Multi-Tiered Systems
of Support: Effective Evidence-Based Practices in Community Agencies Meeting
the Needs of Families with Co-Occurring Behavioral and Mental Health Disorders
Wyandot Center for Community Behavioral Healthcareand The University of Kansas Beach
Center on Disability are
implementing of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) in family support
agencies is consistent with research in education that suggests that behavioral
interventions that attempt to change organizations or systems and individuals
produce more dramatic outcomes than individualized interventions alone
(Greenberg, Domitrovich, & Bumbarger, 1999).Thus, this project’s activities will be based ona MTSS model originated by U.S. Public Health Service’s
classification of prevention approaches, which includes primary (preventing
onset), secondary (reducing emerging problems), and tertiary (reducing or
reversing ongoing damage) levels. This model
proposed herein will ensure parents with co-occurring disorders that are less
taxed, more supported and therefore more effective and responsive in the
parenting process, children with better developmental trajectories supporting
school readiness and solid social/emotional development.Additionally, the model will support an
infusion of current evidence-based practices into the Wyandot Center with a
focus on building staff knowledge and skill to promote sustainability and
long-term implementation.
The implementation of a multi-tiered
approach for addressing family need through a family support agency is based on
the organization and implementation of interventions and supports at the:
- Primary
level: which includes strategies and interventions for all families aimed at general parenting information in an effort to
prevent onset of parenting challenges;
- Secondary level: which provides training
to support to some families to
reduce emergence of new problems;
- Tertiary level: which includes individualized training
and support for a few families to
reduce impact of problems.
When
systems-level application of tertiary level support includes goals that are
clearly matched to the family needs the likelihood of consistent, long-term
implementation is improved
(Santarelli, Koegel, Casas & Koegel, 2001).
“Improving treatment programs for people with
co-occurring disorders may involve parent education, integration of services,
re-designed programs, specialized counseling, case management and/or collaboration
among providers.” (Mental Health RFP, HCF of GKC website, 2005). This proposal
focuses on re-designing common programming
approachesto parent education in order to meet the
unique needs of parents with co-occurring disorders. The project also features collaboration
among providers and a train-the-trainer professional development
approach, as Wyandot Center case managers and support staff will also acquire
additional training and consultation skills in providing home-based case management and parent education services
for parents with co-occurring disorders.
- Primary goals of the project are to:Implement a management plan to
- Ensure the active engagement of
all stakeholders,
- Utilize evaluation data to continuously improve the
model, and
- Oversee resource allocation and acquisition.
- Goal 2: Establish
systems-level implementation process to support the development of multi-tiered
systems of support to promote the capacity building within Wyandot Center.
- Goal 3: Adapt training content for Wyandot
Center parents based on research-based training, intervention and consultation
approaches that address the needs of parents with co-occurring disorders and
their children.
- Goal 4: Implement a comprehensive, sustainable
train-the-trainers model with Wyandot Center’s casemanagers, family therapist,
attendant care and parent support providers.
- Goal 5: Implement a comprehensive,
sustainable parent education program with Wyandot Center families.
- Goal 6:
Ensure that MTSS model outcomes are directly tied to measurable goals and to a
comprehensive evaluation plan.
- Goal 7:
Disseminate information about the project outcomes through (e.g., intervention
components developed and refined, fidelity intervention implementation,
feasibility/ usability feedback) to those supporting families experiencing
co-occurring disorders, support staff and researchers.