TA Partnership Newsletter — February/March 2012

Feature Articles

TAP Newsletter - February/March 2012 Cover Families Matter!
"Fathers Involved Now" at Allegheny Family Network: Allegheny Family Network is Realizing its Commitment to Support Fathers! The TA Partnership has started to ensure the involvement of fathers (and fatherly figures) through the Fatherhood Initiative. There are fatherhood groups in some communities, and interest in developing a group in many others. The Fathers Involved Now group from Pennsylvania is very busy improving their community and having fun doing so!

Highlights from the Field
The Highlights from the Field articles provide information about innovative and promising activities from the system of care communities supported by the TA Partnership in the hopes that communities can learn from their peers around the country.

Hover over the links below to view the descriptions.

News You Can Use

Federal Bureau of Prisons Makes Major Change in Transgender Medical Policy
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has ended its “freeze frame” policy, which restricted care for people with gender identity disorder (GID). Individuals with GID will now be able to receive individualized assessment and evaluation that meets “current, accepted standards of care.”
The National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections (NRCPFC) Schedule of Events
NRCPFC has an online listing of 2012 teleconferences, webinars, and webcasts.
Hurricane Katrina Survivors Struggle with Mental Health Years Later
Survivors of Hurricane Katrina have struggled with poor mental health for years after the storm, according to a new study of low-income mothers in the New Orleans area.
Psychologists ,Educators See Facebook as Aid in Suicide Prevention
This article calls for further investigation into strategies that support students who use social media to signal emotional distress, including suicidal thinking.
OJJDP and the MacArthur Foundation Announce Juvenile Justice System Reform Funding (PDF)
The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation recently announced that they are jointly providing $2 million to support innovative and effective reforms in treatment and services for youth involved in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems.
SAMHSA Creates Office of Behavioral Health Equity
In accordance with The Affordable Care Act, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) created the Office of Behavioral Health Equity (OBHE). The goal of OBHE is to ensure that populations experiencing behavioral health disparities are equally served and supported.
The Fate of Health Reform–What to Expect in 2012
This article addresses the Supreme Court’s potential decision and activities around the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act at the State level, including changes to Medicaid.
SAMHSA Announces a Working Definition of “Recovery” from Mental Disorders and Substance Use Disorders
SAMHSA and partners in the behavioral health care community announced a new working definition of recovery from mental and substance use disorders.
Teaching the Next Generation of Digital Natives
This article explains how the use of digital tablets has begun to take a viable place in the realm of education, with the expectation that this role will only increase.

Research Update

Family Formation and Raising Children Among Same-sex Couples The Williams Institute recently released research showing that the number of same-sex couples raising children today is much higher than in 2000.
Love and Belonging for a Lifetime: Youth Permanency in Child Welfare (PDF) This issue highlights practice and policy issues that support effective permanency planning and decision making with adolescents in foster care. It features independent living program transformation in California, integrating child welfare and mental health practices, actualizing youth permanency using the 3-5-7 model, permanency for LGBTQ youth, and reinstating parental rights.
How Parents’ Education Can Affect Outcomes for Their Children This study analyzed how a parent's education level impacts their children's education level, household income, and mental health.
School Mental Health Data Matters: Be Brief, Be Academic (PDF) This article focuses on linking student academic achievement to measuring the effect of mental health treatment, as well as evaluation of school behavioral health centers.
Updated OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book Data Analysis Tools OJJDP has updated its Statistical Briefing Book’s data analysis tools. These tools allow quick and easy access to detailed statistics on a wide range of juvenile justice topics, and provide users the opportunity to create tables on juvenile populations, arrests, court cases, and custody populations.
Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) Show Improvement Following Targeted Intervention This study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health found that early intervention programs can yield improvements in social and communication skills for even very young children who have ASD.
Childhood Cumulative Risk and Obesity: The Mediating Role of Self-Regulatory Ability This study followed nine-year-old children over a four year period to measure whether early childhood risk exposures, including poverty and substandard housing, affected weight gain and obesity.
Engaging Parents in the Family Check-Up in Middle School: Longitudinal Effects on Family Conflict and Problem Behavior Through the High School Transition (Abstract) Family Check-Up, a program that provides feedback and skills training for parents, can help reduce teen problem behavior, including alcohol use.
2011 Monitoring the Future Survey Shows Changing Substance Use Patterns Among Teens National Institute on Drug Abuse’s Monitoring the Future Survey shows that teen use of alcohol and cigarettes is at an all-time low, but there is a slowing rate of decline in teen smoking and continuing high rates of abuse of other tobacco products. The survey also found that regular teen marijuana usage has grown in recent years.
Sexting: A Brief Guide for Educators and Parents (PDF) This guide offers an overview of statistics and legal responses to “sexting,” or sending sexually explicit images via cell phone, among teens. Originally intended for parents and educators, this guide can also be used by youth engagement specialists and others who work with groups of teens in systems of care.

Funding Opportunities

Interventions for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention in Native American Populations
Application Deadline: May 15, 2012; Letter of Intent Due: April 15, 2012 The purpose of this grant is to develop and test the effectiveness of culturally appropriate health promotion and prevention interventions in Native American populations.
Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program (PDF)
Application Deadline: March 5, 2012 This program, supported by the Department of Education, aims to develop methods to maximize the inclusion of people with disabilities in all realms of society and encourages self-sufficiency.
Justice and Mental Health Collaboration State-Based Capacity Building Program
Application Deadline: March 2, 2012 Funding through this program is aimed at increasing public safety through innovative cross-system collaboration for individuals with mental health needs or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders who come into contact with the justice system.
FY 2012 Drug Free Communities Support Program
Application Deadline: March 22, 2012 The Office of National Drug Control Policy, in partnership with the SAMHSA, is awarding grants to establish and strengthen collaboration among communities working to prevent and reduce substance use among youth.

Non-TA Partnership Events

True Colors XIX: Celebrating Our Allies
March 16 and 17, 2012 | Storrs, Connecticut The conference includes workshops on topics such as cultural competence, youth leadership training, education, community gay-straight alliances, and social justice. The conference has sessions for youth, who attend in large numbers, as well as professionals.
A New Era of Social Justice and Civil Rights
April 3–6, 2012 | Atlanta, Georgia The National Association of Black Social Workers is hosting its 44th national conference, which will reflect on the past and lay foundations for future progress.
Transforming Mental Health for Latinos through Policy, Research, Practice, and Leadership
April 22–24, 2012 | Miami, Florida The National Resource Center for Hispanic Mental Health is sponsoring its second national conference to improve mental health service delivery to Hispanics.
Celebrating the Past, Imagining the Future: 18th National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect
April 16–20, 2012 | Washington, DC This event provides a unique opportunity to both reflect on past accomplishments and lessons learned, and to articulate a course of action that will steer the child welfare field towards an ever-improving future.
Council for Exceptional Children 2012 Convention and Expo
April 11–14, 2012 | Denver, Colorado Conference participants will have the opportunity to engage in dialogue about various topics that are relevant to the field, including teacher effectiveness, response to intervention, and autism.
National Conference on Juvenile and Family Law
March 21–24, 2012 | Las Vegas, Nevada This conference, sponsored by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, will address practical strategies for collaborations in juvenile and family law, preventing teen dating and domestic violence, evidence-based practice in juvenile drug courts, truancy, the adolescent brain, and more.
Blueprints Conference
April 11–13, 2012 | San Antonio, Texas This event for juvenile justice professionals will disseminate science-based information, guidance, and tools on effective youth violence, delinquency, and drug prevention programs for individuals, communities, and agencies interested in implementing and sustaining successful programming and policy reform, and effective leadership.
2012 Joint Meeting on Adolescent Treatment Effectiveness
April 10–12 2012 | Washington, DC The conference will include sessions on juvenile justice, school-based services, treatment and recovery systems, collaboration, youth and families, evidence-based practices, and other related topics.
Healthy Teen Network’s 33rd Annual National Conference
October 16–October 19, 2012 | Minneapolis, Minnesota The theme of this year’s conference is ‘The Power of Youth: Joining Forces to Achieve Positive Outcomes.’
Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine 2012 Annual Meeting: Impact of Trauma on Teens: Building the Safety Net
March 14–March 17, 2012 | New Orleans, Louisiana The meeting will offer innovative research, clinical workshops, and discussion forums for attendees of diverse disciplines who want to obtain updated information to meet the unique needs of the adolescents and young adults they serve.
The 2012 National Council Mental Health and Addictions Conference
April 15–17, 2012 | Chicago, Illinois The conference will include tips and tools on improving treatment, and provide the opportunity to network with other healthcare professionals.
The 2012 LGBTQ Meaningful Care Conference
March 30, 2012 | Portland, Oregon This cultural competency training invites healthcare and social service professionals, youth, advocates, and others to learn how to best work with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) community.
2012 National Transition Conference: College and Careers for Youth with Disabilities
May 30–June 1, 2012 | Washington, DC This conference will bring together partners in the transition community, provide a forum for sharing ideas, approaches, and research findings, and serve as an opportunity for networking and relationship building.