TA Network

A skilled workforce is one of the cornerstones of a sustainable system of care. Successful human resource development requires individual accountability, effective organizational structures and operations, good leadership, and a supportive policy and funding context. With such conditions in place, staff in a full range of roles – clinicians and other direct service providers; peer support workers; care coordinators; supervisors; policymakers; administrators; evaluators; system partners; and stakeholders – are more likely to learn and demonstrate skills relevant to their role in supporting children, youth and young adults with behavioral health needs and their families.

Implementation science identifies many drivers that produce a competent workforce including: strategic staff selection procedures; effective, skills-based training; regular, structured, and data-informed supervision and coaching; and measurement and feedback of staff performance, service quality, fidelity and outcomes. To accomplish these things, facilitative administration, decision support data systems, and system interventions are also necessary.

Important areas we address as part of this work include:

Clinical Best Practices: Highlighting evidence based practices, and best practices in screening, assessment and treatment of mental health and substance use disorders.

Early Psychosis: Broadening awareness ofeffective implementation strategies, current core practices and philosophies, and the role of early psychosis programs in enhancing systems of care.

Mental Health Fact Sheets for Caregivers and Youth: Increasing the understanding of caregivers and young adults around specific clinical diagnoses.

Monitoring and Oversight of Psychotropic Medications: Improving the use of psychotropic medications with children, youth and young adults.

Trauma-Informed Care: Supportingunderstanding of its relevance in research, policy, practice, and organizational structures.

Wraparound: Guiding and measuring effective implementation and practice of quality Wraparound care planning.

Workforce: Ensuring effective training and supervision and promoting quality standards for Wraparound workforce.