agenda - National Technical Assistance Center for Children's Mental ...

Practical Strategies to Address the Behavioral Health 

Needs of Children and Families in Rural America 

Renaissance Glendale Hotel 

AGENDA 

Tuesday, September 21, 2010 

7:30–8:30 a.m. Registration/Breakfast Club 

Solana Ballroom HI 

8:30–9:00 a.m. Symposium Opening Ceremony/Welcome 


Practical Strategies through Partnerships for Children’s Behavioral 

Health: Coming Together to Help Children and Families Thrive in Rural 

Communities 

Gary Blau, Chief, Child, Adolescent and Family Branch, Center for 

Mental Health Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 

Administration, Rockville, MD 

Karen Francis, Senior Research Analyst, American Institutes for 

Research, Washington, DC 

Joyce Sebian, Senior Policy Associate, National TA Center for 

Children’s Mental Health, Georgetown University Center for Child and 

Human Development, Washington, DC 

9:00–10:30 a.m. Opening Plenary Session 


Thriving in Rural Communities: The Benefits of Well-Coordinated Actions 

and Expanded Partnerships 

2010 Rural Behavioral Health Symposium 9

10:30–10:45 a.m. Break 

10:45–12:15 p.m. Workshops 

This session opens the 2010 Rural Symposium with an expert panel 

focused on strategies for achieving healthy, thriving communities in rural 

areas. Panelists will discuss new federal partnerships and policies focused 

on bringing knowledge to practice through tactics such as place-based 

initiatives and the profound impact these multi-sector strategies can have 

on education, social, employment, and other life outcomes. Panelists 

will discuss the impact of social exclusion and historical trauma on 

special populations and the strategies to create effective, welcoming, and 

inclusive rural communities. Discussion will include the needs of Tribal, 

agricultural, immigrant, and the LGBTQI2-S (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, 

Transgender, Questioning, Intersex, and Two-Spirit) populations. 

Participants will have the opportunity to engage in dialogue with the 

panelists following the presentations. 

Moderator: Larke Nahme Huang, Senior Advisor, Office of 

the Administrator, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 

Administration, Rockville, MD 

Jon Perez, CAPT, US Public Health Service (USPHS), National 

Behavioral Health Consultant, Indian Health Service; Team Leader 

USPHS Mental Health Disaster Response Team II, Phoenix, AZ 

Stephen Wessler, Executive Director, Center for Preventing Hate; 

Director, New Migration Project, Portland, ME 

Michael Rosmann, Executive Director, AgriWellness, Inc., Harlan, IA 

WORKSHOP 1: Mental Health First Aid: Engaging Natural Helpers in Rural Communities 

◊ Solana Ballroom C 

Mimi McFaul and Jessica Tomasko 

WICHE Mental Health Program, Boulder, CO 

This interactive presentation will share information on the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) 

program and the importance of this program for rural communities. MHFA is a 12-hour 

training course designed to give community members key skills to help someone who is 

developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. Training natural 

helpers in MHFA is a strategy to expand the capacity of the rural behavioral health workforce 

to use a public health approach to identify early signs of emotional distress. The goals of 

MHFA are to increase mental health literacy and decrease stigma. 

Staff Host: Joan Dodge, National TA Center for Children’s Mental Health, Georgetown 

University Center for Child and Human Development, Washington, DC 

10 2010 Rural Behavioral Health Symposium

WORKSHOP 2: Suicide Talk ◊ Solana Ballroom D 

Deidre Calcoate and Toni Issadore 

Family Involvement Center, Phoenix, AZ 

Should we talk about suicide? Join two family members who are trainers in Applied Suicide 

Intervention Skills as they explore suicide awareness. Suicide TALK provides a structure in which 

participants can safely explore some of the most challenging attitudinal issues about suicide and 

encourages everyone to find a part they can play in preventing suicide. 

Staff Host: Frank Rider, Technical Assistance Partnership, National Federation of Families 

for Children’s Mental Health, Raleigh, NC 

WORKSHOP 3: Traditional Healing Practices Serving Mexican and Hispanic Communities in 

New Mexico ◊ Solana Ballroom F 

Laura Alonzo Franklin, Community Sacred House of Energy, Los Lunas, NM 

Fredrick Sandoval, New Mexico Behavioral Health Purchasing Collaborative, Santa Fe, NM 

Marizabel Ulibarri, Santa Fe Recovery, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Alice King 

Family Center and Coalition of Prisoners Rights, Santa Fe, NM 

This workshop is divided into three sections: 1) an overview of the traditional healing practices 

model, a community defined evidence-based practice; 2) a traditional Hispanic healing practice 

approach; and 3) a traditional Mexican healing practice approach. 

It is estimated that 80% of the health care throughout the world is provided by traditional healers 

and in many rural areas of the world where medical services are unavailable, traditional healers 

provide the only care (Bodeker, 2001). In this workshop, participants will learn about traditional 

healing practices performed in New Mexico communities that serve Hispanic and Latino 

populations, specifically Hispanic families whose ancestry can be traced back through Spanish 

Colonial times and to Mexicans and Mexican-Americans who have migrated into New Mexico 

from Mexico dating back to 1848. 

*This workshop will be conducted in Spanish with English interpretation. 

Staff Host: Sylvia Fisher, Child, Adolescent and Family Branch, Center for Mental Health 

Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 


WORKSHOP 4: Strengthening the Behavioral Health of the Agricultural Community 

◊ Solana Ballroom G 

Michael Rosmann, AgriWellness, Inc., Harlan, IA 

In comparison to previous generations, farm children and families whose livelihoods depend on 

agriculture experience greater psychological distress while having reduced access to behavioral 

health services. The seven state upper Midwestern Sowing the Seeds of Hope (SSoH) program 

overcomes many of these barriers and is the model for the congressionally approved Farm and 

Ranch Stress Assistance Network. This workshop will discuss program strategies, sustainability 

planning, and program outcomes of SSoH. 

Staff Host: Liz Sweet, Child, Adolescent and Family Branch, Center for Mental Health 

Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Rockville, MD 

WORKSHOP 5: Conducting Comprehensive Early Childhood Mental Health Assessments and 

Local Evaluations with Young Children and Their Families in Northwestern 

Minnesota ◊ Aurora AB 

Jodi Boerger Wilder and Kimberly Hemberger 

Northwestern Mental Health Center, Crookston, MN 

This session will provide strategies on how to maximize efficiency of mental health professionals 

working with young children while improving quality of services by conducting comprehensive 

early childhood diagnostic assessments. As with any rural and frontier community, 

Northwestern Minnesota faces challenges of limited access to mental health professionals 

with specialized training, in addition to limited access to any mental health services. Program 

assessments measure the quality of the parent-child attachment relationship and evaluation of 

the child’s protective factors, behavioral concerns, and parental stress. Local evaluation data is 

also presented with the goal of ensuring sustainability of services within the community. 

Staff Host: Elizabeth Freeman, American Institutes for Research, Lexington, SC 

WORKSHOP 6: Preventing and Responding to Bullying, Harassment, and Violence in 

School ◊ Aurora CD 

Steve Wessler, Center for Preventing Hate, Portland, ME 

This highly interactive workshop will explore the dynamics of bullying in schools in rural 

communities and provide participants with practical strategies for prevention and response. 

Schools in rural communities experience bullying, harassment, and violence. This behavior 

has devastating impacts on students including declining academic performance, truancy and 

dropout, self-harm, depression, anxiety and other mental health symptoms. The workshop will 

utilize a mix of larger group and small group discussions, interactive activities, and case studies. 

Staff Host: Jennifer Kitson, The National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth 

Violence Prevention, Hays, KS 


12:15–2:30 p.m. Plenary Lunch 


Telehealth Innovations: The Promise and Challenges Ahead for Children, 

Youth, and Families in Rural Communities 

Moderator: Dennis Mohatt, Vice President for Behavioral Health, 

Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, Boulder, CO 

Steve Trout, Founder and Former Executive Director of the Southern 

Consortium for Children, Athens, OH 

Douglas Novins, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, American Indian and 

Alaska Native Programs, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of 

Colorado School of Medicine, Boulder, CO 

Kay Jankowski, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Dartmouth 

Medical School, Dartmouth Trauma Interventions Research Center, 

Hanover, NH 

Innovations in technology in recent years have increased the capacity to 

improve access to children’s health and behavioral health care in rural 

communities. In this session, panelists will provide an introduction to the 

“world” of telehealth and introduce participants to various strategies used to 

support children’s behavioral health in rural areas. Panelists will discuss the 

challenges and opportunities these technologies bring to rural communities 

and provide examples of clinical, supervisory, peer-to-peer support, 

professional development, training, and technical assistance. The panelists 

will provide examples of how these telehealth strategies are successful in 

increasing access and availability of behavioral health services and supports 

across the country. The session will illustrate how system of care values 

and principles can be integrated within technology innovations and discuss 

culturally competent strategies including examples in tribal communities. A 

brief question and answer period will follow the panel presentations. 

2:30–2:45 p.m. Transition to Workshops 


WORKSHOP 7: Partnerships between Behavioral Health Providers and Family Run 

Organizations to Avoid Group and Residential Placements ◊ Solana Ballroom C 

Mike Downs, Little Colorado Behavioral Health Centers, Springerville, AZ 

Betty Willis, MIKID (Mentally Ill Kids In Distress), Eagar, AZ 

This session will describe the partnership between Little Colorado Behavior Health in Apache 

County, Arizona and the family run organization, MIKID. This partnership works to keep youth 


in the community and not in group homes or residential placement. Over a two year period in 

this county, the placements in group homes or residential programs dropped from eight to zero. 

Strategies for partnering with juvenile justice and child welfare will also be discussed. 

Staff Host: Coretta Mallery, American Institutes for Research, Washington, DC 

WORKSHOP 8: Telehealth State-wide: Moving Beyond the Pilot to State-wide 

Implementation ◊ Solana Ballroom D 

Sean Couch, Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, 

Oklahoma City, OK 

Rebecca King, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Department of Psychiatry, Division of 

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Syracuse, NY 

During this session, the speakers will take a look at the current state of telehealth through the 

lens of a practitioner delivering services and a state that has developed a state-wide telehealth 

network. They will discuss the current successes and challenges clinicians are facing regarding 

telehealth service delivery and provide action steps and recommendations for overcoming those 

barriers. They will then take a look at how Oklahoma moved from a telehealth pilot phase to 

becoming one of the largest telehealth networks in the nation specializing in behavioral health 

care. They will also discuss the challenges and successes of establishing this network along with 

the future of telehealth. Special emphasis will be given to how consumers and family members 

were included in the development of the network. Attendees will walk away with action steps 

and recommendations for developing a telehealth program or taking their existing program to 

scale. Consumers and family members will be provided with information on how to advocate 

for, and interface with, their respective telehealth initiatives. 

Staff Host: Susan Stromberg, Child, Adolescent and Family Branch, Center for Mental 

Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Rockville, MD 

WORKSHOP 9: Family Support Partners Working on Two Arizona Indian 

Reservations ◊ Solana Ballroom F 

Bettie Jordan, Melissa Mallow, and Phoebe Nez 

MIKID, Phoenix, AZ 

In this workshop, Family Support Partners who work in the Arizona Gila River Indian 

Community and the White Mountain Apache Reservations will share their successes and 

challenges in meeting families where they are on their journeys. Meaningful family support has 

been established on these reservations where Family Support Partners work to embrace their 

culture and help families to overcome challenges and celebrate success. Another important 

tool being used is support groups that have been a resource to families and that have developed 

leaders who will influence broader change. 

Staff Host: Vivian Jackson, National Center for Cultural Competence and National TA 

Center for Children’s Mental Health, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human 

Development, Washington, DC 


WORKSHOP 10: Developing Youth Leadership Groups in Rural Communities 


Joseph Candelaria, MIKID, Phoenix, AZ 

Jason Carpenter, Northern Arizona Behavioral Health Authority, Flagstaff, AZ 

Antonio Wilson, Family Involvement Center, Phoenix, AZ 

This workshop will present the benefits of incorporating consumer voice in systems of care. 

These benefits are well known and documented in the adult system; however, activating youth 

voice to positively affect system of care communities is still an emerging pursuit. Empowering 

youth and young adults to unite and become change agents in their communities or systems 

of care is a continuing challenge in many areas. Because of the unique characteristics of rural 

communities, developing youth leadership groups requires special methods, collaborative 

efforts, and timelines different from those used in more urban communities. While rural youth 

group development has its own challenges, it’s also an initiative that brings unique and powerful 

benefits. Through collaborative efforts of the various groups reaching out in rural areas, an 

effective youth movement is creating a united “voice” in Arizona. 

Staff Host: Jeff Poirier, American Institutes for Research, Washington, DC 

WORKSHOP 11: Crisis Intervention and Accessibility to Psychiatric Services in Rural Iowa 

◊ Aurora AB 

Gloria Klinefelter and Vickie Miene 

Community Circle of Care, Dubuque, IA 

This session highlights the Community Circle of Care, a SAMHSA-funded system of care for 

children/youth with emotional and behavioral challenges that has developed a tiered crisis 

intervention process resulting in fewer out-of-home placements and hospitalizations. The 

process involves family and youth support activities, telephone consultation during a crisis, faceto-face 

crisis intervention, and telemedicine to utilize psychiatric care in rural Iowa. 

Staff Host: Melissa Clyde, National Indian Child Welfare Association, Portland, OR 

WORKSHOP 12: Early Steps to School Success: Making it Happen in Rural America 

◊ Aurora CD 

Natalie Vega O’Neil, Save the Children, Fresno, CA 

This workshop will showcase Save the Children’s Early Steps to School Success program that 

provides parent/caregiver education and support, home-visiting, and pre-literacy and language 

development services for parents and caregivers in rural, geographically isolated communities. 

Early Steps is an evidenced-based, culturally relevant model designed to provide early childhood 

education services to pregnant women and children from birth to age five, education services to 

parents/caregivers, and ongoing staff training to community early childhood educators. 



4:15–4:30 p.m. Break 

4:30–5:30 p.m. Special Forums 

Special Forums are designed as interactive discussions about important issues for states and 

communities and will result in recommendations for policy, practice and technical assistance. Each 

forum will have an assigned moderator and staff host. The goals of the Special Forums are to: 

• Summarize issues and effective strategies related to each topic 

• Develop recommendations that will support states and communities in implementing 

these strategies 

Each forum will be summarized and additional input will be collected from participants through 

worksheets. This material will be used to prepare a paper summarizing the issues and challenges, 

effective strategies, and recommendations for policy, practice, and/or technical assistance resulting 

from each forum. 

FORUM 1: Addressing Issues Surrounding Immigration ◊ Solana Ballroom C 

Moderator: Steve Wessler, Center for Preventing Hate, Portland, ME 

Staff Host: Karen B. Francis, American Institutes for Research, Washington, DC 

FORUM 2: Addressing the Needs of Children Who Are LGBTQI2-S and Their Families 

◊ Solana Ballroom D 

Moderators: Jeff Poirier, American Institutes for Research, Washington DC 

Antonio Wilson, Family Involvement Center, Phoenix, AZ 


FORUM 3: Addressing Behavioral Health Disparities ◊ Solana Ballroom F 

Moderator: Vivian Jackson, National Center for Cultural Competence and National TA 

Center for Children’s Mental Health, Georgetown University Center for Child and 

Human Development, Washington, DC 

Staff Host: Eunice Peterson, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration/ 

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent 

Psychiatry Fellow, Rockville, MD 


FORUM 4: Enhancing Family Driven and Youth Guided Policies and Practices 


Moderators: Sandra Spencer, National Federation of Families for Children’s 

Mental Health, Rockville, MD 

Martin Rafferty, Reachout.com and Inspire USA Foundation, Youth Move 

Oregon, Eugene, OR 



FORUM 5: Addressing the Needs of Tribal Communities ◊ Aurora AB 

Moderators: Melissa Clyde, National Indian Child Welfare Association, Portland, OR 

Jon Perez, US Public Health Service, National Behavioral Health Consultant, 

Indian Health Service; USPHS Mental Health Disaster Response Team II, 

Phoenix, AZ 



FORUM 6: Addressing Financing ◊ Aurora CD 

Moderator: Jim Wotring, National Technical Assistance Center for Children’s Mental 

Health, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, 

Washington, DC 



5:30–6:30 p.m. Resource Tours and Hands-On Demonstrations 

Mobile Health Clinic: Rural Behavioral Health Services (Children’s Health 

Fund)◊Westside Parking Lot 

Tour a mobile medical unit that provides hope and holistic health care to Arizona’s homeless 

and at-risk youth and young families. Preventive and comprehensive services include medical, 

health education, and mental health services at numerous sites where homeless and other at-risk 

youth gather in the Phoenix area. While this particular mobile clinic serves the greater Phoenix 

area, learn about the national network of mobile clinics supported by the Children’s Health Fund 

and how they reach out into rural and remote areas across the country to provide an expanded 

medical home and how mental health and behavioral health services are offered in this unique and 

innovative approach. 


Freedom Board ◊ Cira Ballroom AB 

The Freedom Board is an interactive public discussion board in the Internet Café. This board 

provides an opportunity for symposium participants to write and post notes that represent their 

ideas, feelings, lessons learned, comments, and suggestions about the 2010 Rural Behavioral Health 

Symposium. Participants are also encouraged to post notes that reflect their ideas aboutissues 

relevant to rural behavioral health as well as their work in rural areas on behalf of children, youth, 

and families. A selection of these notes will be presented as part of the closing session on Thursday. 

Internet Café ◊ Cira Ballroom AB 

The Internet Café will have resource specialists available to assist participants with using the world 

wide web for advocacy, peer-to-peer networking, skill development, and locating other useful 

resources for work in rural communities. Youth will also be introduced to Reachout.com and have 

the opportunity to share their stories online. 

Information Fair ◊ Cira Ballroom AB 

A selection of Federal and national resources focused on rural issues will be available forparticipants 

to browse and take with them. 


Wednesday, September 22, 2010 

7:00–8:30 a.m. 

Registration/Breakfast Club 


8:30–10:00 a.m. Plenary Session 


Creating and Enhancing Change in Rural Communities to Enhance 

Children’s Behavioral Health 

Moderator: Jim Wotring, Director of the National Technical 

Assistance Center for Children’s Mental Health, Georgetown University 

Center for Child and Human Development, Washington, DC 

Dennis Johnson, Executive Vice President, Policy and Advocacy, 

Children’s Health Fund, New York, NY 

Dennis Mohatt, Director, Mental Health Program, Western Interstate 

Commission for Higher Education, Boulder, CO 

Sandra Spencer, Executive Director, National Federation of Families 

for Children’s Mental Health, Rockville, MD 

This session will provide information about the Affordable Health Care Act 

and discuss national policy changes and strategies for improving access to 

behavioral health care services and supports for children, youth, and their 

families in rural communities. Panelists will examine current strategies 

and offer insight in the development and implementation of their local 

policies, programs, and practices. Panelists will examine how leaders 

can strategically work to improve access to services and supports as well 

as in fostering the overall health and well-being of rural communities. 

The panelists will offer commentary on the Affordable Health Care Act, 

expanded medical home model, workforce, the changing role of family and 

youth leaders in rural areas, and funding/financing strategies. They will 

engage in a facilitated dialogue on these issues and take questions from 

participants. 

10:00–10:30 a.m. Break 

10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. 

Workshops 


WORKSHOP 13: Applying the Sewa Uusim System of Care Program at the Pascua Yaqui 

Tribe ◊ Solana Ballroom C 

Raquel Aviles and Dennis Noonan 

Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Tucson, AZ 

This workshop is focused on the use of culturally supportive, natural supports to provide mental 

health services to Tribal youth and families. The program has recognized the stigma associated 

with mental health and has developed new symbols and language and supportive interventions 

to help families feel comfortable in utilizing services. Using a Wraparound in Indian Country 

Model, the Sewa Uusim program has integrated the use of traditional healers and natural family 

and community supports to expand and enhance services. The Sewa Uusim program coordinates 

and provides services in two tribal community settings: The New Pascua Reservation in Tucson, 

Arizona and in the Town of Guadalupe, in Phoenix, Arizona. 

Staff Host: Melissa Clyde, National Indian Child Welfare Association, Portland, OR 

WORKSHOP 14: The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI): An Overview of Tools for Improving 

Practice for Integrated Community and Residential Services in Rural 

Communities ◊ Solana Ballroom D 

Sylvia Fisher, Child, Adolescent and Family Branch, Substance Abuse and Mental Health 

Services Administration, Rockville, MD 

Joe Anne Hust, Institute for Family Involvement & Innovation, Phoenix, AZ 

This workshop describes the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), a national effort to identify and 

promote best practices and policies through partnerships and collaborations among families, 

youth, residential and community providers, advocates, and policy makers to ensure that 

comprehensive mental health services and supports are available to improve the lives of young 

people and their families. Participants will learn how to apply BBI approaches, practices, 

resources, and tools within rural communities including using a youth- and family-developed 

tip sheets for youth and families considering residential care; and a self-assessment tool with 

performance guidelines assessing organizational conformance to BBI principles and practices. 



WORKSHOP 15: Military Culture and the Effects on Military Children ◊ Solana Ballroom F 

Teresa Noon, Arizona Operation Military Kids, Tucson, AZ 

This interactive workshop will inform participants about military culture, the military deployment 

cycle, and issues that many military families face during deployment. Additionally, practical 

strategies to support young people living in military families will be shared. Participants will also 

learn about readily available resources that can be accessed by professionals to support military 

youth. 




WORKSHOP 16: Louisiana Rural Trauma Services Center ◊ Solana Ballroom G 

Tonya Hansel and Michele Many 

Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Department of Psychiatry, New Orleans, LA 

The workshop will present a model for school-based trauma treatment, which will include 

information regarding: the importance of relationship building, the need for community 

education regarding trauma, and implementation of services. The Louisiana Rural Trauma 

Services Center (LRTSC) was established to provide, improve, and enhance urgently needed 

assessment, treatment, crisis management, and consultation services for children and 

adolescents exposed to traumatic events throughout rural southeastern Louisiana. LRTSC 

is grant funded and staffed by faculty members from the Louisiana State University Health 

Sciences Center Department of Psychiatry. The LRTSC presentation will also discuss both direct 

and indirect measurement of program outcomes. 

Staff Host: Mimi McFaul, WICHE Mental Health Program, Boulder, CO 

WORKSHOP 17: Youth Guided: I’m Just Saying ◊ Aurora AB 

Michael Cox, Rico Gomez, and David McClung 

The Rural Children’s Initiative of West Texas/UTurn Youth Advocates, Plainview, TX 

Are you struggling with establishing real, meaningful and productive relationships with youth 

in your community? Is there a priority for youth and adults to work together? This presentation 

is designed to give you the tools and hands-on experience in building a firm and sustainable 

platform for youth development in systems change and community involvement. This panel of 

youth and adult partners will give you practical steps on how to implement this model in your 

community. 

Staff Host: Jessica Tomasko, WICHE Mental Health Program, Boulder, CO 

WORKSHOP 18: Rural and Frontier Culture: Challenges and Opportunities for Implementing 

Systems of Care ◊ Aurora CD 

Robert Blue, Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, 

Oklahoma Systems of Care, Oklahoma City, OK 

Geneva Strech, University Of Oklahoma: E-Team, Norman, OK 

A rural area, like any other area, has its own culture and set of rules. Interactions within these 

areas have barriers unique to that particular culture. In rural areas, one must be cognizant of 

financial, geographical, educational, religious, and racial and cultural barriers. The objectives 

of this session are to introduce participants to rural attitudes and behaviors in order to become 

more culturally competent in rural areas. 




WORKSHOP 19: Schools as Collaborative Partners to Address the Mental Health of 

Children/Youth in Rural and Tribal Communities – Illustrations from the 

Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative ◊ Cira Ballroom C 

Elizabeth Freeman, American Institutes for Research, Lexington, SC 

Jennifer Kitson, The National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence 

Prevention, Hays, KS 

Terry Lawler, Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative, Hot Springs School District, Hot 

Springs, AR 

Presenters will illustrate both challenges and practical strategies that have been successfully 

employed by rural and tribal Safe Schools/Healthy Students grantees as they plan, implement, 

integrate, and evaluate mental health strategies/services within school and after school. 

Addressing challenges common in serving rural and tribal communities, Safe Schools/Healthy 

Students grantees develop practical and innovative strategies supporting alliances among 

schools, families, and child-serving agencies as they implement and integrate mental health 

prevention and intervention services. Partnerships among schools, law enforcement, juvenile 

justice, mental health agencies, families, and other child-serving agencies promote resource 

development and service provision in schools to increase access to quality services. 


12:00–1:30 p.m. Lunch (on your own) 

1:30–3:00 p.m. Town Hall Forum 


“We Can Help Us”: Celebrating the Strengths of Youth in Rural 

Communities through Reachout.com 

Moderator: Gary Blau, Chief, Child, Adolescent and Family Branch, 

Center for Mental Health Services, Rockville, MD 

Susan Keys, Special Advisor on Mental Health, Inspire USA 

Foundation, San Francisco, CA 

Deborah Apeloig, Campaign Manager, The Advertising Council, Inc. 

New York, NY 

Martin Rafferty, Contributing Editor, Reachout.com; Inspire USA 

Foundation, Coordinator Youth Move Oregon Youth Representative, 

Eugene, OR 

This session will introduce Reachout.com, a tool that uses on-line media 

to help teens and young adults handle the tough times that they face in 

today’s world. Rural communities will find this a valuable resource for 

connecting 


3:00–3:30 p.m. Break 


youth with comprehensive information and supports. Reachout.com was 

built in partnership with organizations and youth to assure that the content 

would be relevant to the pressing needs and issues of today. The belief 

is that lives can be saved, young people’s mental health and well-being 

can be enhanced, and hope is offered through the voices of young people. 

Participants can engage with other youth across the country by providing 

comments to fact sheets and blogs, and by contributing stories from their 

own experiences in rural areas. Reachout.com and the National marketing 

campaign “We Can Help Us “ offers teens and young adults opportunities 

to connect with other young people who have overcome difficult challenges, 

learn resiliency skills, and tell their own stories though videos, audio clips, 

and written stories. This session will focus on the partnerships that have 

shaped Reachout.com and “We Can Help Us”. The forum will engage 

participants in reflection and dialogue on the challenges facing youth in 

rural areas, learn what this online resource can offer to rural youth and 

young adults, and explore how audience members can bring the voice and 

resources of the “We Can Help Us” campaign to their own communities. 

WORKSHOP 20: “Culture Vision” ◊ Solana Ballroom C 

David Harris, Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, 

Oklahoma City, OK 

This session will present an innovative tool that engages clinicians with cultural information 

about diverse populations. Through use of a subscription to the “Culture Vision” website, the 

state of Oklahoma has begun the process of providing access to mental health and substance 

abuse services staff across many rural communities. 



WORKSHOP 21: Disparities within Disparities: A Look at the 5 A’s Through the Eyes of 

Persons of African Heritage in Rural America ◊ Solana Ballroom D 

Vivian Jackson, National Center for Cultural Competence and National TA Center for 

Children’s Mental Health, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, 

Washington, DC 

Albertstein Johnson-Pickett, Mississippi Department of Mental Health, Jackson, MS 

Sandra Spencer, National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, Rockville, MD 

This workshop will explore the intersection between disparities that exist based on geography 

with disparities that exist by race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation and 


gender status, and other marginalizing factors, with a focus on rural African Americans. It 

will use the framework of the 5 A’s - Availability, Accessibility, Affordability, Appropriateness, 

and Acceptability - that clarify various domains of disparities and offer guidance for strategic 

interventions to address disparities. Participants will be guided through a process to initiate an 

intervention relevant to their own community. 

Staff Host: Karen Francis, American Institutes for Research, Washington, DC 

WORKSHOP 22: PROSPER Partnerships: A Prevention System that Works for Rural Youth 

and Families ◊ Solana Ballroom F 

Jim A. Meek, Partnerships in Prevention Science Institute, Ames, IA 

Beverly Peters, Franklin County Extension, Hampton, IA 

This workshop will showcase PROSPER Partnerships and their ten year history of success 

in prevention with rural youth and families. The system builds on local teams charged with 

selecting and implementing evidence-based school and family prevention programs. These 

teams are supported by extension and prevention science expertise from land grant universities. 

The community teams are small and strategic and build on youth and parent interaction with 

agency, school, and extension staff to guide the process. Research using random control trials 

and measuring outcomes 4 ½ years past the baseline shows major reductions in substance use 

and other problem behaviors. 

Staff Host: Jeff Poirier, American Institutes for Research, Washington DC 

WORKSHOP 23: The Behavioral Health Impact of Pandemic Illness on Children and Families 

in Rural America: Public Health Perspectives on Promoting Resiliency 


James Clark, Parent, Paris , KY 

Miriam Silman and Ginny Sprang 

Center for the Study of Violence Against Children, Salyersville, KY 

This workshop will discuss the effects of pandemic illness on children as they are both victims 

of the disease and vectors of transmission. During such health emergencies, the medical needs 

of children and families are attended to while their psychosocial needs are neither recognized 

nor addressed. Data from a recent international study of over 1600 persons (children, parents, 

behavioral health providers, health care professionals, and public health officials) impacted by a 

recent pandemic reveals significant differences in rural and urban psychosocial experiences and 

planning and response strategies. Best practice recommendations for assisting families during a 

pandemic and their application for rural children, families, and professionals will be presented. 




WORKSHOP 24: Blending and Braiding Funding to Improve Outcomes ◊ Aurora AB 

Jewlya Lynn, Center for Systems Integration, Denver, CO 

This session will provide resources for blending and braiding funding including: steps involved 

in a fiscal planning process, examples from a variety of program types, strategies for bringing 

decision-makers to the table, and strategies for fully including families and youth in funding 

discussions. A successful system of care requires coordinated funding, where dollars are used 

for individualized family and child needs, rather than the traditional model of using funding to 

support pre-defined programs, services, and staff. Participants will be introduced to resources 

that they can access online, including a guidebook for engaging families and youth in systems 

governance. 


WORKSHOP 25: Host Homes: A Rural Model for Crisis and Planned Respite ◊ Aurora CD 

Steve Trout, Private Consultant, Athens, OH 

This workshop will demonstrate the lessons learned from an ongoing and successful 18 year 

host home program. Program outcomes, cost/benefit analysis, and sustainability are the focus of 

this presentation. Short-term crisis and/or planned respite services are a critical service in any 

local system of care. Yet, many rural and urban communities struggle to provide crisis and/or 

planned respite services and therefore run the risk of increasing the need for expensive and often 

unwarranted longer term out-of-home care. The host home model for respite is a cost effective, 

easily administered, and sensible way of providing short-term respite. The host home concept 

aims to provide shelter care in local settings with minimal life disruption, while taking advantage 

of local and ongoing services and supports. 




5:00–7:00 p.m. Networking Reception 

Cira Ballroom 

Story Telling 

This activity will provide participants with an opportunity to share stories about their rural 

communities. Participants are asked to bring and share an item symbolic of their community. 

This is a chance to celebrate the diversity of the contributing communities. 

Freedom Board 

The Freedom Board is an interactive public discussion board in the Internet Café. This board 

provides an opportunity for symposium participants to write and post notes that represent their 

ideas, feelings, lessons learned, comments, and suggestions about the 2010 Rural Behavioral 

Health Symposium. Participants are also encouraged to post notes that reflect their ideas 

about issues relevant to rural behavioral health as well as their work in rural areas on behalf of 

children, youth, and families. A selection of these notes will be presented as part of the closing 

session on Thursday. 

Internet Café 

The Internet Café will have resource specialists available to assist participants with using the 

world wide web for advocacy, peer-to-peer networking, skill development, and locating other 

useful resources for work in rural communities. Youth will also be introduced to Reachout.com 

and have the opportunity to share their stories online. 

Information Fair 

A selection of Federal and national resources focused on rural issues will be available for 

participants to browse and take with them. 


7:30–9:00 a.m. Breakfast Club 


9:00–10:30 a.m. Workshops 

Thursday, September 23, 2010 

WORKSHOP 26: Relationships Weaving the Way - How Chautauqua Tapestry Is Uniting 

Partners in the System of Care for the Success of Our Community 

◊ Solana Ballroom C 

Patricia A. Brinkman, Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene, Mayville, NY 

Mansoor A. F. Kazi, Research Associate Professor & Director of Program Evaluation Center 

within Buffalo Center for Social Research/Chautauqua Tapestry, Buffalo, NY 

Mary McIntosh, Achievement Center/Chautauqua Tapestry, Mayville, NY 

Participants will learn from the experience of an emerging rural system of care in Chautauqua 

County, NY. Through dialogue and interactive presentations, the workshop will highlight the 

exciting vitality of participation and leadership from all levels of service provision, especially 

the contribution of family voice and meaningful youth input. Participants will learn through 

real examples how to 1) build a sustainable collaborative partnership; 2) evaluate the impact 

of services in achieving the desired outcomes and to use evidence in real-time; and 3) build 

evidence-based practices within a system of care that are truly family driven, youth guided and 

culturally competent. 



WORKSHOP 27: Human-Touch Social Marketing: A Model for Implementing Practical 

Strategies in addressing the Behavioral Health Needs of Children and 

Families in a Rural/Frontier Community ◊ Solana Ballroom D 

Brenda Anderson and Collen MacRae 

Northwestern Mental Health Center, Crookston, MN 

Terri Heggie, Polk County Social Services, Crookston, MN 

This session outlines a model of successful culturally and linguistically competent human-touch 

social marketing techniques that positively impact our ability to raise awareness of behavioral 

health needs and supports in six rural counties in Northwestern Minnesota. Perceptions about 

behavioral health can be full of myths and stereotypes. Reaching out to a variety of stakeholders 

in a geographically large and sparsely populated area to educate and break the stereotypes 

provides unique challenges and opportunities. This workshop will show how it is possible 

to develop creative social marketing efforts in rural and frontier communities with limited 

resources. 




WORKSHOP 28: Building Partnerships for Youth: Strategies to Support the Healthy 

Development of America’s Youth ◊ Solana Ballroom F 

Lynne Borden, Leslie Langbert, and Rachel Villareal 

Building Partnerships for Youth, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 

This presentation highlights “Building Partnerships for Youth”, a unique partnership among 

the Federal government, a national youth-serving organization, and a land-grant university to 

build the capacity of organizations across sectors to intentionally integrate youth development 

concepts and approaches into policies and programs. Now, more than ever, young people must 

have all of the supports and opportunities possible to be healthy, productive, and engaged in 

their communities. Participants will learn how cross-sector collaborations formed within twelve 

states are furthering integration of positive youth development principles in health policies and 

programming. 



WORKSHOP 29: Champions of Hope: Successful Strategies to Build, Blend, and Broaden 

Productive Partnerships and Cultivate Hope in Rural Communities 


Kay Brotherton, Rural Children’s Initiative of West Texas, Floydada, TX 

Jere Newton, County Family Resource Center, Littlefield, TX 

Ron Trusler, Central Plains Center, Plainview, TX 

In this presentation, collaborative partners from the Llano Estacado Alliance for Families will 

describe their relentless multi-year efforts to improve and expand behavioral health services 

in 11 rural/frontier counties in Texas. They will demonstrate how a small group of champions 

with no budget evolved into a funded, innovative, multi-county collaborative working together 

on becoming a rural model for systems of care. Representatives from families, mental health, 

juvenile probation, child welfare, and the community will discuss their practices, problems, and 

progress; and provide realistic strategies to build, blend, and broaden productive partnerships 

between families, youth, agencies, and community-based organizations. 



WORKSHOP 30: Service Use and Outcomes for Children and Youth Receiving Services in 

Rural and Urban Systems of Care ◊ Aurora AB 

Carol Cecil, Kentucky Partnership for Families and Children, Inc., Frankfort, KY 

Tracy Johnson, New Frontiers for Families, Tropic, UT 

Brigitte Manteuffel, National Evaluation of SAMHSA’s Children’s Mental Health Initiative, 

ICF Macro, Atlanta, GA 

This workshop will provide participants with an overview of differences in the service use and 

outcomes of children, youth, and families receiving services in systems of care in rural and urban 

communities. Rural children and families are more likely to receive support services compared 

with their urban peers who receive more restrictive services. In particular, this session will focus 

on family involvement in accessing services and family support services in rural communities. 

The service needs and experiences of families in rural Kentucky and rural and frontier Utah will 

be discussed by leaders of family organizations in these states. 

Staff Host: Mimi McFaul, WICHE Mental Health Program, Boulder, CO 

WORKSHOP 31: Addressing Disparities in Behavioral Health Services and Supports for 

Youth Who are LGBTQI2-S and Their Families in Rural Systems of Care: 

Strategies, Resources, and One Community’s Approach ◊ Aurora CD 

Tim Denney, Evaluation Specialist, Our Children Succeed Initiative, Crookston, MN 

Sylvia Fisher, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Child, Adolescent 

and Family Branch, Rockville, MD 

Jeffrey Poirier, American Institutes for Research, Washington, DC 

This workshop will provide specific strategies and practices to address the needs of LGBTQI2-S 

children/youth in rural communities. Culturally and linguistically competent mental health 

services for these children/ youth and their families in rural systems of care are frequently 

limited or even unavailable. These children/youth disproportionately experience behavioral 

health challenges and limited access to services and supports in rural communities, which 

can exacerbate the potential for negative outcomes. Workshop participants will receive a 

toolkit resource CD with extensive resources to help rural communities provide culturally and 

linguistically appropriate services and supports and improve outcomes. 



10:30 a.m.–10:45 a.m. Break 

10:45 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. Closing Plenary 


Dream, Inspire, Empower, Encourage, and Imagine 

Liz Sweet, Project Officer, Child, Adolescent and Family Branch, Center for Mental Health 


Martin Rafferty, Contributing Editor, Reachout.com; and Inspire USA Foundation, 

Coordinator Youth Move Oregon Youth Representative Eugene, OR 

Frank Rider, Technical Assistance Coordinator, Technical Assistance Partnership, National 

Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, Raleigh, NC 

Karen Francis, Senior Research Analyst, American Institutes for Research, Washington, DC 

Joyce Sebian, Senior Policy Associate, National TA Center for Children’s Mental Health, 

Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, Washington, DC 

This session is an interactive presentation of stories and participant insights gathered 

throughout the symposium. It will inspire and empower us to create and implement solutions 

to promote the health and wellbeing of children, youth, and families in the rural communities 

where they live, learn, work, and play. 

Safe Travels! 


Visit the Rural Portal: Healthy Children and Families at 

www.promoteprevent.org/rural 

for information, resources and information on rural 

behavioral health. 


THE 

2010- 2011 RURAL BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WEBINAR SERIES 

The 2010 – 2011 Rural Behavioral Health Webinar Series will be open to all communities focused 

on behavioral health in rural areas. This Webinar Series is sponsored by the Substance Abuse 

and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in collaboration with the National 

Technical Assistance Center for Children’s Mental Health at the Georgetown University Center 

for Child and Human Development, the Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family 

Mental Health, and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). The 

Webinars are intended to provide an opportunity for participants to learn from experts and each 

other about innovations and programs, as well as the challenges and successes related to the 

provision of behavioral health services in rural and frontier areas. 

Proposed Schedule for 2010- 2010 Webinar Series: 

November 2010 – Potential Webinar Topic – Lessoned Learned from the 2010 Rural Behavioral Health 

Symposium 

March 2011 – Potential Webinar Topic – Effective Partnerships for Rural Behavioral Health 

June 2011 – Potential Webinar Topic – Financing Rural Behavioral Health 

For more information about the 2010 – 2011 Rural Behavioral Health Webinar Series, please 

contact: Joyce Sebian- jks29@georgetown.edu or Karen Francis- kfrancis@air.org.

agenda - National Technical Assistance Center for Children's Mental ...

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