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WITH Foundation Grant Awarded to CSS
The WITH Foundation recently announced that more than $230,000 will be awarded to five organizations as a result of their previous open funding cycle. The Center for START Services, along with another initiative at the UNH Institute on Disability, was among the organizations chosen.
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“We enthusiastically support these efforts as they work to enhance training and curricula that improves the capacity of the healthcare community to address the needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities,”
- Ryan Easterly, Executive Director of the WITH Foundation.
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CSS Study Overview
Gaps in evidence-based training lead to poor patient care and satisfaction, lack of patient engagement, and polypharmacy. The recently developed Integrated Mental Health Treatment Guidelines for Prescribers in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, an integrated health guide (funded by the WITH Foundation), focuses on caring for persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) and provides the foundation for a companion training curriculum for medical students and residents to improve outcomes. This study aims to develop and evaluate an evidence-informed, easy to use training for medical students and residents on the mental healthcare for persons with IDD.
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2021 National Research Consortium in IDD-MH
Third Annual Conference
The 2021 National Research Consortium in IDD-MH third Annual Conference occurred on October 14, 2021. The consortium is a first-of-its-kind initiative that seeks to improve the mental health and wellbeing of individuals with IDD, their families and communities. The National Research Consortium on MHIDD is comprised of people with lived experiences (including self-advocates and family members), caregivers, trainees, researchers, policy experts, and clinicians from over 30 organizations across the US including several UCEDDs, medical schools, state health departments, and service providers.
The conference was attended by over 50 research partners across the US who gathered to set priorities for next year. Our keynote presentation, the Transforming Research Forum, provided valuable lessons learned to consortium members through an almost two-year collaborative project to build capacity for research engagement with individuals with the lived experience of IDD-MH, their families, and professionals. The presentation, which is a part of a PCORI-funded project entitled Reconciling the Past and Changing the Future: Engaging Young Adults with IDD-MH and Researchers in Comparative Effectiveness Research, built the capacity of NRC affiliated researchers and partners to engage in research projects that partner stakeholders to reduce research harms and generate research relevant and important to individuals with IDD-MH and their families. In addition to the keynote presentation, all NRC Innovation Award recipients presented an update on their respective projects.
More information about the NRC’s funded projects, the annual report, the application process, and how to get involved can be found on the NRC website or by contacting the NRC operations coordinator, Andrea Caoili ( andrea.caoili@unh.edu). |
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*New* CSS Grant Management Specialist
Under administrative supervision of the CSS grant PI and Director of Operations, this position is responsible for the administration, coordination, and execution of a grant funded project according to the Sponsors’ requirements including coordinating project milestone submissions, budget monitoring, and report submissions.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Master’s degree in finance, project management or an appropriate discipline and three years of experience or bachelor’s degree in appropriate discipline and five years of experience related to project/grant management.
- Demonstrated ability to understand grant requirements, manage grant deliverables and ensure compliance with funded research.
- Strong organizational and time management skills.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills.
- Demonstrated ability to work independently and as a member of the team to effectively interact with personnel at all levels
- High degree of self-motivation, initiative, and ability to work with diverse constituencies.
- Ability to work and communicate in a remote working environment
- Willingness to travel as required
Learn more and apply
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SIRS: Supporting the Biopsychosocial Approach
The START Information Reporting System (SIRS) is designed to reflect the underlying principles of START and to support teams to build the capacity of their community partners. Data elements collected in SIRS reflect these principles and help ensure that fidelity is maintained.
The biopsychosocial approach is one such principle and considers the biological, psychological, and social strengths and vulnerabilities related to mental wellness and how these different factors might contribute to and influence one another.[i] SIRS supports this approach by data collection in all three areas.
Biological:
- Access to primary care
- Access to specialty care
- Genetic information
- Medical conditions
Psychological:
- Mental health conditions
- Stressors
- Character strengths
- Trauma
- Psychotropic medications and potential side effects
Social:
- Family/caregiver stress
- Cultural considerations
- School/employment
- Relationships
- Residential stability
Collection of this information leads START staff to individualize interventions and support strategies that not only minimize crisis and distress but truly maximize well-being. Biopsychosocial elements in SIRS support START teams in providing evidence-informed practices and further the mission of promoting PERMA for all who are engaged with the START model.
[i]Engel, G. (1979). The biopsychosocial model and the education of health professionals. General Hospital Psychiatry, 1(2), pp.156-165.
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MHIDD Course for Direct Support Professionals
November 2021 session postponed until February 2022 - stay tuned for more details!
This live, 6-session course gives Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to provide individuals with IDD and mental health service needs (IDD-MH) positive, person-centered, strengths and wellness-based supports and services. The course facilitators will demonstrate how the information reviewed during session can be applied in the day-to-day support of people with IDD-MH. Registration fee is $149 per person.
"This course offers the content I need to do my job and the many facets of one’s life we must always consider." - Course Participant
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Have a healthy and happy week,
The Center for START Services
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