👉Oct 2020 Newsletter- New Tip Sheets, Comics & Mental Health News

October 2020

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Welcome to our iSPARC October Newsletter!

Improving Practice

Before a Mental Health Crisis Hits: Creating a Family Safety Plan

The iSPARC Family Advisory Board has just developed a tip sheet on creating a Family Safety Plan. The tip sheet will guide you through creating a “playbook” of the best ways to minimize or divert a mental health crisis with a family member. The goal of a safety plan is to identify possible triggers for a mental health issue, and actions you can take to minimize or prevent a crisis and ensure the safety of everyone. Our Tip Sheet also includes a template you can use to build an Emergency Plan. Read and download your copy HERE.

Download Your Safety Plan Template HERE.

Changing Policy

Get Familiar with WIOA: A Law That Helps Youth & Young Adults

Get Jobs – What Families Need to Know

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) mandates services for youth and young adults (ages 14-24) with disabilities, including those with psychiatric disabilities or serious mental health conditions, to help them prepare for, obtain and pursue careers in integrated settings that offer competitive salaries and benefits. This tip sheet provides information on who is eligible to receive WIOA Youth Services, where youth and young adults with disabilities can access services, and what services are available.

Read and download the tip sheet HERE.

In the NEWS

Maryann Davis, PhD, Director of iSPARC has been awarded tenure by UMass Medical School. The award of tenure is a testament to Maryann's achievement of excellence in research and scholarly activity, substantial contributions to education, teaching activities and mentoring and exceptional service at both the departmental and institutional levels with promise for continuing excellence in the future. Congratulations Maryann!

A UMass Medical School researcher in emergency medicine, Celine Larkin, PhD, recently received a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to develop telehealth and mobile app programs to reduce suicide among patients seen in emergency departments. Celine Larkin, PhD, assistant professor of emergency medicine, is co-investigator on the two-year grant. Congratulations Celine!

Read more about Celine's grant HERE.

We send our best wishes to Joan Mikula who has recently retired as Commissioner of the Massachusetts Dept. of Mental Health after 35 years of serving our community. Joan has been a strong advocate for improving the lives of our citizens living with mental health conditions, and we will miss her in this role. Watch an conversation between the former Commissioner and iSPARC director, Maryann Davis HERE.

*Introducing CeKTER*

The University of Massachusetts Medical School, Implementation Science & Practice Advances Research Center (UMASS-iSPARC) and the Boston University, Sargent College of Rehabilitation Sciences, Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation (BU-CPR) are pleased to announce Center on Knowledge Translation on Employment Research (CeKTER), a new center funded by National Institute on Disability Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). The goal of CeKTER is to promote the use of research-based knowledge and products to improve services, approaches, practices and policies that support improved employment outcomes of people with disabilities.

For more information and to request technical assistance for disseminating your NIDILRR funded research please contact Marsha.Ellison@umassmed.edu.

Empowered to Act

Introducing

"Adulting Shorts: An Interview Tale. Parts 1 & 2"

Info-Comics to Share with Young Adults

Comics and graphic novels are a great way to convey important information in an engaging way. Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research has a new series of comics designed to teach young adults important job interviewing knowledge and skills. See the sample below and find all of our comics HERE.

See the rest of the comic HERE.

Our comics demonstrate questions that an interviewer can and cannot ask someone during an interview.That's important because there are some questions an interviewer is not allowed to ask, because they could be used to discriminate against a person, which is illegal. They also offer suggestions on how to respond if you are asked inappropriate or illegal questions. View all our comics HERE.

Upcoming Events

Raise the Bar Higher Conference - October 21st. Work Without Limit's conference will be virtual this year. We will have a virtual vendor room at the conference and Jon Delman will be presenting.

Info/Register here: https://workwithoutlimits.org/event/8th-annual-raise-the-bar-hire-conference

NAMI Mass Convention & Annual Meeting -October 23-24 Virtual Convention.

Info/Register here: https://namimass.org/convention/

KTDRR Virtual Knowledge Translation Conference - Oct 26-30

We will be presenting! Info/Register here: https://ktdrr.org/conference2020/index.html

National Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health 2020 Virtual Mini-Conference - Equity in Access, Services & Outcomes for Children, Youth & Families During COVID-19. Nov. 10th & 12th.

Info/Register: https://www.ffcmh.org/2020-virtual-mini-conference

Young Adult Corner

5 Ways Working Helps Me Manage My Mental Health Conditions

Read Our Latest Young Adult Blog Post HERE.

"October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. As someone with lived experience of a mental health condition and chronic illness, I can speak to the benefits of employment. Having a job is not only possible for those of us living with mental health conditions, it also can be a key component to our recovery. Here are five ways that my job has helped me manage my mental health condition and recovery."

Read the full blog post HERE.

What is Transitions ACR Doing?

New Tip Sheet: School that Makes Cent$: Taking CTE Courses

Career and Technical Education (or CTE) classes ⠀

are a great way to learn skills for your future career and you can take them at your high school. If you take a concentration of CTE courses, you can graduate with special certifications that make you eligible to work in certain jobs, for example as a Certified Nursing Assistant or Auto Repair Technician. These certifications can help you get a head start on your college or career. It can be a great strategy when you live with a disability or mental health condition and it can be worked into your IEP or 504 plan. Read/Download our new Tip Sheet HERE.

Featured Resources

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Visit the Office of Disability Employment Policy at the US Dept. of Labor for a variety of resources to help increase access and opportunity for those living with disabilities.

Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research has several tip sheets regarding employment for youth and young adults with disabilities. You can find them HERE.

Who We Are

The Implementation Science and Practice Advances Research Center (formerly known as the Systems and Psychosocial Advances Research Center) is a part of the University of Massachusetts Medical School's Department of Psychiatry.

iSPARC is a Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (DMH) Center of Excellence for Public Mental Health Services and Implementation Research that aims to improve the mental and behavioral health of all citizens of Massachusetts and beyond. iSPARC is committed to transferring knowledge and insights gained through rigorous research to improve the lives of people with lived mental health experience.

We conduct Participatory Action Research, an all-inclusive approach that ensures that every aspect of our research incorporates the voices of those with lived mental health experience.

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