Research & Evaluation | University of Maryland School of Medicine

Project Title:

Expanding the SMHP FAMILY (Focus on Access to Mental Health Interventions and Local Resources to Promote Youth-Family-School Well-Being)

Project Staff:

Brittany Patterson, Principal Investigator
Cindy Schaeffer, Co-Principal Investigator
Jennifer Cox, School Mental Health Program Director

Funding Source:

Community Health Resources Commission (CHRC)

Project Partners:

Broken Wall Church, Tree House Project, St. Luke's Youth Center (SLYC)

Project Description:

This project seeks to enhance the capacities of school-based stakeholders for supporting the growing mental health needs of youth by providing family education programming, implementing educator training, and bolstering universal interventions provided to youth and families during and after school hours.

Contact:

Brittany Patterson, bpatterson@som.umaryland.edu

Project Title:

iKinnect Mobile Technology to Reduce Teen Substance Misuse

Project Staff:

Cindy Schaeffer, Principal Investigator
Aijah Goodwin, Co-Principal Investigator

Funding Source:

National Institute on Drug Abuse

Project Partner:

Evidence-Based Practice Institute, Inc.

Project Description:

The aims of this study are to further develop and test a paired mobile app platform to support parents delivering to teens evidence-based practices aimed at reducing adolescent substance abuse and co-occurring mental health problems. The study builds upon a previous study demonstrating iKinnect's efficacy with youth engaging in serious conduct problems. A randomized clinical trial will follow the app development and formative evaluation stage.

Contact:

Cindy Schaeffer, CSchaeffer@som.umaryland.edu

Project Title:

Improving the Cultural and Contextual Mental Health Help-Seeking Process: The Role of Digital Technology

Project Staff:

Aijah Goodwin, Co-Principal Investigator
Cindy Schaeffer, Co-Principal Investigator

Funding Source:

APA Division 53 SCCAP Child Mental Health in Action Funding

Project Description:

This research project will utilize a mixed-methods, strengths-based approach using survey and interview data to examine the role of technology as a self-help support selection to update the cultural and contextual mental health help-seeking process for Black youth with internalizing concerns.

Contact:

Aijah Goodwin, abarutigoodwin@som.umaryland.edu

Project Title:

Maryland Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education II (MD-AWARE II)

Project Staff:

Sharon Hoover, Principal Investigator
Tiffany Beason, Trainer
Taneisha Carter, Lead Evaluation Specialist
Jerica Knox, Lead Evaluator
Nancy Lever, Training and Technical Assistance Lead

Funding Source:

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

Project Partners:

Project Description:

MD-AWARE II supports three local school systems in Maryland, Baltimore City Public Schools, Talbot County Public Schools, and Caroline County Public Schools, in enhancing student and family access to a multi-tiered system of evidence-based practices to support school mental health. The goals and objectives MD-AWARE II are:

Partnering agencies will use a train-the-trainer model to disseminate interventions such as Youth Mental Health First Aid, ACE Interface, and Persuade. Refer to school staff and community members. These interventions support trainees’ ability to identify and refer youth and families that may benefit from mental health resources.
Family Navigators will be integrated into each school system to connect students and families with resources including mental health supports.
Clinicians working within each school system will receive training in evidence-based interventions for students who have experienced trauma such as Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) and Bounce Back. Trainings will also be available in the evidence-based practices Motivational Interviewing (MI), and Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT).
Telepsychiatry services for students and families will be implemented or expanded in each school system.
District leadership teams will use the School Health Assessment and Performance Evaluation system (SHAPE; theshapesystem.com) to develop and implement strategic plans to improve high-quality sustainable school mental health.
The Maryland Educational and Behavioral Health Community of Practice will serve as a state advisory group for MD-AWARE II. Each district will develop a local advisory group to review policy and make recommendations to support school mental health.

Resources for team members.

Contact:

Taneisha Carter, tacarter@som.umaryland.edu

Project Staff:

Sharon Hoover, Principal Investigator
Taneisha Carter, Evidence-Based Practice Clinical Lead Specialist
Julia Clarick, Evidence-Based Practice Coordinator
Elizabeth Connors, Measurement-Based Care Learning Community Lead
Latisha Curtis, Evidence-Based Practice Training Specialist
Imogen Evans, Evidence-Based Practice Coordinator
Cecilia Hesselton, Administrative Assistant
Zele Iyoriobhe, Evaluation Assistant
Jenn Keperling, Project Director
Jerica Knox, Evaluation Director
Nancy Lever, Systems Director
Victoria Louis, Evaluation Assistant
Shawn Orenstein, Systems Manager
Karah Palmer, Clinical Evidence-Based Practice Manager
Sam Reaves, Evidence-Based Practice Director
Perrin Robinson, Evaluation Manager
Kelly Schaffer, Evidence-Based Practice Training Senior Specialist
Lauren Wright, Senior Communications Specialist

Funding Source:

Maryland Community Health Resources Commission

Project Description:

Maryland Consortium on Coordinated Community Supports, Maryland Community Health Resources Commission

Project Description:

Maryland Coordinated Community Supports Partnerships, a new initiative out of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Act, aim to help meet student behavioral health needs and other related challenges in a holistic, non-stigmatized manner. The statewide model has been developed by the Consortium on Coordinated Community Supports, a new 24-member entity. With guidance from the Consortium, the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission (CHRC) will implement a grant program to support the development of Maryland Coordinated Community Support Partnerships. The National Center for School Mental Health is providing technical assistance and training to the initiative through several mechanisms, including:

Providing technical assistance to hubs and spokes within the Coordinated Community Support Partnerships on best practices related to comprehensive school mental health systems
Serving as a purveyor of several evidence-based practices
Supporting state entities to advance Maryland policy and state practices related to school mental health systems across the state

Contact:

Jenn Keperling, JKeperling@som.umaryland.edu

Project Title:

Mental Health Literacy in Baltimore City Public Schools

Project Staff:

Brittany Patterson, Principal Investigator
Jennifer Cox, School Mental Health Program Director
Nancy Lever, Senior Faculty Advisor

Funding Source:

Hearst Foundation

Project Description:

With higher rates of mental health challenges resulting from the pandemic, psychoeducational and skill-building curriculums in classrooms offer the opportunity to reach a larger number of students and to equip them with critical coping and problem-solving skills. The SMHP will implement a mental health literacy (MHL) curriculum to reduce stigma, increase mental health knowledge, and enhance students' coping capacities.

Contact:

Brittany Patterson, bpatterson@som.umaryland.edu

Nancy Lever, nlever@som.umaryland.edu

Project Title:

Organizational Well-Being Inventory for Schools

Project Staff:

Sharon Hoover, Principal Investigator
Samantha Reaves, Co-Investigator

Funding Source:

SAMHSA - Danya Institute

Project Partners:

Danya Institute

Project Description:

The Organizational Well-Being Inventory for Schools (OWBI-S) was established through an empirically-based development process to measure 8 key domains of organizational efforts to implement policies and practices that promote well-being for school staff. The instrument is available at www.theSHAPEsystem.com.

Contact:

Sharon Hoover, shoover@som.umaryland.edu

Project Title:

School Mental Health Quality Assessment: Pre-School Version

Project Staff:

Nancy Lever, Principal Investigator
Samantha Reaves, Developer
Samantha Hartley, Postdoctoral Fellow

Funding Source:

Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) Network

Project Partners:

MHTTC Nebraska (Brandy Clarke); Rachel Schumacher

Project Description:

The School Mental Health Quality Assessment: Pre-School Version (SMHQA-PS) was developed to expand national performance standards for school mental health down to our youngest learners and the teams that support them. The assessment tool was developed using a mixed-methods approach.

Contact:

Samantha Reaves, sreaves@som.umaryland.edu

Project Title:

School Psych Sistahs: Investigating a Digital Retention Program for Women of Color in School Psychology

Project Staff:

Jerica Knox, Principal Investigator

Funding Source:

Society for the Study of School Psychology

Project Description:

This mixed method study investigates the experiences of women of color in school psychology in a digital retention program. The program consists of 8 online didactics and discussions surrounding occupational self-efficacy, self-care habits, and navigating racial discrimination in schools.

Contact:

Jerica Knox, jerica.knox@som.umaryland.edu

Project Title:

Student Health Assessment, Response, and Evaluation (SHARE)

Project Staff:

Sharon Hoover, Principal Investigator
Jerica Knox, Expert Faculty
Karah Palmer, Lead Project Coordinator
Sam Reaves, Expert Faculty

Funding Source:

National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH)

Project Partners:

3C Institute

Project Description:

Direct to Phase II project, SHARE, is a collaboration between the 3C Institute (3C; 3cisd.com) and the National Center for School Mental Health (NCSMH; schoolmentalhealth.org) to support the iterative development and testing of a novel technology-based software platform—SHARE (Student Health Assessment, Response, and Evaluation)—to increase access to and use of psychometrically sound mental health and mental health-related assessment measures by mental health staff in schools. SHARE will be customized to facilitate service delivery in schools through an iterative, user-centered process with school mental health (SMH) providers and school and district administrators. SHARE will be specifically designed to minimize practical and logistical barriers to routine use of mental health assessment in schools.

Contact:

Karah Palmer, karah.palmer@som.umaryland.edu

Project Staff:

Sharon Hoover, Principal Investigator
Jill Bohnenkamp, Co-Investigator
Dana Cunningham, Social Emotional Evaluation Liaison
Joanna Prout, Research Manager
Sam Reaves, Research Associate
Karah Palmer, Research Coordinator
Yourdanos Bekele, Research Assistant

Funding Source:

Kaiser Permanente

Project Partners:

Alliance for a Healthier Generation

Project Description:

In collaboration with Kaiser Permanente, the NCSMH is performing an evaluation of the Resilience in School Environments (RISE) nationwide by collecting information about the implementation and effectiveness of trauma-informed training and policy in a total of 40 schools. The evaluation includes measures of staff and student well-being, school climate, and the extent to which school policies and procedures align with recommended practices for trauma-informed care.

Contact:

Karah Palmer, karah.palmer@som.umaryland.edu

Project Title:

Maryland Healthy Transitions (MD-HT)

Project Staff:

Sharon Hoover, UMB Principal Investigator
Sylvia McCree-Huntley, Outreach & Education Lead
Perrin Robinson, Lead Evaluator
Cameron Sheedy, Evaluation Coordinator

Funding Source:

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

Project Partners:

Maryland Behavioral Health Administration

Project Description:

MD-HT is a five-year grant funded by SAMHSA through the Now Is The Time initiative. The target population is transition-aged youth (TAY) between the ages of 16-25 with a serious mental health condition that impairs functioning. University of Maryland Baltimore conducts the program evaluation, in addition to providing outreach and education support. Each TAY works with a Transition Facilitator to create an individualized treatment plan. MD-HT goals include supporting TAY in in successfully transitioning to adult roles through supported employment, supported education and linking TAY to relevant services and supports. Healthy Transitions providers and staff can view our provider resources page. If you are looking for information on the outreach & education, visit Training & Technical Assistance. View the Healthy Transitions Leadership Team.

Contact:

Perrin Robinson, probinso@som.umaryland.edu

Outreach & Education Newsletters:

Project Staff:

Sharon Hoover, Principal Investigator
Jill Bohnenkamp, Co-Principal Investigator
Elizabeth Connors, Co-Investigator

Project Partners:

National Association of School Nurses, Center for Mental Health Services in Pediatric Primary Care at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sacramento State University School of Nursing

Project Description:

The Mental Health Training Intervention for Health Providers in Schools (MH-TIPS) is an innovative in-service training and implementation support system for school nurses and other school health providers aimed at enhancing their competence in managing the needs of students with or at risk for emotional and behavioral difficulties that interfere with learning. MH-TIPS was developed by the NCSMH in partnership with the National Association of School Nurses and the Center for Mental Health Services in Pediatric Primary Care at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The MH-TIPS training program includes core training content components linked to the context of school health providers with respect to student mental health issues including:

Strategies and Skills to Promote Positive and Supportive Interactions for Student Mental Health Issues
Mental Health Identification and Assessment
Mental Health Referral and Resource Mapping
Mental Health Crisis Response and Safety Assessment
Mental Health Intervention Best Practices for Delivery by School Health Providers
Psychotropic Medication

The entire MH-TIPS training course is available online at https://mdbehavioralhealth.com/training. The MH-TIPS Interactive Online Platform includes:

Implementation training videos
School health provider mental health video vignettes
Downloadable resources and tools
Frequently asked questions
Interviews with experts
Opportunity to earn continuing education credits

Publication on MH-TIPS:

Bohnenkamp, J. H., Hoover, S. A., Connors, E. H., Wissow, L., Bobo, N., & Mazyck, D. (2018). The mental health training intervention for school nurses and other health providers in schools. The Journal of School Nursing, 1059840518785437. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059840518785437

Contact:

Jill Bohnenkamp, jbohnenk@som.umaryland.edu.

Project Staff:

Mark Weist, University of South Carolina, Principal Investigator
Sharon Hoover, UMB Principal Investigator
Brittany Patterson, Co-Investigator
Jen Cox, Clinical Supervisor
Sam Reaves, Research Associate
Karah Palmer, Project Coordinator

Funding Source:

Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute

Project Description:

The purpose of this project is to conduct a randomized trial of two packages of school-based, evidence-based interventions, one with enhancements in family and educator engagement, to determine the relative impact on student outcomes. The study involves a partnership with 20 middle schools, 10 in Maryland and 10 in South Carolina, with interventions supporting students in 6th, 7th and 8th grades. Intervention schools will have educators implementing mental health literacy and parent leaders working to enhance family engagement and reduce mental health stigma.

Contact:

Brittany Patterson, bpatterson@som.umaryland.edu

Project Staff:

Cindy Schaeffer, Principal Investigator
Sharon Hoover, Co-Principal Investigator
Jill Bohnenkamp, Co-Investigator
Yourdanos Bekele, Senior Clinical Research Assistant

Funding Source:

U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Comprehensive School Safety Initiative – “Demonstration, Evaluation, and Validation Tests for School Safety”

Project Partners:

Cecil County Public Schools

Project Description:

Cecil County Public Schools is partnering with the NCSMH to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention package in reducing exclusionary discipline practices. Interventions include trauma support for students, training in de-escalation techniques for school staff and school resource officers, implementation of a graduated discipline and restorative practice model at secondary schools, and training for school resource officers on child development and mental health. Outcome measures will include suspension/expulsion rates, referrals to juvenile justice, and ratings of school climate. NCSMH is coordinating implementation with a team from Cecil County Public Schools and will be evaluating the effectiveness of the interventions as well the providing a cost-benefit analysis.

Contact:

Yourdanos Bekele, ybekele@som.umaryland.edu

This project is currently paused due to COVID-19.

Project Staff:

Sharon Hoover, Co-Principal Investigator
Jill Bohnenkamp, Co-Principal Investigator
Eric Slade, PhD, Co-Investigator
Cindy Schaeffer, Co-Investigator

Funding Source:

U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Comprehensive School Safety Initiative- “Developing Knowledge about What Works to Make Schools Safe”

Project Partners:

Baltimore County Public Schools

Project Description:

Baltimore County Public Schools is partnering with the NCSMH to conduct a randomized controlled trial of the impact of the Comprehensive Emotional and Behavioral Health Crisis Response and Prevention Intervention (EBH-CRP) on school safety. The EBH-CRP intervention is a comprehensive training, organization and support protocol for schools and communities to strengthen their ability to serve students’ mental health needs. The services included in the EBH-CRP intervention will include universal prevention, early identification, assessment and service linkage, crisis response and post crisis relapse prevention. NCSMH is the research partner for this trial and will evaluate the impact of this large scale, multi-faceted mental health focused intervention on school safety outcomes.

Contact:

Jill Bohnenkamp. jbohnenk@som.umaryland.edu