Tagged With "Rock Star Partner Highlight"
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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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Personal stories the set tone of hearing in U.S. Senate HELP Committee on Opioid Crisis Response Act
Jennifer Donahue, Delaware Office of the Child Advocate, testifies before the HELP Committee (Jennifer Perry to her right) ____________________________________________________________ Some seasoned advocates say legislators are influenced by stories while their staffs are swayed by data. There was some of both at the April 11 hearing on the draft Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018 of the U.S. Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor & Pensions) Committee but it was the personal stories that...
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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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Rockstar Partner Highlight: Davidson County DSS
As we all are aware, COVID has presented its own set of challenges to the wonderful work we all do with the children and families we serve and our Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) child welfare partners are no different in this regard. During the pandemic child welfare agencies across North Carolina have had to contend with the ever-changing needs and demands of their communities. From helping families get set up with supportive concrete supports during times of financial...
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Tools to Mitigate Work Stress and Prevent Burnout: For Health Care Providers during COVID and Beyond
Whether you work in a hospital, a safety net clinic, or in another health care setting, no health care provider working during the COVID-19 pandemic needs to read the flurry of news stories that highlight the extreme stress experienced by people in this line of work – you already know it firsthand. This webinar will introduce health care providers to the Community Resiliency Model ( CRM ), an evidence-based method of managing traumatic stress, preventing burnout and building resiliency. This...
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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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Bridging the Academic Gap During the Pandemic – Tutoring & Caregiver Resources
For most, COVID-19 has completely changed the way people approach their everyday activities, such as attending school. This disruptive turn of events has drastically changed the way education is being delivered, with many school systems switching to a virtual or remote learning platform. For many children and families, these needed yet significant changes have added challenges that many are seeing impact children’s ability to succeed in school. In response to this, our newest Benchmarks’...
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Triumphant Trillium: Medicaid Managed Care Meets the Challenges of COVID
COVID may have created many challenges, but it also cultivated resilience, perseverance, ingenuity, creativity, and solidarity between our Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) partners in Pitt and Craven county in eastern North Carolina. As 2021 begins we are still faced with many of the same challenges, but due to strong partnering we have found innovative ways that have allowed us to continue our trauma-informed work in improving the well-being of children and families that are...
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Prioritizing Partnerships with Aligning Values—An Introduction to Youth Villages
Youth Villages opened in 1986, and now provides children’s mental health services across 24 states in over 100 locations. They take pride in increasing positive outcomes for the children and families who participate in their services. In 2018, they reported 88% of the children they previously served are living successfully at home with their families 12 months after completing their programs! Youth Villages offers various programs for children and families involved with foster care. They...
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Exploring the Impossible Imperative
Every year our Benchmarks Center for Quality Improvement (CQi) team carefully selects books for our team to read as a part of our “book club”. The goal of this book club is to increase our team’s knowledge, expertise, and understanding of the systems and individuals we aim to serve through our work throughout the state. Last week, staff wrapped up the club book “The Impossible Imperative: Navigating the Competing Principles of Child Protection” written by Jill Duerr Berrick. We know when...
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Nazareth Child & Family Connection: Empowering Youth and Families
Nazareth Child and Family Connection has been a vital member to Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) partnership since 2012. While they offer amazing services to the children and family involved in the project, Nazareth is also a huge contributor to innovative and best practice in and around their community. Nazareth was founded in 1906 and has since continued to provide an array of services to meet the needs of children and families located in Rowan and Davidson Counties. Their...
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Pandemic Fatigue in the Child Welfare Workforce
Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence project works closely with child welfare workers to address trauma in families across the state of North Carolina. We are often inspired by the hard work and dedication we see from our state’s child welfare workers. Their days are centered around supporting those in need, and often helping those who find themselves in crisis. It is demanding work and research shows child welfare work and professionals in social services experience higher rates of stress...
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Trauma-Informed Early Childhood Initiatives [CTIPP]
CTIPP CAN Call - Trauma-Informed Early Childhood Initiatives - September 15th, 2-3:30pm ET/11am-12:30pm PT - Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/742183645 Meeting ID: 742 183 645 One tap mobile +19292056099,,742183645# US (New York) Please join us for next week's CTIPP CAN Call, which will focus on building mental well-being for infants, toddlers and preschoolers and the adults who care for them. This month's presentation will feature Drs. Kaitlin Mulcahy and Gerry Costa, and Kelly...
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Pitt County Department of Social Services Hosts Annual 'Bready Bear' Event
Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) project works closely with local child welfare agencies to implement trauma-informed shifts in the community. This is done through educating the community on the effects of trauma while also working with local child welfare agencies to screen youth who become involved and connect them with a Trauma Intensive Comprehensive Clinical Assessment (TiCCA). As a result, we know many of our youth in foster care experience higher rates of trauma than their...
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Partnering to Care for Families: Highlighting the Work of Integrated Family Services
Benchmarks’ Center for Quality Integration (CQi) would like to say Happy Anniversary to our partners at Integrated Family Services! A year ago, the agency made the decision to join the Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) initiative between Trillium Health Resources and two of their partnering child welfare organizations in Pitt and Craven counties. Since joining, Integrated Family Services (IFS) has been more than just a stellar partner. Their commitment to collaborating with...
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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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Sandhills Center Dives into TiCCA Work in the Midst of Change Whirlwinds
Change is difficult anytime an organization must undergo it, but it is doubly hard when that organization is navigating multiple systemic changes. Add in growing the organization’s number of consumers and partner agencies to the mix, and things can feel downright impossible. In the past year, North Carolina’s Local Management Entities-Managed Care Organizations (LME-MCOs) have weathered re-alignments, with some North Carolina counties choosing to shift to another LME-MCO catchment area.
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Pamlico Child & Family Therapy - Partner Spotlight
Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) project works to align local private providers, LME/MCO partners, and local Departments of Social Services, as well as the community to better address the trauma-related needs of children and families encountering the child welfare system. Research shows that addressing trauma early on is imperative to bettering the outcomes of those who have experienced it. With so many children and families having trauma exposure, we recognized a need to...
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A Full-Circle Moment
Approximately every six weeks, each Benchmarks Center for Quality Integration team member is responsible for a blog post on our PACEs Connection page. Each month, one blog is a Partner Spotlight which highlights the incredible work happening across the state of North Carolina. For the month of May, Benchmarks Consultant, Sharron Roberts authored our partner spotlight blog where she shared about her “full-circle moment” below. My search to highlight a partner in our Pathways to Permanency...
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June is PTSD Awareness Month
While many of us involved in this work are aware of the importance of understanding the impact that diagnoses like posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—a mental health condition which results in coping difficulties following traumatic experiences—and other trauma related disorders can have on people’s lives, the reality is that many still lack necessary awareness. As we, in our roles as professionals, allies, advocates, and educators celebrate PTSD awareness month and work to engage those...
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Partner Spotlight: Cleveland County DSS
In this month’s Partner Spotlight, Benchmarks would like to highlight our partners at Cleveland County DSS. Since 2016, Cleveland County has been working with Benchmarks’ Center for Quality Improvement to implement Partnering for Excellence (PFE), a project that aims to ensure child welfare involved youth are appropriately screened, assessed, and treated for trauma in a timely and effective manner. Recently, Cleveland transitioned to the sustainability phase of the project which means all...
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Suicide Prevention 2022: Creating Hope Through Action
September is Suicide Prevention month, and the theme for this year’s World Suicide Prevention campaign is “Creating Hope Through Action.” Perfectly situated only a couple of months after the United States launched the new National Suicide Prevention and Crisis Line. The new line, 988, was designed to be an easy to remember way for people to access help in times of need. While a new crisis line increases the availability of needed mental health assistance, the stigma surrounding mental health...
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Children’s Center of Northwest North Carolina: SAP Provider Spotlight
The Benchmarks’ Standardized Assessment Project (SAP) and Surry County’s SAP Leadership Team welcome The Children’s Center of Northwest North Carolina as our newest Trauma-Intensive Comprehensive Clinical Assessment (TiCCA) provider! The Children’s Center of Northwest North Carolina (Children’s Center) provides a wide array of programs and services for children and families in the Northwestern region of North Carolina. Community Relations Coordinator, Valerie Smith, states “The Children’s...
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WellCare of North Carolina is Increasing Access to Trauma-Informed Services
This month, for our partner spotlight, Benchmarks’ Center for Quality Integration (CQi) is highlighting our partners at WellCare of North Carolina, one of the five Managed Care Organizations selected to provide statewide healthcare coverage to NC Medicaid recipients through Standard Plans. Standard Plans offer physical and mental/behavioral health coverage to individuals experiencing mild to moderate behavioral health concerns. WellCare works to provide its beneficiaries with access 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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Creating a Common Language & Shared Understanding
The “Common Language & Shared Understanding” workgroup is one of the 6 workgroups that meet monthly as part of the 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. The focus of this...
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May is National Foster Care Month: Supporting Children and Families
National Foster Care Month is an important initiative led by the Children's Bureau, a national organization that partners with federal, state, tribal, and local agencies to improve the overall health and well-being of children and families across the country. During this month, the bureau takes the time to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of foster parents, family members, volunteers, mentors, policymakers, and child welfare professionals who work tirelessly to help children and...
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The Standardized Assessment Protocol (SAP) Project Welcomes Children’s Homes of Cleveland County
Children’s Homes of Cleveland County (CHCC) has advocated for youth to receive superb care through their participation in Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE). However, now that the Standardized Assessment Protocol (SAP) is also growing, and more clinicians are needed, they are expanding their commitment to trauma-informed care. Benchmarks’ Standardized Assessment Protocol aims to link children over the age of 4 in foster care and In-Home Family Services to Trauma-intensive...
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Creating Resilient Communities in 2024: The Year of Cultivating Resilient Networks Through Healing Centered Cultural Wisdom
As we head into our full CRC curriculum this January, we invite current and future CRC Accelerator participants to join us with collective care and self care in mind.
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Healthy Blue Spotlight
For our Partner Spotlight this month, Benchmarks’ Center for Quality Integration (CQi) is highlighting our work with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina’s Healthy Blue Medicaid plan. Healthy Blue is one of the five health plans selected to provide Standard Plan services to NC Medicaid recipients. Standard Plans offer physical and mental/behavioral health coverage to individuals experiencing mild to moderate behavioral health concerns. Healthy Blue understands that even children with...
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Servant Leadership in Action
As we settle in to 2024, Benchmarks’ CQi team remains steadfast in our focus on servant leadership, which continues to inform and guide our work. Our ongoing exploration of Serve to Lead: True Lessons About Lean Organizational Leadership by Samson Floyd & Dwayne Robson leads us to evaluate the importance of foresight, awareness, persuasion, and listening in our own roles as servant-leaders. Effective leadership within organizations entails leaders who act as supportive coaches, capable...
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New Beginnings
It is that time of year again. Spring has sprung! After the long months of gazing out the window at dull surroundings, dealing with cold temperatures, and sunsetting before our workday ends, we are finally into a bright and glorious season. Spring is upon us, and now we get to look forward to longer days, warmer weather, and everything around us coming back to life. This fresh new beginning can be the perfect opportunity for professional growth as well. As human services professionals, we’re...