Project Staff:
Nancy Koroloff: Co-Principal Investigator.
Janet Walker: Co-Principal Investigator.
Nick Winges-Yanez : Graduate Research Assistant.
Description:
Young people with serious mental health conditions often drop out or are forced out of services between the ages of 18 and 21. Policy and funding barriers, lack of attractive treatment models, and poor coordination between and across child and adult systems all contribute to this phenomenon. The Transition Policy Consortium includes several strands of work focused on identifying effective strategies for increasing system capacity to meet the needs of young people with serious mental health conditions as they transition into adulthood. Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding how state and federal policies encourage or inhibit this sort of system development.
One strand of research is focused on implementation of the Community Support for Transition Inventory (CSTI). This inventory was developed to assess services infrastructure available at both community and state levels to support transition aged youth and young adults. This infrastructure might include policies, administrative rules, mechanisms for collaboration with partner agencies, and ways of involving youth and family members in decision making.
The second strand involves analyzing key policies or policy areas that have significant impact on the lives of young people with serious mental health conditions and their families during the transition years. Currently, the project is undertaking an analysis of key provisions of the Affordable Health Care Act from the perspective of the needs and preferences of young adults. This will result in a series of brief papers explicating some of the key components of health care reform.
Products:
Sample Items for Community Supports for Transition Inventory
Sample Report for Community Supports for Transition Inventory
Sample Report for State Supports for Transition Inventory
Publications:
FAQ: The Impact of Health Care Reform on Services and Supports for Young Adults with Serious Mental Health Conditions.
By 2014, approximately 80% of young adults who would otherwise be uninsured will have gained health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA, also known as health care reform or "Obamacare"). What does this mean for young adults with serious mental health conditions? This publication answers frequently asked questions, and urges stakeholders to get involved now to influence important decisions that will determine what sorts of services and supports will be made available under the ACA.
Youth Voice in Policy: A Guide to Shaping History. This document, created in partnership with the National Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health, provides youth and young adults who have received mental health services and who have experienced multiple child-serving systems with the basic skills they need to advocate for issues they feel are important.
Presentations:
"Unfinished Business: Brain Development & Traumatic Stress in Transition-age Youth". Webinar presented November 13, 2012
Click here for webinar presentation view with VLC (click here to download).
Assessing Community Support for Young Adults with Mental Health Challenges. Presented April 2012 at the NARRTC Annual Conference in Alexandria, VA.
Assessing Community- and State-Level Policy Support for a Transition Service System. Symposium presented March, 2012, at the Children's Mental Health Research and Policy Conference in Tampa, FL.
Policy Themes in Community and State Support for Comprehensive Transition Programs. Presented March, 2012, at the Healthy Transitions Initiative Grant Community Meeting: Adult/Child System Collaboration for Better Outcomes in Annapolis, MD.
Healthy Transitions to Adulthood: Policy Implications. Webinar presented December 16, 2010 as part of the 2010 National TA Center Webinar Series.
Introduction to the Community Supports for Wraparound Inventory. Ongoing.