2022 Community Engagement Report

C. Neill Epperson, MD, Chair, Department of Psychiatry

Douglas K. Novins, MD, Director, Division of Community, Population, and Public Mental Health

Matt Mishkind, PhD, Director, Community Engagement Services

Becky Alberti-Powell, BA, Program Manager, Community Engagement Services

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION LETTER… 2

A NEW ERA OF COMMUNITY-ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS… 3

ENGAGING PRIORITY POPULATIONS… 4

GEOGRAPHIC REACH… 6

SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES… 7

ADVANCING COMMUNITY THROUGH LIVES TOUCHED… 8

CONCLUDING NOTE… 10

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SERVICES

The Department of Psychiatry created Community Engagement Services (CES) under the Division of Community, Population, and Public Mental Health in 2022. CES is the core support service for the Department’s various programs that collaborate with local communities. Key responsibilities of CES include bringing community voices into Departmental efforts, as well as logistical management of programs in promoting strategies for increasing mental health awareness, addressing systemic health disparities, and advocating for systemic change. In addition to its internal role, CES strives to be a voice to help influence how communities and workplaces advocate for change, work with existing systems, and understand, talk about, and prevent mental health challenges through evidence-based, accessible, and sustainable education and training programs.

LEADERSHIP TEAM

C. Neill Epperson, MD Chair

Department of Psychiatry

Douglas K. Novins, MD Director

Division of Community, Population, and Public Mental Health

Matt Mishkind, PhD Director

Community Engagement Services

Becky Alberti-Powell, BA Program Manager

Community Engagement Services

INTRODUCING THE FIRST ANNUAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT REPORT

WITH GROUPS (25)

WITH ORGANIZATIONS (22)

We are proud to present this First Annual Department of Psychiatry Community Engagement Report*. The Department of Psychiatry has a robust history of partnering with communities to promote strategies for increasing mental health awareness, reducing stigma, identifying, and eliminating health disparities, and standing against discrimination and harassment for all members of the communities we serve. Although this work is robust, we have not had a single repository for cataloging this work. To address this gap, we conducted a Community Programming Environmental Scan and Assessment of Needs in the summer of 2022, which allowed us to create this First Annual Community Engagement Report.

OUR PROGRAMS HAVE DIRECTLY TOUCHED OVER

70%

OUR PROGRAMS HAVE DIRECTLY TOUCHED OVER

BEHAVIORAL NEEDS

OUR PROGRAMS HAVE DIRECTLY TOUCHED OVER

OUR PROGRAMS HAVE DIRECTLY TOUCHED OVER

130,000

130,000

We received an impressive 54 responses to our survey, with representation from all five of the Department’s divisions and the Department’s Administrative Cores. 91% of respondents reported they are working directly with community members through their programs; 70% of programs were developed in partnership with community, in response to specific requests.

70%

LIVES IN THE PAST FEW YEARS

OF PROGRAMS ARE BASED ON COMMUNITY REQUESTS

130,000

LIVES IN THE PAST FEW YEARS

MINORITIES WITH AGRESSION AS A COMPONEND OF BH CHALLENGES

HOUSING

130,000

LIVES IN THE PAST FEW YEARS

LIVES IN THE PAST FEW YEARS

EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS/INSECURE HOUSING VETERANS

OF PROGRAMS ARE BASED ON COMMUNITY REQUESTS

As we partner with the State of Colorado’s new Behavioral Health Administration (BHA), it is important to note that, taken together, these community programs serve all of the BHA’s 12 priority populations. Additionally, our programs have directly touched over 130,000 lives in the past few years; 20% of programs reporting having worked with over 10,000 individuals. This work is possible because of our passionate faculty and staff who care deeply about the communities we serve.

Although we are proud of what we have accomplished with our community partners we view this work as a starting point as we work to fulfill the Community and Advocacy Mission of our University of Colorado’s Department of Psychiatry:

AMERICAN INDIAN/TRIBAL

COMPONEND OF BH CHALLENGES

7

We work with our local communities, affiliated institutions, and state and federal government agencies to promote strategies for increasing mental health awareness, reducing stigma, identifying and eliminating health disparities, and standing against discrimination and harassment to all members in our community.

This work is only possible through collaboration and partnerships. We hope you will join us on this very important journey.

Sincerely,

*the full report can be found at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PtQ8ok0IGh9x5iJOjsOD8Y4gZIRIE7ZW/view

C. Neill Epperson, MD Robert Freedman Endowed Professor and Chair Department of Psychiatry University of Colorado School of Medicine

Douglas K. Novins, MD Professor & Director, Division of Community, Population, and Public Mental Health Department of Psychiatry University of Colorado School of Medicine

JOHNSON DEPRESSION CENTER COMMUNITY PROGRAMS

THE JOHNSON DEPRESSION CENTER partners with communities, schools, businesses, non-profit organizations, and professional groups to extend its reach through diverse educational offerings that raise awareness of mental illness and wellness, reduce stigma, prevent suicide, and foster access to care. The Center’s Advisory Board identified the need for training and education that is communityfocused and accessible, regardless of ability to pay. Community Programs was developed in 2016.

OVER 40,000 COMMUNITY MEMBER LIVES TOUCHED

Center faculty also lead community events in topics such as mindfulness, teen anxiety, deciphering teen behavior, school anxiety, resiliency, happiness, and social media. Much of the Center’s support for these activities continues to be from grants and philanthropy.

VITALCOG is the Center’s own suicide prevention gatekeeper training program. Originally developed for workplaces, the training has been adapted for use in the construction industry and for athletic staff. Each VitalCog program has demonstrated statistically significant increases in knowledge gained among program participants as well as perceived increases in comfort in talking to others about suicide, and intent for behavior change.

PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS (25)

PARTNERSHIP WITH NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS (22)

$1 spent on VitalCog for Construction Training returns

$8.70 of social value.

A NEW ERA OF COMMUNITYACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS

We strive to develop Community-Academic Partnerships that are characterized by equitable control, being focused on causes that are relevant to the community of interest, having specific aims to achieve goals, and involving both community members and Department faculty and staff with knowledge of the cause. Our goal in this approach is to develop partnership synergy, knowledge exchange, tangible products, and stronger community programs that address behavioral health needs. This fosters a partnership framework that:

• Collaborates with Communities to address critical community needs

• Supports Programs that develop the knowledge and skills of both community members and Departmental faculty and staff

• Creates Mutual Benefit that improves policy, services, and outcomes

BUILDING COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

Seventy percent of our partnerships were developed in response to a specific community request. Some ways we work to foster engagement are by working with community groups and advisory boards, partnering with organizations that advocate for those with lived experience, evaluating program outcomes, conducting interviews with interested parties, and asking for community-based feedback. Our partnerships work with families, adolescents, credentialed professionals, adults, and other non-credentialed professionals.

PARTNERSHIPS

COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD (15)

ENGAGING PRIORITY POPULATIONS

CHALLENGES INDIAN/TRIBAL

PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS (25)

The Department serves individuals across the lifespan, populations with specific needs, and individuals with a wide range of behavioral health concerns. The 2019 Colorado behavioral health needs assessment, which guided the formation of the Behavioral Health Administration (and the recent 2022 Workforce report), highlight 12 priority populations that have long-standing behavioral health disparities, with special needs and barriers to accessing care. The Department has partnerships with each of the priority populations.

ONGOING STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS (18)

STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS DURING DEVELOPMENT (21)

POPULATIONS SERVED BY DEPARTMENTAL COMMUNITY PROGRAMS

Those with serious MI and related sub-populations

LGBTQ+

Low income

Those with a history of sexual offense

Racial and ethnic minorities

Those experiencing homelessness/insecure Veterans

Criminal justice-involved American Indian/Tribal

Those with agression as a componend of BH challenges

9

Number of programs serving each of the priority populations identified by the Behavioral Health Administration

COLORADO AUTISM MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

The mission of the Program is to build the capacity to serve students with autism by providing schoolbased educational resources and mentorship to educators that support students diagnosed with autism in Colorado schools. This includes information about the educational identification of autism, functional behavior assessment, and treatment approaches. Mentees learn how to conduct various indirect, descriptive, and experimental assessments, how to interpret data, and how to make decisions about treatment approaches based on student data. Outcomes focus on knowledge gain, self-perceived competency with various procedures, student problem behaviors, and out-of-district referrals. A recent evaluation showed that the Program improved mentee interview skills, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback.

| 4

COLORADO EDUCATOR SUPPORT PROGRAM

The Program began in October 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to support Colorado educators with stressors they experienced related to safety of in-person learning, rapidly changing plans, and additional work due to remote and hybrid models of learning. In partnership with the Colorado Education Association, the Office of Behavioral Health, the Colorado State Legislature, and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the Program was expanded in Fall 2021 to continue the 7-day a week call/text Well-Being Support Line, and to add group support, psychoeducational workshops, individual support sessions, and a self-paced mental health educational program. While almost 75% of respondents to the program evaluation felt they were effective educators, about half also indicated they were actively looking for a new job within the past year, and just over half fell within the “at-risk” or “high” burnout categories. Educators reporting more support also reported more hope, and fewer reports of burnout. This is an important association to understand for the over 60,000 teachers, principals, assistant principals, superintendents, and assistant superintendents responsible for educating almost 900,000 students in Colorado.

CONTACT WITH OVER 1,200 EDUCATORS FROM OVER 50 SCHOOL DISTRICTS ACROSS COLORADO

GEOGRAPHIC REACH

OUR PROGRAMS HAVE DIRECTLY TOUCHED OVER LIVES IN THE PAST FEW YEARS

130,000

70%

OF PROGRAMS ARE BASED ON COMMUNITY REQUESTS

The Department first and foremost serves the needs of Coloradans and the broader Rocky Mountain Region. Partnerships were evenly distributed across the Front Range, Eastern Plains, and Mountains and Western Slope. Examples of other states served by targeted programs include, but are not limited to, Alaska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Texas, Ohio, Illinois, Virginia, Maryland, and California. Two programs serve areas outside of the United States.

BLACK MAMA’S CIRCLE FREE PEER SUPPORT GROUP FOR BLACK MOTHERS

Estimated 80% of partnerships serve only Colorado

Black Mama’s Circle is a facilitated perinatal mental health mom-tomom peer-led support group that grew out of requests from the Black/ African American community to our Healthy Expectations Perinatal Mental Health Program and the Black Health Initiative at Children’s Hospital Colorado.

A community engagement process identified an urgent need to support Black mothers throughout the perinatal period to bolster women’s well-being, with a goal of improved birth outcomes. The Healthy Expectations team, guided by a peer mentor mom from the community and by a Black perinatal psychiatrist, implemented Black Mamas Circle.

The Program provides weekly support sessions with the primary goals to increase access and supports around perinatal mental health care for Black moms and babies as well as a monthly facilitated reflective peer-to-peer consultation for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) providers in the perinatal field.

“We’ve learned that we have the content to develop any number of programs. But more importantly, we know that programs are successful only if a community wants it and engages in its development and sustainment .”

SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES

Effective partnerships focus on processes that both fit the communities served and community-desired outcomes. Our partnerships focus on educational activities, support for providers, community members, research participants, and program evaluations. Other partnership support activities include:

• Advising student advocates for mental health

• Partnership with forensic psychology training programs

• Consultation and supervision

• Outreach such as conference presentations, media interviews, website materials, and newsletters

WORKING WITH PEERS AND NON-CREDENTIALED STAFF

We also work with non-credentialed professionals and develop programs that support peer advocates. These are very important populations that help implement prevention programs, help others navigate resources, serve as first lines of assistance, and coordinate between services in and external to the health care system.

EMPOWERED TO SERVE

We serve as partners with the American Heart Association for Empowered to Serve: Stimulant Use Disorder that addresses stimulant use among Black/African American and Hispanic/LatinX people. The Program is designed to harness the passion of individuals and organizations to promote action in advocacy, policy, education, and social change models to overcome barriers to health equity.

Funded through a SAMHSA grant, this program provides training and education to help those who may be at risk of stimulant usage, addiction, or overdose; know people experiencing stimulant use disorders; and care for people experiencing stimulant use disorders. The program has primarily been disseminated to faithbased partners in primarily black and brown communities, including a focus on train-the-trainer opportunities. Through the Empowered to Serve Network, 12 churches have engaged with the program, each reaching well over 200 individuals.

Over 18,000 individuals have been reached during the past two years.

UNSTUCK AND ON TARGET (UOT)

Unstuck and On Target is a plan of action for teaching students how to improve executive functioningfrontal lobe skills, including flexible thinking, planning and self-control- and overall become more flexible, planful, and goal directed. The program does this by 1) Increasing the cognitive flexibility, organization, and planning abilities of students with executive dysfunction, and 2) Providing the intervention in a way that works in the classroom allowing teachers to focus on teaching and spend less time managing behavior. It is designed for 8- to 11-year-old students who may have autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, or other related problems, who also have average IQ and at least a second-grade language and reading level. UOT has demonstrated effectiveness at improving the executive functioning school-aged children in Title 1 schools.

UOT can now be offered free due to a $2 million contract awarded to Children’s Hospital Colorado’s Pediatric Mental Health Institute by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. Since 2020, UOT has been piloted with 230 elementary schools in Colorado and Virginia.

ADVANCING COMMUNITY THROUGH LIVES TOUCHED

The goal of our partnerships is to develop and sustain programs that benefit the community. We estimate that at least 130,000 individuals have directly participated in Departmental programming. Our dedicated faculty and staff face barriers in creating and implementing programming. About 60% of all partnership funding comes from a grant or contract, meaning that faculty and staff volunteer additional time to make important programs happen.

1 in 3

1 in 6

1 in 7

130,000 community received no funding support

PSYCHIATRY UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PROGRAM LEARNING EXPERIENCE (PURPLE)

Although Colorado is projected to see steady behavioral health job growth, the current workforce is not adequately meeting the needs of Coloradans. The inadequacy is particularly evident in diverse communities as over 80% of the behavioral health workforce identifies as White.

PURPLE started in 2016 to provide mentorship to undergraduate students to prepare them for behavioral health careers. PURPLE receives about 60 applications each year and intentionally seeks to attract diverse, accomplished students from a wide variety of cultural, geographic, and ethnic backgrounds, and aims to help students become behavioral health scientists and clinicians.

Less than 15% are invited to join and Cohorts are intentionally kept small so students can be paired with a faculty mentor. The program also allows faculty mentors to further develop their mentoring skills and reaffirms their commitment to the behavioral health profession.

The past 5 cohorts have seen thirty-seven (37) students complete the PURPLE program, with 76% employed after program completion, 11% continuing directly to graduate school, and 8% both employed and in graduate school. Almost all (93%) report the program was very helpful to their careers, and all report they would recommend the program to others.

62%

PURPLE IS REACHING

TRADITIONALLY UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS:

Over half (62%) of PURPLE graduates have stayed in mental health fields

CONCLUDING NOTE

The Department is committed to fostering community partnerships and this report is just a snapshot of our current work. We have an impressive track record of developing and sustaining successful partnerships that make important contributions to the health and well-being of all Coloradans. This is consistent with our Community and Advocacy Mission: We work with our local communities, affiliated institutions, and state and federal government agencies to promote strategies for increasing mental health awareness, reducing stigma, identifying and eliminating health disparities, and standing against discrimination and harassment to all members in our community.

This work happens through collaboration with community members who offer their time, talent, treasure, and testimony. We invite you to join us as we grow and expand.

More information about our work is available on our website.

Thank you!-

Thank you to our philanthropic, community, and hospital partners and to all of the Department of Psychiatry faculty and staff who completed the survey. We thank you for your dedication to our mission and for all the community programming work you do. A very special thank you to the team who worked on the survey and report: Becky Alberti-Powell, Teresa Mescher, Alex Yannacone, and Rachael Anderson!

To learn more about Community Engagement Services and read the full Department of Psychiatry Community Engagement Report, please use the QR code or visit our website:

https://medschool.cuanschutz.edu/psychiatry/community/CES