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CHECKPOINT November 2005 Dear Colleague, Welcome to CHECKPOINT the first e-newsletter of the Provincial Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health at CHEO. The Centre is working to improve the system that responds to Ontario children, youth and their families. It is your Centre of Excellence and this is your e-newsletter. Forward it to your network. Give us your feedback so we can make sure CHECKPOINT is what you need it to be. Please update your profile by going to this link: http://visitor.constantcontact.com/email.jsp?m=1101101762056. Contact Us - http://www.excellenceforchildandyouth.ca/contact-us |
In this issue: FOCAL POINT . GRANTS AND AWARDS . KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE . CONSULTING SERVICES . PERSONAL PROFILE . CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE NEWS
FOCAL POINT
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CHECKPOINT is your opportunity to check in with the Provincial Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health at CHEO. Working in partnership with other leaders in the field, the Centre is built on the drive to integrate the child and youth mental health system in Ontario. An important part of this goal is to support you as parents, children, youth, researchers, service providers, educators, advocates and stakeholders in the mental health of children and youth. The Focal Point feature of this first edition of CHECKPOINT is from the desks of Drs. Simon Davidson and Ian Manion, co-executive directors of the Centre of Excellence and reflects the discussions they have had with many of you over the past months. |
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The Focal Point feature of this first edition of CHECKPOINT is from the desks of Drs. Simon Davidson and Ian Manion, co-executive directors of the Centre of Excellence and reflects the discussions they have had with many of you over the past months.
Focal Point: Areas of Excellence
In the last six months we have traveled across Ontario and met with
many of you to discuss how the evolution of this Centre of Excellence
can match your needs. Over the course of those meetings with you and
your colleagues in the Hamilton/Niagara, Northern, Northeast, Southwest,
Eastern, Central East and Central West regions we talked about who we
are and asked you about the pockets of excellence in child and youth
mental health in your area. We especially wanted to know about the opportunities
you see for further development. We have now had this conversation with
more than 2000 parents, youth, service providers, researchers, educators,
administrators, advocates and others across the Province.
You told us about the excellent programs in your communities and the opportunities you see to build on them. Our premise that there are many areas of excellence in child and youth mental health services and research throughout the Province is confirmed. Much of the excellence you identified deals with the networks and partnerships that you have developed at the local and regional levels. Whether these are called alliances, planning tables or community councils, their outcomes contribute significantly to the quality of service provided to children, youth and their families/caregivers.
During many group sessions, we asked you specifically to tell us how to strengthen these services. The need for additional resources is clear. Two broad categories emerged: TOOLS/INFORMATION and AWARENESS. We heard from you that curriculum development, training, the development of best-practice standards, addressing gaps in services, money for resources and research are key. Access to information about best practices and strategies from intervention to wait list management, research, comprehensive and current resource and expertise lists, statistical information as well as information on funding opportunities would be key enablers to improving how you currently work.
The need for greater awareness of child and youth mental health issues, while not a new concern, remains a priority. This awareness needs to extend beyond the ‘public arena’ to also be included across sectors, across regions and across cultures. You told us about how awareness will help balance current models of intervention between community and clinically-based approaches. Awareness of the uniqueness of the North, aboriginal peoples and rural communities will bring an added dimension to the care of the young people whose needs also have to be communicated as different from others whether by virtue of age, gender, orientation, culture or geography. A more comprehensive and rigorous reporting of your feedback will be provided. These themes however came across loud and clear.
The discussions have not ended. Our meetings are the beginning of an ongoing dialogue. We expect them to remain open and fluid for a very long time. We have meetings scheduled this month in the South West, Toronto and South East regions. We are fostering a culture of open discussion and partnership with you to ensure that the focal point of all of our work remains the children, youth and their families/caregivers, and the system they deserve. In order to succeed, we need all of your input and feedback every step of the way.
Our momentum to address these issues is building. The Centre of Excellence has already distributed nearly $1 million across Ontario through the Grants and Awards programs. At different times, there are competitions open to youth for mental health awareness projects, to service providers to pay for protected time to do research, to community-based and academic researchers, and to mental health related students at all levels. This e-bulletin, CHECKPOINT, is another way we are working to build awareness about the issues facing children, youth and their families as well as all those working with them. We have a Knowledge Exchange Centre where information and tools can be easily shared across the Province. We have been involved in conferences and presentations, meetings and forums and we are only just getting off the ground.
We know that our objective of building an ‘integrated system meeting the mental health needs of children, youth and their families/caregivers in Ontario’ is one that will not quickly be achieved. We, as part of your Centre of Excellence, are committed to supporting you to ensure that individual children and youth receive the optimal care and support available to them.
In upcoming
editions of CHECKPOINT, this Focal Point feature will be dedicated
to exploring the distinct challenges in varying sectors and in different
areas of Ontario. We know that we share some very strong common goals
for the children, youth and families/caregivers whose lives we seek
to support. In addition, we hope that by exploring our differences,
we will become even more aware of our similarities. The synergy and
mutual collaboration that we think will result is the foundation on
which the improvements to the overall system for child and youth mental
health will be achieved. 
Taking Action
Over half the budget for the Provincial Centre of Excellence for Child
and Youth Mental Health at CHEO is dedicated to supporting research
and training in Ontario. Our Web site is kept up to date with the results
of grants and awards we have issued and with information about current
and upcoming opportunities. The following awards or programs might be
a good fit with the plans you have to do research, to back-fill your
job while you engage in activities (research, education) that enhance
capacity in your setting or to explore an opportunity to develop your
skills.
Expertise
Mobilization Awards
The thinking behind this unique and innovative award comes from service
providers working in child and youth mental health. This award offers
individual service providers and service provider agencies protected
time to work on a specific research or educational project that addresses
the child and youth mental health mandate. If you or someone you know
is interested in pursuing a research or educational project, but lacks
the time to do it, this opportunity is waiting for you. These Expertise
Mobilization Awards are offered twice a year. The next deadline
for applications is January 6, 2006.
Dare
to Dream Program
Youth learn best from other youth. This simple fact is the underlying
philosophy of our newly launched Dare to Dream Program. The Centre of
Excellence is encouraging youth to stretch their imaginations to help
get people talking about mental health. Through this program, the Centre
of Excellence is offering $1000 to cover the costs of mental health
awareness projects by youth 18 years and under across Ontario. If you
know of any creative/innovative youth in your community who may be interested,
information on how to apply is available at www.excellenceforchildandyouth.ca
or by calling toll free 1-866-282-7601. If you are interested in being
a mentor to a youth interested in this program, please contact us and
we will help get you connected. The deadline for applications
has been extended to November 21st, 2005.
Professional
Development Awards
Are you interested in building your knowledge or skills in an area relevant
to child and youth mental health? Then this award may be for you. The
Centre of Excellence is offering service providers and academics the
opportunity to pursue a re-training, enhanced training, and/or re-tooling
activity. The knowledge you gain can then be shared with others in your
organization or agency. This is an open opportunity. We
invite you to submit an application at your convenience. Please visit
our Web site for more information.
Education
and Training Awards
A child and youth mental health sector that has new energy, new ideas
and new evidence is part of our vision. The service providers and researchers
of tomorrow must be engaged in the research process today in order to
strengthen our sector for the future. Graduate and Post-Doctorate/Fellowship
Awards are currently available for young researchers. If you
know of any graduate or post-doctorate students or fellows interested
in child and youth mental health, please direct them to our Web site
for information on how to apply. We welcome submissions from all disciplines
of mental health training. All submissions for both awards must
be received at the Centre of Excellence by December 1st, 2005.
The competition for undergraduate awards has recently ended for this calendar year. Please visit our Web site for 2006 application requirements and timelines.
Research
Grants
The competition for research grants in 2005 is currently closed. Please
visit our Web site for 2006 application requirements and timelines.
Sharing best practices and building on each other’s successes makes us all stronger and more effective. Read about the success of the Centre for Children Committing Offences’ SNAP™ intervention...
Among other things, Knowledge Exchange is about creating a common ground on which to build. Making connections with like-minded people is a key part of making this happen. Join our Researchers Directory and find other researchers, students and policy-makers in Ontario looking into child and youth mental health issues.
A Wiki helps build a common language and understanding. Add your perspective to our Wiki…
The Provincial Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health at CHEO is pleased to share with you this brief profile of SNAP™, an evidence-based intervention from the Centre for Children Committing Offences (CCCO) at the Child Development Institute (CDI).
Some
of you may already be familiar with SNAP™. Based on sound research
on the development and course of childhood aggression, SNAP™ is
a cognitive behaviour strategy developed for children between the ages
of 6 and 12 years exhibiting disruptive behaviour problems such as lying,
stealing, and bullying. Parents concurrently receive SNAPP™ (Stop
Now and Plan Parenting) training. According to Dr. Leena Augimeri, the
Director of the Centre for Children Committing Offences, the strategy
helps “children and parents learn to snap their fingers and
find appropriate ways to calm down and generate solutions to their problems”.
CCCO has also developed and validated clinical assessment guides for children under 12 that have been shown to predict subsequent criminal activity in adolescence and adulthood. Community-police protocols have also been developed so that families of children in conflict with the law can be connected to relevant local services and supports through timely and reliable referral mechanisms. Effective assessment and referral processes are important complements to SNAP™ treatment.
SNAP™ is however very applicable in any setting where practical strategies are applied to teach self-control and problem-solving skills to school-aged children. In the mid 1970s, CDI developed SNAP™ and in 1985 it became the key ingredient of its programs. There are now 72 SNAP™ affiliated sites around the world. According to a recent survey* of children’s mental health organizations, SNAP™ is one of the ten most commonly used evidence-based treatments in Ontario.
Two successful programs at CCCO that employ SNAP™ – Under 12 Outreach Project for Boys and Earlscourt Girls Connection – are being replicated in other parts of Canada, the U.S. and Europe. CCCO is working with the Child and Family Centre in Sudbury to develop French language manuals so that the program may be replicated in Francophone communities, and to develop culturally appropriate services for First Nations communities. Another exciting development is that CCCO is working with the Griffen Centre in partnership with The Bob Rumball Association for the Deaf to train staff to deliver the SNAP™ technique to hearing impaired children.
Information on SNAP™ licenses, training and workshops can be obtained by emailing the Centre for Children Committing Offences at ccco@childdevelop.ca. You can also visit http://www.childdevelop.ca.vsd20.korax.net/research/snap.html to learn more about SNAP™ training.
* Barwick,
M.A., Boydell, K.M., Stasiulis, E., Ferguson, H.B., Blase, K., &
Fixsen, D. (2005).Knowledge transfer and evidence-based practice
in children’s mental health. Toronto, ON: Children's Mental
Health Ontario.
If
you would like to suggest an Evidence-Based Treatment/Practice or
area of excellence for our e-bulletin, please contact us at centre@cheo.on.ca.
We look forward to hearing from you. |
Doing
research is not only for full time academics. In the immortal words
of Werner von Braun, "Research is what I'm doing when I don't
know what I'm doing." Regarding child and youth mental health
research, however, it's important that a researcher knows what he or
she is doing. That's why the Centre of Excellence offers the services
of Dr. Raywat Deonandan, epidemiologist. Dr. Ray helps front-line mental
health service agencies conduct independent research and develop their
own in-house research capacity.
To
Research or Not to Research
As a member of the Centre of Excellence team, Dr. Raywat Deonandan offers
his research expertise to help would-be researchers develop a research
question, design a study, perform statistical analyses, apply for grants
and write papers. If you are part of an agency or institution involved
in the counseling, intervention, monitoring, care, education or research
of children and youth in relation to their mental health, Dr. Ray could
be available to you. For non-profit agencies in Ontario, these consulting
services are offered free of charge.
Dr. Ray is the Centre of Excellence's resident epidemiologist, which means that he is an expert in the research of health and illness in populations. As both a qualified teacher and an acclaimed professional writer, he conducts training workshops in grant writing, basic statistics and research concepts. The development of web-based training modules is also in the works. The epidemiology office is open to creating tailor-made educational workshops, to fit an agency's particular needs. By providing these services, the Centre of Excellence hopes to increase research capacity at the local level, so that small agencies can conduct their own studies, apply for research funding where appropriate and ultimately enrich the Province's mental health research agenda with the grassroots needs and perspectives.
To date, Dr. Ray has consulted with agencies wanting to compete for the Centre of Excellence’s research funds. He assisted in linking community groups with established academics, and in improving research designs and analytical strategies to make them more competitive and scientifically rigorous. While, so far, most inquiries have been for help in putting together a competitive grant application for a specific deadline, the Centre of Excellence hopes that in coming months more agencies will get Dr. Ray involved for potential projects throughout the year.
Dr. Ray has years of experience consulting on projects in diabetes, infectious disease, clinical neurology, biotechnology, HIV/AIDS, Aboriginal health, health services research, reproductive and mental health in Canada, the USA, the Caribbean and South Asia. He is a dedicated research generalist who has worked for private industry, academia and both the US and Canadian federal governments.
“Children are a source of joy, delight, and hope. Watching a child grow and develop, it is impossible not to be amazed, and to imagine his or her potential. But when a child has a mental health problem, it can be heart wrenching for parents. Children’s mental health problems impact families, peers, schools, and the community” – Read more about Dr. Graham Reid...
Graham Reid Researches Parenting Matters
Dr.
Graham Reid is an Associate Professor with a joint appointment in the
Departments of Psychology and Family Medicine at the University of Western
Ontario, and the successful recipient of two research grants from the
Centre of Excellence. “In my research, says Dr. Reid, I work
with people who seek to understand how children develop, how problems
with behaviour and emotions emerge, the impact of these problems, and
new ways of helping children with mental health problems.”
One of his projects is “Parenting Matters: Helping parents of young children with sleep and discipline problems”. Parents who have concerns about their child’s sleep and discipline are identified when they see their family physician. One of the goals is to see how improvements in sleep impact a child’s behaviour and emotions during the day. As part of Dr. Reid’s research new brief treatments helping parents of 2 to 5 year-olds are being tested. Parenting Matters is a new way to reach the many families in need of help. What Dr. Reid and his team learn from this study could improve a child’s treatment program by helping family physicians to help children with mental health problems.
A second study funded by the Centre of Excellence is entitled “Parents’ conceptualization of child mental health problems: development of a self-report measure”. It is looking at how families get help when their children have psychosocial problems. Although there are many people and places for parents to turn for help when their child is struggling, Dr. Reid and his research team are trying to understand how and why families look for help, and what happens when it is not available. “Essentially, we are looking at what parents think are the causes of their child’s emotional or behavioural problems, because how parents think about their child’s problems influences where they seek help, and the type of help they feel is appropriate for their child,” continued Dr. Reid. Dianne Shanley is co-principal investigator on the study, which will be part of her Ph.D. in clinical psychology.
The Centre of Excellence evaluates research proposals based on two key criteria: scientific merit and a study’s direct relevance to child and youth mental health in the Province of Ontario. These two studies were funded over two years based on high ratings and positive feedback received from an expert panel of internal and external reviewers. These areas of study were also identified as gaps in the literature and in evidence-based practice.
If you are interested in learning more about Graham Reid, his research interests or prefer to contact him regarding these projects, see his Web site at http://www.ssc.uwo.ca/psychology/faculty/reid_bio.htm. The outcomes of Dr. Reid’s work will be shared through journal publication and will also be translated into practical knowledge for a range of stakeholders and across a variety of settings through the Centre of Excellence Web site www.excellenceforchildandyouth.ca.
These abstract
are now available here.
Check out www.excellenceforchildandyouth.ca. Not only does our Web site have a new look; we have some significant new features. From the Researchers Directory to the Wiki Pilot to our growing Library, our Web site gets more and more useful everyday.
The Centre of Excellence itself has a growing complement of staff. We want to introduce you to Amy Boudreau, Administrative Manager. Read on…
Amy
joined the Provincial Centre of Excellence this past spring and quickly
picked up the torch organizing the needs of an organization undergoing
exponential growth. Having received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing
at St. Francis Xavier University and her Master's of Health Administration
at Dalhousie, Amy brings a wealth of experience in the health sector to
her position with the Centre of Excellence. Most recently, Amy worked
at the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation as a Research
and Product Development Specialist. We are very fortunate to have someone
with her mix of training, experience and dynamic energy at the Centre
of Excellence.
As well
as being a key administrative link to services and departments at CHEO,
Amy took on a leadership role in the further design and implementation
of competitive funding opportunities available provincially through
the Centre of Excellence. If you are involved in applying for grants
or awards, you will undoubtedly be in touch with Amy. We think you’ll
agree that she is an asset to the organization.