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GRANTS

 

The Evidence-Based (EBP) Implementation and Evaluation Project

 

In 2003, the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health identified the need to bridge science to service through regular use of EBPs. To assist in transforming mental health systems, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) is promoting six EBPs using demonstration projects throughout the nation. In 2004, the MHSRET Project Staff and AMHD staff collaboratively applied and was awarded a $940,000 SAMHSA grant to participate in this initiative. These funds, along with funding from the AMHD, support the rollout of two EBPs: Illness Management and Self-Directed Recovery (IMSR) and Integrated Dual Disorders Treatment (IDDT).

The grant's Co-Principal Investigators are Thomas W. Hester, M.D. (i.e., Chief of the AMHD) and Michael Wylie, Ph.D. (i.e., Director of the MHSRET Program). At this time, the EBP Project Team is working with six AMHD CMHCs to lead the way in piloting IDDT and IMSR. The team is interested in determining whether these EBP work across cultures. Thus, the team has developed cultural adaptations to the standard practices in several sites and will compare outcomes to the standard implementation.

The EBP Project team includes:

  • Project Manager Heather Jablonski, LCSW, CSAC
  • IDDT Trainer Rebecca Beardsley, Ph.D.
  • IMSR Trainer Ronnie San Nicolas, MSW, Ph.D.
  • Evaluation Assistant Christopher Rocchio, MSW
  • Staff Program Support Associate Kai Zhou, BA.
  • Evaluation Specialist John Steffen, Ph.D.

Through on-site committees, the EBP project team is helping managers, staff, and other stakeholders develop both a feasible and realistic plan to implementing these practices. Project staff provide in-depth training to CMHC staff and work directly with AMHD key personnel to plan for wider dissemination and sustainability of both practices. Additionally, the staff works with key stakeholders in cultural adaptation pilot sites, to modify practices in order to be more culturally sensitive and appropriate. The project evaluation includes assessing fidelity, clinician knowledge of the practices, and consumer outcomes.

For more information, visit the State of Hawaii Evidence-Based Practices Implementation Project.