Innovation in Care Collaboration

In this episode we welcome Janet Hoeke & Laura Wallis, both are thought-leaders, children mental-health advocates, and systems innovators who have fulfilled important roles in the building of Idaho’s Youth Empowerment Service (YES) System of Care.This hour of sharing will focus on the importance of partnering with those with ‘lived experience’ and why systems of care must have parents/caregivers and youth, ‘not just sitting at the table’ rather engaged as equal partners. Janet & Laura will highlight how ‘trust’ is essential in building an effective system of care, where all children/youth, emerging adults and families have access to high quality care in achieving successful outcomes.

In this week's episode we chat with Richard Knecht, an amazing ‘thought-leader’ for systemic excellence with Integrated Human Services Group. His instrumental work includes supporting both public & private sectors of human-services for over three-decades. Richard has fulfilled various roles successfully supporting operations of services as well as outcomes connected with human-services.Richard facilitates monthly open-forum sessions in support of California’s Successful Statewide Systems of Care (SOC) implementation. These hour-long sessions are open to all California systems partners, including child-welfare, juvenile justice/probation, behavioral/mental health, developmental services and other partners.

In this episode listeners will learn how provider agencies throughout Wisconsin have coordinated with WAFCA to keep children in-state while meeting complex treatment needs. States throughout the country are struggling to keep children/youth from having to be treated out-of-state. Emily Coddington-Associate Director of WAFCA- will detail how their Resource Connection Sessions pilot is responding to rising numbers of out-of-state placements, as well managing the destabilizing effects of the pandemic on the workforce.

In this episode we speak to Holly Dinneny, Director of Outreach & Satellite Programs for the Cornerstone Family Programs, Morristown Neighborhood House.  Holly describes their peer support program, Operation Sisterhood, a program for female veterans designed to proactively identify, support, and engage female veterans, connecting them to available resources, community allies, key policy makers and a supportive, empowering community of other women warriors. While based in New Jersey and operated under Cornerstone Family Programs/Morristown Neighborhood House, Operation Sisterhood aspires to facilitate meaningful programs, conversations, and connections to support the unique needs and particular challenges female veterans face. With both in-person and virtual program options, Operation Sisterhood serves female veterans in and beyond the boundaries of the Garden State. In 2022, Operation Sisterhood activities will include regular peer support group sessions, frequent One Hour INTEL expert presentations, equestrian therapy, social outings, and a summer camping trip.

In this episode we have a conversation with Valerie Hicks, MSW, LISW Executive Director, Specialized Alternatives for Families & Youth (SAFY) of Nevada.Our conversation focuses on how Specialized Alternatives for Families and Youth (SAFY) connects with community providers, strengthening relationships, increasing advocacy efforts for all children/youth and families. SAFY ‘shines a light on teens experiencing foster care -- because their dreams, ambitions, talents, and goals matter.’Advocacy is embedded throughout SAFY, at all levels, to embody for everyone the value of all voices. Valerie shares how to create ‘welcoming spaces’ ensuring a culture/climate for staff and those being served. She also outlines three pillars-Humility, Empathy & Curiosity-needed for celebrating diversity and inclusion.

In this episode we sit down with Laura Wallis, Co-director of the Idaho Parent Network for Children's Mental Health. Laura shares her experience as a professional civil engineer and how borrowing logical frameworks and applying engineering principals to human services practices could bring about more effective and efficient care. After having children and recognizing one had significant mental health challenges and developmental disabilities, Laura became an advocate for children's mental health reform, and participated in the implementation of Idaho's Youth Empowerment Services (YES) system of care. A system designer, technical writer and public speaker, Laura sits on multiple boards, and is the Co-director of the Idaho Parent Network for Children's Mental Health. She volunteers her time to help Idaho parents understand the YES system of care by creating parent resources and educating providers on how best to meet families where they are.

In this episode we will outline ways to increase family preservation. You will learn ways to help support whole-person care. Specialized Alternatives for Families & Youth’s (SAFY) approach for health equity moves beyond a compliance-based model and towards trauma-informed success-based care. SAFY’s team will share ways in which providers of care- at all levels (including administrators, direct-care staff, foster parents & youth) can together build a ‘climate and culture of healing.’

In this episode we speak with Jerome Scriptunas who leads a community nonprofit called Youth TimeBanking (YTB) and a TechSoup Connect chapter for timebanking and community organizations. Youths need more opportunities to practice skills needed full-time in adulthood. Youth TimeBanking provides community-building opportunities to youth and uses time, service, resources, and opportunity as currency in exchange. Jerome shares his thoughts on YTB's vision that youths have opportunities for peer-to-peer, near-peer, youth-adult, and intergenerational connections and partnerships to build personal and community strength and solidarity.

We all have been challenged by the world-wide pandemic, especially in areas of home, work, and community. The effects of COVID have been particularly impactful in the lives of children and youth. They have seen so many changes take place at their homes, schools and with the community they live. The impact on school-aged children/youth has been discussed since early 2019. However, the pandemic for some children & youth compounded their traumatic experiences, in particular those children/youth in foster-care.There are close to 500,000 children/youth in foster care throughout the United States. What we know is that children with unresolved grief & loss enter a foster home, they bring their pain with them. Their main priority is self-protection against future loss and vulnerability. In this episode we welcome in Dr. Randy Sconiers and Erin Bruno to share creative ways to keep children/youth connected to health & wellness.

Children and families are under increased stress from the pandemic, and we are looking to generate more conversation about how we can all share innovative ideas on how to best support families during these changing times. Newly funded prevention practices through the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA or Family First Act) offers both an opportunity to help more families and a challenge to adjust to a changing landscape of requirements and offerings.Long before the worldwide pandemic, states & localities nationwide were already struggling to meet their obligations to the approximately 440,000 children/youth throughout the United States in foster care, due to systemic difficulties.Now with FFPSA, there is an opportunity to reach more families for prevention. While this opportunity is incredible, it also means a larger population to serve and new modalities of service offerings to support.  In this episode we welcome in Dr. Kate Cordell, Co-Founder and CEO at Opeeka and Ryann Vernetson, Chief of Clinical Innovation & Technology at SAFY of America. We discuss ways to generate conversation and ideas to meet new challenges as well as offer support around the FFPSA.

In this episode we are joined by Dr. John Lyons, Director of the Center for Innovation in Population Health and professor of Health Management and Policy. He has published more than 200 peer reviewed publications and six books including Redressing the Emperor: improving our children's public mental health system and Communimetrics. Lyons has created and supported the use of evidence-based assessments that are used around the world including the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS), Family Advocacy and Support Tool (FAST) and Adult Needs and Strengths Assessment (ANSA). He actively works at the interface between practice and policy in mental health, child welfare, education, and justice. Dr. Lyons shares with us the new developments in the collaborative, especially TCOM Channel and the 2022 TCOM Conference being held in New Orleans, Louisiana in September. The 1-hour session will examine impact of COVID, especially in the areas of trauma and health equity. There will also be a look ahead to towards the future and how we can move forward improving the outcomes managing the data.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Health Equity, is “when everyone has the opportunity to be as healthy as possible.” Exploring ways systems reforms can actively support every person where they have an opportunity to attain their full health potential. If the status quo continues the ‘disadvantaged’ are prevented from achieving this potential due to social position or other socially constructed scenarios. A systemic shift towards health for all impact on reduce impact of historic inequities including-differences in length of life; quality of life; rates of disease, disability, and death; severity of disease; and access to treatment.In this episode we welcome in special guest Dr. Lonnie Snowden, professor of Health Policy at UC Berkeley and Health Disparities Researcher. Dr. Snowden has an extensive history of engaging policy development efforts utilizing his research that focuses on mental health care access, quality, and equity, for racial and ethnic communities and underserved populations.  Panelist for this episode include Dr. Kate Cordell, Co-Founder and CEO of Opeeka, Arshia Gratiot, Co-Founder and CEO of Eupnoss and Cynthia Orofo, Co-Founder of Culture Care Collective. These three companies have built some of the most innovative technology solutions to address health equity and disparities and they share their thoughts on how the pandemic has transformed the ways we look at care and how we can help turn disparities into prosperities in healthcare.

Just like physical health, mental health in childhood focuses on reaching developmental and emotional milestones, learning healthy social skills as well as how to cope when there are difficult situations. An important goal for all children is for them to be both physically and mentally healthy, so that they can have a positive quality of life-functioning well at home, in school, and in their communities. It is important that we remember that physical health is not just the absence of illness & disease and mental health is not simply the absence of a mental disorder.In today's episode we welcome in Dr. John Lyons, who is the director of the Center for Innovation and Population Health at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Lyons has spent his entire career leading the charge for health equity, especially for children, youth and families involved with systems of care. For today's discussion we have also invited three special health-tech startups who have invented great ways to use technology in supporting innovative whole person care.

Just like physical health, mental health in childhood focuses on reaching developmental and emotional milestones, learning healthy social skills as well as how to cope when there are difficult situations. An important goal for all children is for them to be both physically and mentally healthy, so that they can have a positive quality of life-functioning well at home, in school, and in their communities. It is important that we remember that physical health is not just the absence of illness & disease and mental health is not simply the absence of a mental disorder.In today's episode we welcome in Dr. John Lyons, who is the director of the Center for Innovation and Population Health at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Lyons has spent his entire career leading the charge for health equity, especially for children, youth and families involved with systems of care. For today's discussion we have also invited three special health-tech startups who have invented great ways to use technology in supporting innovative whole person care.