Tagged With "Health Summit Presentation"
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Taking Lessons Learned from the ACES Southeastern Summit 2017 to the Heart
Post by Carla Whaley- Partnering for Excellence Project Assistant This was my first ACEs conference. I did not know what to expect. Two days were ahead of me, full of Keynote speakers and breakout sessions, set in the beautiful backdrop of western North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. The breakout sessions I chose were all very different, ranging from Exploring ACEs among Mothers and Daughters , to Creating Compassionate Schools Using Trauma Informed Strategies , to Yoga for Resiliency and...
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Training: Ways of Sharing Resources
This is saved as a blog post and there's an attachment. Sharing resources as a blog post is easier to make visual.
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Why We Suck (at Self-Soothing & Self-Care): Dr. Dawn O'Malley
Without coffee and yoga, I'm kind of a jerk. These are my personal "puppy uppers and doggie downers" and prevent me from being cranky, quick to cry, and ready for conflict. Coffee and calming make life more manageable. Humans seem tolerable. Without helpers I might veer into hating humans for being so needy which is not a great trait for a parent, partner or a professional. Or a self. My partner says coffee and exercise are acts of kindness, services he does to promote public safety. In...
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Benchmarks Annual Meeting: Reflections on Dr. Sandra Bloom's Presentation
Earlier this week, Benchmarks North Carolina hosted our annual meeting for executive leaders and membership to celebrate progress over the last year and visions for the year to come. In order to assist members in continuing to set the Benchmarks standard for years to come, each year innovative leaders from the fields of practice, policy, technology, and research are invited to present. This year, members had the fortunate experience of listening to this year’s speaker, Dr. Sandra Bloom,...
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Benchmarks' Partnering for Excellence Save the Date
Benchmarks will be hosting the Partnering for Excellence Conference for the third time this year. The conference is instrumental in bringing together professionals and those with lived experience. Through a combination of experiential activities, panels, and keynote speakers, the audience learns about the impact the Partnering for Excellence initiative can have as well as being encouraged to go out and be changemakers. This year promises to be even better than those in the past as the...
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Benchmarks PFE Teens in Toxic Times: The Cake Example
Approximately a month ago, I had the pleasure of presenting at the Partners Behavioral Health Summit (PBHM), Teens in Toxic Times . The goal of the summit was to generate conversations about topics impacting today's adolescent youth. Participating in these conversations were individuals from of various systems who interact, advocate, and provide services to adolescent populations. During my presentation, Understanding the Impact of Childhood Traumatic Stress on Adolescents, I presented what...
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Call for Presenters!
We are seeking creative and innovative presentations for our breakout sessions on September 12 th . Any presentations from child-serving or family-serving systems which focus on trauma, resilience, and/or social determinants of health are welcome. Please share your innovative work with this dynamic group of participants. Here are some topics that would be a great fit for presentations: Poverty Community disruption Housing Domestic Violence Physical, emotional, or sexual abuse Discrimination...
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Cleveland County's 12th Annual Minority Health Conference
Saturday, PFE’s Program manager, Jasmine Cain was invited to speak at Cleveland County’s 12th Annual Minority Health Conference which was hosted by the county’s Public Health Department and put on by the local Minority Health Council. Each year the conference focuses on educating minority leaders and members in the community about issues facing African American and other minority groups locally. The conference also serves as a platform to address and discuss disparities faced by minorities...
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From A to R: Lessons at the Child Fatality Prevention Summit
Benchmarks' Partnering for Excellence Project Director, Jenny Cooper, had the opportunity to talk about everything from ACEs to Resiliency at North Carolina's Child Fatality Prevention Summit. The Summit was the first of its kind in the state and brought together Community Child Prevention Team and Child Fatality Taskforce Teams from throughout the state. While the morning plenary session spoke of ACEs and the high rates of ACEs in North Carolina, Jenny's presentation took the opportunity to...
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Good Article Alert: Should Child Trauma Be Treated as a Public Health Crisis
This article, Should Childhood Trauma Be Treated as a Public Health Crisis , is definitely a must read and is based on results from a local, NC-bread study. It reviews a 22 year longitudinal study on the experiences of individuals from the Great Smoky Mountains Study , which followed over 14oo children from mostly rural parts of western North Carolina. The article discusses the uniqueness of the study in that it avoids something that many trauma critics scrutinize studies focusing on the...
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Hurricane Florence first responders receive free trauma/resilience training
In a webinar offered this morning by Elaine Miller Karas , executive director of the Trauma Resource Institute in Claremont, CA, leaders from several North Carolina ACEs Connection communities affected by flooding and other damage by Hurricane Florence learned more about trauma response and how to better help their communities find resilience. Karas, who was delivering her Community Resiliency Model (CRM) training at Duke University in Durham, NC, offered the free training and provided...
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Partnering for Excellence Joins ACEs Connection!
Partnering For Excellence is excited to join ACEs Connection! Benchmarks' Partnering for Excellence (PFE) is an initiative in North Carolina which aims to align the Mental/Behavioral Health System and Child Welfare System to create better outcomes for children and families whom have experienced trauma and are now involved with the Department of Social Services. The Partnering for Excellence Model is able to assists these systems and others in collaborating to form trauma-informed...
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PFE Presents at The 32nd Annual Research and Policy Conference on Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Behavioral Health
Earlier this month, Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) Program Manager, Jasmine Cain and Ollie Harris Behavioral Health Center's Director, Katie Munger presented in collaboration at the 32 nd Annual Research and Policy Conference on Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Behavioral Health in Tampa, Florida. This collaboration began in an effort to assess the need for trauma-informed behavioral health services for adults in Cleveland County. As a result of Benchmarks’ PFE goal to...
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Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina 2019 Learning and Leadership Summit
Last month, Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) Chief Research and Development Officer, Jenny Cooper, and Project Coordinator, Julia Holcomb, co-presented at the Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina (PCANC) 2019 Learning and Leadership Summit in Raleigh, North Carolina. Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) is an initiative intended to improve the behavioral health and well-being outcomes for children involved in the child welfare system. It creates a partnership between the...
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Reflections from the ACES Southeastern Summit 2017
Authored by Keesha Corbin, Partnering for Excellence Project Coordinator Walking through the doors of the Renaissance Hotel in Asheville, North Carolina, there was a bustle of excitement. Everyone came to life during the first presentation by Mary Lynn Barrett as we sung together as an audience. Next came the presentation that everyone had been waiting for, Dr. Felitti, the researcher that gave a new meaning to the work of so many in the audience. Looking around the audience, I saw many...
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Re: PFE Presents at The 32nd Annual Research and Policy Conference on Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Behavioral Health
Jasmine!!! I love reading this and wish I heard you!! How have parents reacted to sharing ACEs? What gelding options are available for 2 and 3 gen approaches. Lots of us debate the use of screening in kids and adults but I love hearing from those doing it and those it’s been done to. Can I share on rider ACEs home page? Cis
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Re: Benchmarks PFE Teens in Toxic Times: The Cake Example
Jasmine: This is great. A metaphor can be magic. I LOVE how you describe spoiling and pruning. You helped me get it on a deeper level. THANK YOU. I wish you shared a picture of you presenting or had video/audio. I bet this presentation was powerful. It's also accessible to all ages. Thanks for sharing. Cissy
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Re: Taking Lessons Learned from the ACES Southeastern Summit 2017 to the Heart
Carla: This is AWESOME!!!!!!!!! This line is so concise and clear. "ACEs increase risk but resiliency brings healing." It's wonderful to hear your take on the summit and to hear that are doing yoga. YAHOO!!!!!!!!! GO you! Great piece! cis
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New Name- More Great Work
Greetings! You haven’t heard from Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) since our world changed in March. We have been busy on the ground making sure that our social services system and mental health system had all of our attention as we worked to navigate these uncertain times. As we make our way to a “new normal”, we are back and better than ever. In the near future, you will see a revamped site with information about another exciting project being shared. To that end, we are...
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Federal Government Highlights Trauma’s Impact: Healthy People 2030
The Healthy People Initiative, launched in 1979 by the Surgeon General of the United States, was the nation’s first comprehensive health promotion plan. But prior to Healthy People 2030, the newly released plan, there had not been one objective that was specific to childhood trauma, ACEs, trauma-informed care, or toxic stress. Even with decades of research confirming the impact childhood adversity has on development, it has not been included until now! Since the inception of the Health...
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Introducing Benchmarks’ Standardized Assessment Protocol
According to leading research, 99% of children entering the foster care system have experienced trauma in their lifetime, and few of those children receive the trauma-informed healthcare they need to recover and prosper. These children are more likely to not only suffer short-term from their trauma, but long term as well. Children who do not receive effective, holistic healthcare experience a lifetime of mental health disorders, substance misuse, and physical illnesses, including diabetes,...
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Expanding Trauma Services in Foster Care
Benchmarks is thrilled to announce the addition of two new counties to our Standardized Assessment Protocol (SAP) project—Burke and Rutherford Counties! Burke and Rutherford began partnering with us this summer. The two counties will work together, with Partners Behavioral Health Management and Benchmarks, to prioritize children in their foster care system who need to receive trauma-informed clinical assessments. In addition to providing their foster care system with these assessments, the...
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Rock Star Partner Highlight: Easter Seals UCP
While the COVID-19 pandemic has presented many unique challenges, it has also been a catalyst for creative solutions to help support those who need it most. This week we would like to highlight the work of Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) partner, Easter Seals UCP. Easter Seals UCP is working in partnership with PFE in Pitt and Craven county DSSes and Trillium, the area’s LME/MCO. Easter Seals UCP has taken on the challenge to help their clients and staff navigate the pandemic,...
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Using Social Determinants of Health to Improve Outcomes for Child Welfare Involved Children and Families
Health can be significantly inconsistent between individuals and populations. Variables called the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) assist in understanding the range of factors that affect a person’s overall well-being. SDoH are defined by the World Health Organization as “the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age.” These environments are mostly shaped by the distribution of money, power and resources and have substantial impact on education, occupation, policies,...
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Rockingham County Youth Services Rockstar Spotlight
Rockingham County Youth Services (RCYS) is a local county government agency in Rockingham County, NC that provides counseling and other community alternatives for school-aged youth and their families. RCYS began in Rockingham County in 1979 as a program for troubled youth. Since then, the agency has evolved to provide programs that include counseling for children and adolescents, parenting classes, as well as programs ranging from teen court to substance abuse prevention. The evolution of...
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May is Mental Health Awareness Month
The month of May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Mental health awareness applies to every individual, no matter their background. Mental health needs are discussed more often for adults, but it is equally important to remember that infants and children have their own unique mental health needs. A common theme the past few years regarding mental health awareness has been widely expressed using the phrase “No Health Without Mental Health.” This is very true; it is impossible for one to be...
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Benchmarks Engages in Local Efforts to Mirror Statewide Health Integration
For those who may not be aware, July 1, 2021, North Carolina (NC) launched a large transformation within its Medicaid program, referred to as Medicaid Transformation. Prior to this transformation, Medicaid recipients’ physical and behavioral health needs were handled as separate issues because of “ how” and “ where” funds were managed. For recipients, this separation often resulted in service dis-cohesion for those with co-morbidities or co-occurring mental and physical health needs. Since...
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The Hidden Biases of Good People: Implicit Bias Awareness Training
The Dibble Institute is pleased to present an introductory webinar by Rev. Dr. Bryant T. Marks Sr. of the National Training Institute on Race and Equity , which will provide foundational information on implicit bias. It will focus at the individual level and discuss how implicit bias affects everyone. Strategies to reduce or manage implicit bias will be discussed. Broadly speaking, group-based bias involves varying degrees of stereotyping (exaggerated beliefs about others), prejudice...
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All Systems Go! Vaya Health and Benchmarks Kickoff Child Welfare Project with DSS Directors
Earlier this month we announced Benchmarks will be working on a new project with Vaya Health, a Medicaid managed care organization in North Carolina, to improve the lives of children in the child welfare system. Benchmarks will provide consulting and training services regarding the alignment of practices of the local child welfare system and the behavioral healthcare provider system. To jumpstart this effort, Vaya and Benchmarks invited each DSS Director from Vaya’s current 22 counties as...
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Why Universally Screen for Trauma?
In a world where “trauma,” “trauma-informed,” and “trauma-focused” terms are not only becoming increasingly used, but also better understood, sometimes one needs to take a step back and take stock of why we are doing the work that we are doing. Reflecting and remembering why the identification of trauma and being trauma-informed and-focused in our work and lives is important. There is a myriad of things that we can re-visit and evaluate for both their usefulness and effectiveness in trauma...
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Opportunities for Healing: Exploring Strategies to Improve Racial Disproportionalities & Disparities in Child Welfare
Research shows that due to substantial histories of abuse, neglect, and increased exposure to trauma, youth in foster care have exceptional concerns regarding their mental health needs. “Rates of psychiatric symptoms and disorders, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and reactive attachment disorder, are much higher in children in foster care” (Lohr & Jones, 2016). When we couple this knowledge with data on racial disproportionality and...
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Getting Good Ideas to Work in Project Management
Benchmarks’ Center for Quality Integration (CQI) staff members are always learning new skills and honing current ones as they go about their daily project work. Over the years, staff have been enhancing their knowledge in child and adolescent brain development and further developing competencies in trauma-informed and resilience-focused work. These specific knowledge and skill sets are consistently applied across our project work within our child welfare and mental health systems. Though CQI...
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Takeaways from the 2022 Kids: Empowered Communities Driving Change Conference
Benchmarks’ staff attended the virtual policy summit hosted by NC Child and the NC Essentials for Childhood Initiative on March 29 th and 30 th . The two-day conference was packed with inspirational messages from child advocates across North Carolina. After a formal opening from NC Child Executive Director, Michelle Hughes, and a moving keynote address with a call to action by Reverend Dr. Starsky Wilson of the Children’s Defense Fund, organizers from across the state came together to host...
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The Impact of Trauma on Physical Health
Trauma has a significant impact on many aspects of a child’s life. Trauma exposure has an effect on overall health and well-being, contributing to complications and concerns with emotional and physical health throughout the life span. Over the past twenty years, there has been more research and acknowledgement of the overall impact that trauma has from childhood through adulthood. At Benchmarks, we strive to develop and implement innovative programs and processes that mitigate the effects of...
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Why Use a Standardized Battery of Measures in Mental Health Assessments?
The question posed in the title is one that Benchmarks’ project managers and coordinators hear often during our implementation work within our state’s social services and mental health agencies. As busy as our mental health clinicians are, why would we want them to spend more time completing a battery of measures for children and families that need to get into services as quickly as possible? Isn’t it better to get their basic comprehensive clinical assessment completed quickly and start...
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The Impact of Trauma on Physical Health Part II
A few weeks ago, we looked at how trauma can impact one’s physical health in the “Impact of Trauma on Physical Health” blog. Today, we will look further into the work that Benchmarks is doing to support multidisciplinary collaboration in order to improve the physical health outcomes for children across the state. Benchmarks develops and implements specific pilot projects across various catchment areas in North Carolina. These pilot projects are designed to encourage multidisciplinary...
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Words Matter: Screening vs. Assessment
Frequently in the world of mental health, we find ourselves using many terms that can become confusing, even for those that work within our systems. As Benchmarks continues to expand projects across North Carolina, we find that the terms “screening” and “assessment” have become a regular part of this confusion. The interchangeable use of these terms has contributed to mix-ups surrounding the terms’ actual meanings, leading professionals to inadvertently refer children and families to...
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Restoring the Nervous System by Healing the Mind-Body Connection
One of the aims of Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) is to educate communities about the effects of trauma and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs); specifically, how these effects impact the youth and families that encounter the child welfare system. Through our work we know that when systems are trauma-informed, it can help shift the perspectives of professionals from “What is wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?”, which ultimately informs the way we treat and address...
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Setting Up for Success: Sharing Lessons Learned for Creating Sustainable Training Teams
Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) is a test of change project that aims to provide Department of Social Services (DSS) agencies with a trauma-informed pathway to screen for and address trauma for child welfare-involved youth. To do this, the project focuses on cultivating a more trauma-informed community through education and trainings. In 2019, Benchmarks’ PFE began implementation in Pitt and Craven counties. Just a few years, the project shifted from the implementation phase into...
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Incorporating Mental Wellness Activities into Daily Practice
During the month of October, we acknowledge Mental Illness Awareness Week (2nd-8th) and World Mental Health Day (10th). In North Carolina alone there are over 1 million adults living with a mental health condition and over 100,000 youth ages 12-17 who have been diagnosed with depression (NAMI 2021). It is always the right time to focus on your mental health as a part of your overall wellness. Here are three ways to incorporate mental wellness activities into your everyday. Breathwork There...
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Benchmarks Offers Community Resiliency Model Trainings for Agencies and Communities
Benchmarks’ Center for Quality Integration will add Community Resiliency Model (CRM) Trainings to its’ regular training offerings in 2023. Our team is thrilled to have completed the training by the Trauma Resource Institute© in this trauma-informed, resiliency-focused wellness model. CRM is an affordable, adaptable, and portable model that can be taught to anyone as young as the age of three. The only requirement needed to learn these biologically based skills is that a person has a nervous...
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Engaging Birth Parents in Child Welfare and Behavioral Health Systems Improvement Projects
The Pathways to Permanency project, a VAYA Health initiative to align the work of the child welfare and behavioral health systems, is continuing to make progress by engaging participants from each of the six workgroups to create sustainable change. Each workgroup has identified multiple solutions for which they are currently developing implementation plans. It has been salient to the workgroup participants that individuals with lived experience are engaged in this work and have space to...
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Partners Health Management Continues to Partner for Innovative Pilot Project
This week we are giving a shout out to Partners Health Management! They are a valuable teammate in making the Standardized Assessment Protocol (SAP) project successful, and Benchmarks is proud to be partnering with this organization. Partners serves as a Managed Care Organization (MCO) for clients with mental health concerns, intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as substance use disorders, managing services for the behavioral health care needs of these populations. Partners...
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Rockingham County DHHS-DSS Spotlight
Rockingham County Department of Health & Human Services-Division of Social Services is adept at participating in pilot projects in the health and human services realm, and is always interested in doing innovative, trauma-informed work that is for the benefit of the children & families they serve. In 2019, Rockingham County chose to participate in Benchmarks’ Standardized Assessment Protocol (SAP) project and sought to provide foster children with the opportunity to receive a holistic...
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Partnering with a Purpose: Creating behavioral health services for youth in foster care
The “Accessible, Quality Continuum of Behavioral Health Services” workgroup is one of the six workgroups convening monthly in the Vaya Health Pathways to Permanency project. Participants who join the monthly sessions are from across the Vaya Health catchment area and work in child welfare, Medicaid managed care, behavioral health, and child placement. This cross-system group of professionals is tasked with developing solutions to challenges identified during the beginning of the project. In...
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Solid Foundations Spotlight
Benchmarks’ Standardized Assessment Protocol project (SAP) would like to welcome Solid Foundations as the newest Trauma-intensive Comprehensive Clinical Assessment (TiCCA) provider! Bobby Fisher, owner of Solid Foundations stated, “Solid Foundations Counseling Center is always striving to improve our services and the care provided to our clients. Participating in the Benchmarks’ SAP allows us to expand on our Evidence Based Practices and to provide the best care to our clients and our...
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Successful Program Planning: How to Create Focus-Driven Solutions
One of the hardest things to do in project management is to define goals and objectives for your project. While it seems like a relatively simple task, clarifying goals and objectives that directly tie to the identified problems can be particularly difficult in the beginning stages of a project. This can especially be the case in health and human service-related fields where the aims of projects are often to solve complex issues that are compounded by systemic and political barriers. Due to...
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Using Workgroups to Drive Outcomes
Since 2021, the Benchmarks’ Center for Quality Integration has been consulting on Vaya Health's Pathways to Permanency project. This collaboration has brought together six dedicated workgroups, a lived experience council, and an internal Vaya workgroup to address the needs of professionals and foster parents supporting child welfare-involved youth. Through monthly meetings since April 2022, these workgroups have played a pivotal role in analyzing shared strengths and challenges, designing...
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The Pathways to Permanency Project and the Power of Teamwork
At its core, Pathways to Permanency project seeks to provide a clear and supportive path for youth in foster care on their journey to permanency. This journey often involves complex challenges, but with the right team and collective commitment, the goal becomes attainable. Several departments within Vaya Health have united to support this project, recognizing the profound impact it can have on the lives of vulnerable youth. These departments include Provider Network, Community Relations,...
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Stress and the Heart
For many, February is the month of "love “due to its association with Valentine’s Day; red roses and pink hearts are everywhere. However, February is also Heart Health Awareness Month. The state of one’s mental health can have either a positive or negative impact on their physical health and can be considered a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Constant stress is a contributing factor for many people who have poor mental health. Stressful situations set off a chain of events within...