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Next Membership Meeting
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Our next meeting will be held:
Monday,
December 12, 2011
8:30 a.m.
The Women's Center
1723 Hemphill
Fort Worth, Texas 76110
Please park on the South side of The Women's Center so clients have easy access.
Presentation Homeless Camps
Bring toiletries for individuals and families living in the
Homeless Camps. Click here to see the needed items. Holiday Celebration Enjoy networking and holiday breakfast snacks catered by Z's Cafe to celebrate 2011 successes |
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Have you used information from the Community-Wide Children's Health and Planning Assessment? If so, send Cook Children's a note with the way you used it.
Click here to go to CCHAPS
Click here to send a note |
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Join Our List
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Save the Date for Search Conference
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Work started at Bridging the Gap Symposium continues in March
More than 150 executives, providers, family members and others from a diverse group of area agencies began working on the next Mental Health Connection strategic plan at the Bridging the Gap Symposium in November. Attendees learned to apply both adaptive and technical solutions in tackling issues, while identifying barriers to Mental Health Connection's vision of "No Wrong Door to the Right Mental Health Resources."
On March 1 and 2, participants in a Search Conference will use the ideas generated at Bridging the Gap to create solutions for breaking down the barriers. Attendees will also define the key issues for Mental Health Connection to address over the next several years. Anyone interested in the future of mental health care in our community is urged to save the date and participate in the Search Conference. Watch for more information coming soon.
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Leading Demographer Reveals the Future at Bridging the Gap Symposium
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Hispanic population growth has national implications
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2000-2010
Blue=Counties with Hispanic population growth
Red=Counties with
Anglo population growth
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During his presentation at the 2011 Bridging the Gap Symposium, Steve Murdock, Ph.D., drew gasps as he explained the future look of Tarrant County, Texas and the entire nation. For example, he showed that Texas' population has grown by more than 20 percent since 2000, making us second only to California as the most populous state. Since 2000, the Anglo population in Texas declined in 161 counties and grew in only 91. The Hispanic population, on the other hand, grew in 228 counties and declined in only 22. Texas is not the only place seeing this dramatic shift in demographics. During the same time frame, 2,699 of 3,139 counties in the United States saw an increase in their Hispanic populations. The largest numbers of Hispanics across Texas and the country are under 18. For more information, click here to review the PowerPoint presentation given by Dr. Murdock at the Symposium.
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Hand in Hand Issues 2011 List of Respite Providers
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Groups have programs for special needs children
The Hand i n Hand Respite Advocacy Committee has published its 2011 list of respite providers for families who have children with special needs. Most of the providers are churches that have started special needs programs as a part of their missions. Hand in Hand has not reviewed the programs and does not make any recommendations. Families will conduct their own investigations of the organizations on the list.
Click here to see the list of respite providers.
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Evaluators Release Report on Wraparound
| Results look positive for families with young children
A report on Hand in Hand's third year has been issued by the MHMR of Tarrant County Research Division. Among other results, the report notes that children served with Wraparound through Hand in Hand have significantly reduced levels of functional impairment, approaching non-clinical levels just six months after intake. Children experienced significant improvements in their total behavioral and emotional strengths from both intake to 6 months and intake to 12 months. In addition, caregiver strain was significantly reduced both from 6 months and 12 months after intake.
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Committee Developing Vision for
Trauma-Informed Community |
| Planning for adaptive change to include multiple diverse community agencies
The Mental Healt h Connection Trauma Committee is currently discussing ways to create a trauma-informed community. The group is working on clarifying the vision of the project, creating a common understanding of a "trauma-informed community" and defining adaptive challenges that will need to be addressed to make the concept a reality in Tarrant County. Anyone interested in helping to develop a trauma-informed community is welcome to participate. The next Trauma Committee meeting will be on Tuesday, January 10, at ACH Child and Family Services, 1424 Summit Avenue in Fort Worth. Watch for more information about ways you can become a part of this effort. |
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Stay on TRAC enrolls students
| | Treatment groups now underway Nine Keller ISD students have opted to participate in Stay on TRAC instead of spending time in alternative school for alcohol and drug paraphernalia infractions. The Mental Health Connection pilot assesses students to determine whether they need education, intervention or treatment. Four Mental Health Connection agencies are providing services at no charge for the initial year of the pilot. Students who choose to participate in Stay on TRAC are able to remain in their electives and extracurricular activities, as well as advanced placement classes, all of which are lost during time in alternative school. Parents must also participate in the program. Agencies providing services are ACH Child and Family Services, Lena Pope Home, The Campus (formerly known as Tarrant Youth Recovery Campus), and Santa Fe Youth Services. MHMR's Research Division is evaluating the effectiveness of the program. |
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Tarrant Cares Continues to Attract Users
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Site reaches 2 million hits 
Tarrant Cares has received more than 2 million hits since launching earlier this year. More than 1 million visitors have spent time on at least one page, and nearly 200,000 have visited more than one page in a session.
In a recent survey of agencies listed on Tarrant Cares, more than one-third reported an increase in calls since the site went live on March 30.
If you have not looked at the site recently (www.tarrantcares.org), take a few minutes to check your agency's listing to be sure all the information is correct.
Tarrant Cares 
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Hand in Hand Seeks Bilingual Facilitator
| | | Part time contract position to work as needed
 Hand in Hand is seeking a part-time Spanish-speaking Wraparound Facilitator who will work on an as-needed basis, up to 20 hours a week. The individual will work with families of children between birth and age 6 who have a diagnosed mental illness or are at risk of a diagnosis. The Facilitator will be required to work with clients in all five Hand in Hand counties, which include Hood, Johnson, Palo Pinto, Parker and Tarrant (outside Fort Worth). Please email Stephanie Norton at stephanie.norton@mhmrtc.org or call her at 817-569-5729 for more information or to apply.
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| DataLink Provides Usage Statistics | | |
 Follow trends online
Monthly DataLink reports are now listed on the Mental Health Connection Web site.
Click here to see the latest numbers and review the trends. |
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Community Heroes Sought
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| N ominations due December 31
Santa Fe Youth Services is seeking nominations for the Believing in Youth Community Hero awards. These annual awards recognize individuals for their extraordinary commitment to the youth of Tarrant County. Nominees should have significantly enhanced the quality of life and future prospects for young people they encounter. The deadline for nominations is December 31, 2011, and winners will be recognized at the Believing in Youth Dinner on May 10, 2012.
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Stress and Secondary Trauma in the Workplace
| | Lena Pope Home offers free training
Lena Pope Home and the Child Welfare League of America are presenting "Stress and Secondary Trauma in the Workplace: What Supervisors Can Do in Response." The one-day program will be held at Lena Pope Home's Training Room, 3800 Hulen Street, 2nd Floor, on Tuesday, January 31, 2012, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The training objectives are to:- Examine the impact of stress on workers;
- Provide a tool for assessing the issue of organizational stress;
- Distinguish stress, burnout and secondary trauma;
- Understand the relationship of stress to burnout and to secondary trauma; and
- Identify supervisor interventions when signs of stress, burnout and/or secondary trauma are present.
The training session, which will be presented by CWLA's Senior Director for Special Projects Jeff Bormaster, is designed for anyone who supervises. Although the training is being offered at no cost, seating is limited. To reserve your place, RSVP to Judy Vale by email or call her at 817-255-2500.
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Mental Health Connection is a collaboration of public and private agencies, as well as individuals who need mental health care services and their caregivers. The organization works to revolutionize the mental health delivery system, with a vision of creating No Wrong Door to the Right Mental Health Resources.
Click here to comment on this e-newsletter or to share ideas for future issues.
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