“Bridging the Gap: Research, Practice and Policy”

In an effort to speed research to the field and establish Tarrant County as a leader in evidence-based practices, Mental Health Connection is conducting a series of five symposiums in partnership with Texas Christian University. During the first three of these symposiums, nationally renowned experts have shared their knowledge about system transformation, research on best practices in mental health care and bringing the evidence-based practices to patients and families. Other speakers have discussed ways to change key policy at all levels so the research-based practices can be implemented. The issue of cultural competence has also been addressed.

Learning Communities and Implementation Teams

Following each symposium, working groups met to determine the best evidence-based practices for the community, and to find ways to implement those practices. Six Learning Communities scoured research about addictions, at-risk/prevention, autism, externalizing disorders, internalizing disorders and trauma. Each returned with a proposed pilot program. Implementation teams are working to bring those pilots to Tarrant County. Support has come from a variety of areas, including the State of Texas, Tarrant County and multiple mental health care agencies. For an update on the work of the Implementation Teams, click here.

System of Care Grant

Mental Health Connection worked with MHMR of Tarrant County to receive a System of Care cooperative agreement from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This grant is the second consecutive system of care grant for the community. It follows directly on the heels of the Community Solutions grant, which focused on children in Fort Worth between the ages of 6 and 18. The new grant, Hand in Hand, will provide wraparound services for children ages 0 through 5 in Tarrant, Parker, Palo Pinto, Johnson and Hood Counties. The Tarrant County area will exclude Fort Worth, which was the beneficiary of the Community Solutions grant. The new grant also provides for a cultural competence program, family support, social marketing and other programs related to enhancing a strong system of care. Click here for more information on Hand in Hand.

DataLink

Mental Health Connection created DataLink, a web-based client information-sharing
database. The system is currently being used by mental health care agencies, police departments, school districts, domestic violence agencies and faith-based organizations, among others. The system is fully compliant with HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and FERPA (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act). Click here for more information on DataLink.

Mental Health Transformation Grant

Mental Health Connection, working with Tarrant County, was one of eight communities in Texas to receive a Mental Health Transformation Grant. The grant provided $200,000 over a four-year period to improve mental health services delivery in each community. In 2008, Tarrant County turned over full management of the grant to Mental Health Connection. Funds have been used to participate in a cross-agency electronic records system test with Tarrant County Public Health, MHMR of Tarrant County and JPS Health Network. The grant also helped with some of the costs of the Bridging the Gap Symposiums. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, the Mental Health Transformation Grant allows Mental Health Connection to join with other collaboratives in the state to develop improved communication among agencies and groups that deal with mental illness.

Blue Ribbon Committee

Mental Health Connection facilitated meetings of area corporate leaders to address mental health issues in the workplace. The final report discussed mental health workforce development, health insurance coverage, stigma and the integration of primary care and mental health care services.

Research

In an effort to more closely align the research and mental health provider communities, Mental Health Connection created a Research Council in 2009. The group met quarterly to discuss shared interests, potential research needed and possible venues for local research to be presented to the community. UT Arlington, University of North Texas (UNT) Health Science Center, Texas Wesleyan University, Texas Christian University, Cook Children’s Medical Center, UT Southwestern, UT Austin and the MHMR Research Division joined the Council. Research Council members conducted four research roundtables throughout the year to present local research findings. Topics included:

• "Family Stories as Research Tools: Collecting and Using Stories as Evaluation Data"
  
  
• "Antipsychotic Efficacy in Bipolar Disorder with Cocaine or Methamphetamine Dependence"
  
  
• "Brief Solution-Focused Therapy’s Effect on an Individual’s Productivity at Work"
  
  
• "Interactions between Neurobiological and Psychosocial Factors in the Onset and Course of Psychiatric Disorders in Youngsters: Adversity and Brain Development"

Evaluation

The Evaluation Team at MHMR of Tarrant County has provided invaluable service to Mental Health Connection, Hand in Hand and Community Solutions. Its efforts were awarded with two national awards from SAMHSA - a Gold Award for Evaluation Operations and Silver Award for Involving Family Members and Youth in Evaluation.

 

Social Marketing

Mental Health Connection and Community Solutions implemented an award-winning social marketing program, which has focused heavily on reducing stigma in the community. The campaign has included a classroom PowerPoint curriculum with a teacher’s guide, public service announcements, posters, bookmarks and a newspaper supplement designed for use in the classroom. The newest campaign, “Friendships Count,” includes posters, bookmarks, a Web page and a YouTube video in an effort to reach students in grades 6 through 12.

   Fine Line: Mental Health/Mental Illness

   Mental Health Connection brought the exhibit Fine Line: Mental    
   Health/Mental Illness to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and
   History. Approximately 75,000 people saw the exhibit, which
   combines exquisite portrait photography with audio, so the visitor
   could hear the person seen in the portrait. For comments from
   visitors, click here. The social marketing effort to drive visitors to
   the exhibit received a Public Relations Society of America Silver
   Anvil Award of Excellence and a Texas Public Relations Association
   Silver Spur Award.

Strategic Plan

After completing its first five-year Strategic Plan in only four years, Mental Health Connection created a second plan to take it into its next phase of development. The new plan addresses Knowledge and Leadership, Evaluation and Outcomes, Individuals and Families, Technology, Advocacy, Social Marketing and Evidence-Based Practices. Click here to see the current Strategic Plan.

New Psychiatric Beds

Mental Health Connection advocated successfully to re-open 16 adolescent psychiatric beds and add 16 new adult beds at Trinity Springs Pavilion, the JPS Health Network psychiatric facility that provides crisis stabilization, short-term psychiatric mental health treatment and family education.

Public Attitudes Survey

Mental Health Connection and Community Solutions conducted a Tarrant County public opinion survey concerning attitudes about mental illness. The survey provided data as the basis of the social marketing campaigns. Read the survey results here.