, oboe d'amore, and English horn, and Mikroncerto III, Op. 37 (2005) for oboe d'amore, basset clarinet, and piano. Considering his overall compositional output and relatively short career as a composer, his catalog has produced a significant contribution to the solo and chamber repertoire of the oboe family. This treatise examines the life of Richard Dubugnon and his works for oboe, oboe d'amore, and English horn, with the purpose of bringing to light his compositions' significance within the general oboe repertoire. This paper will outline Dubugnon's compositional techniques, use of nonmusical media his composition of musical elements, and treatment of extended techniques in his solo and chamber works. This will be accomplished through extensive musical analysis, and a performance guide will be provided where applicable

Implementing an intervention for parents with mental illness: Building workforce capacity

OBJECTIVE: This article describes the challenges in building workforce capacity when implementing an intervention for families living with parental mental illnesses. METHOD: Data were obtained in the context of a larger, developmental, mixed-methods study. Participants included all agency employees working with families in the Family Options intervention on a daily basis. In-depth interviews were representative of the implementation time frame and activities, and the range of staff members\u27 roles and involvement in the implementation process. Themes emerged as interview transcripts were coded qualitatively using a constant comparative approach. RESULTS: Identifying complex family needs, anticipating the needs of children, and addressing staff needs for training and support were crucial considerations in implementing a family intervention. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: As the psychiatric rehabilitation field acknowledges the impact of family life on adults as well as children, and moves toward family informed services, knowledge of how to shape and support this specialized workforce is essential. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved)

Evaluation to Improve a High School Summer Science Outreach Program

The goal of the Young Scientist Program (YSP) at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (WUSM) is to broaden science literacy and recruit talent for the scientific future. In particular, YSP seeks to expose underrepresented minority high school students from St. Louis public schools (SLPS) to a wide variety of careers in the sciences. The centerpiece of YSP, the Summer Focus Program (SFP), is a nine-week, intensive research experience for competitively chosen rising high school seniors (Scholars). Scholars are paired with volunteer graduate student, medical student, or postdoctoral fellow mentors who are active members of the practicing scientific community and serve as guides and exemplars of scientific careers. The SFP seeks to increase the number of underrepresented minority students pursuing STEM undergraduate degrees by making the Scholars more comfortable with science and science literacy. The data presented here provide results of the objective, quick, and simple methods developed by YSP to assess the efficacy of the SFP from 2006 to 2013. We demonstrate that the SFP successfully used formative evaluation to continuously improve the various activities within the SFP over the course of several years and in turn enhance student experiences within the SFP. Additionally we show that the SFP effectively broadened confidence in science literacy among participating high school students and successfully graduated a high percentage of students who went on to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors at the undergraduate level