Everything Under The Sun: Expertise From The Institute

Representatives from Thrive@25 project partners.

The University of Maryland has many valuable centers and institutes, which can provide research, data, and so much more, for students, experts, and professionals, both in the State and throughout the country. One of those important sectors is THE INSTITUTE FOR INNOVATION & IMPLEMENTATION (The Institute), part of the School of Social Work. Among its functions is training, technical assistance, systems design, policy, finance, and evaluation, for Maryland's Children's Cabinet and its agencies, along with other States, locations, and private organizations. All of its work is in meeting the needs of children with complex behavioral challenges and their families.

Within The Institute are three divisions: The Institute of Policy & Finance, Technical Assistance & Implementation, and Research & Evaluation. For those of you who have heard of evidence-based practices, this is one of the institutes where much of the work occurs in determining what those practices are, all the way through the research process. Child welfare, juvenile justice, children's behavioral health, and care management, are some of the areas that benefit from The Institute.

This June the Carroll County Health Department was awarded a $1 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), part of the federal government. This grant was provided to fund Early Screening, Decision Making, Assessment, Referral and Treatement (e-SMART) for children and their families.

Dawn Brown, the Director of Quality Improvement and Prevention for the health department, explained, "Specifically, we will be able to develop our system to include services and supports that are family-driven and developmentally appropriate while also enhancing the skills and competencies of our early childhood work force to better serve those with complex behavioral needs." She added that the grant will "enhance and expand the early childhood system of care by implementing a model that bridges early childhood infrastructure and supports with quality care coordination and services to meet the needs of young children experiencing serious emotional disturbances and their families."

Participants at a Building Systems of Care Meeting created this word cloud when asked what words come up when they think of families and youth.

When you notice the multifaceted nature of the e-SMART program, and how it will help Carroll County serve its younger children, you realize that they will need some help with implementing this system. That's where the services provided by The Institute come in. They have the technical skills and expertise needed by this County, and so they are one of the partnering organizations assisting the Health Department. This is just one of the many functions of The Institute that show how valuable this organization really is.