Key Presentations

Systems of Care: History of the Concept, General Implementation Issues, and Relationship to Individualized Care and Evidence-Based Practice

In this presentation, Dr. Friedman provides an overview of the history of the systems of care movement, describes the evolution of its principles and functions, and places SOC within the context of the national transformation of mental health service delivery for children. Current thinking about transformation of complex systems is shared, with emphasis on ramifications for implementation of effective systems of care. Strategies for planning toward successful implementation are reviewed, including definition of those factors believed to be associated with effective systems of care. Finally, the realities of integrating evidence-based practice within systems of care are described, with recommendations for decision-makers.
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Developing Logic Models For Systems Of Care: A Theory Of Change Approach

Theories of change are the underlying assumptions and strategies that guide local system of care development and are believed by local planners to be critical to those changes in services and supports what will foster improvement for children and families. This presentation illustrates how logic models are used to translate the broad vision of the federal grant program into local theories of change that captures the complexities and textures inherent in communities. From this context, Hernandez and Hodges address the role of local theories theory of change in developing evaluation processes that support continual program improvement.
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The System of Care Practice Review Revised (SOCPR-R): Measuring Fidelity of Service to Systems of Care Values and Principles

This presentation establishes the value of assessing service fidelity to SOC values and reviews use of the SOCPR-R method & instrument to evaluate local systems of care. The SOCPR-R method clusters SOC principles into primary domains of child-centered, family focused; community-based; culturally competent; and impact--these domains and their subdomains are examined within a system through a multiple case study method including document reviews and key informant interviews. With family case as the unit of analysis, information is synthesized to identify patterns and trends within the SOC and generate recommendations.
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Treatment Integrity Within Applied Research Settings

This presentation examines the concept of treatment integrity and its application within applied research for children and families. It contains a discussion of the definition, measurement, and utility of treatment integrity and illustrations using both group and single subject designs. Presented by Michelle Duda, Albert Duchnowski and Shelley Clarke.
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Child & Adolescent Mental Disorders:
Best Practices for System Improvement

This presentation handout summarizes key issues for systems improvement in Florida. Topics addressed include determining seriousness of a problem, the relationship between mental health disorders and substance abuse; comparison of current and needed actions in the system, and general and specific recommendations for actions.
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Implementing Effective Data-based and Value-based Systems of Car efor Children with Serious Mental Health Challenges and their Families

This presentation by Robert Friedman overviews key factors in implementing effective service systems that provide access to high-quality, value-based care. Use of data-driven decision making strategies for performance measurement and quality assurance are addressed within the context of the Research and Training Center's model of factors that are associated with effective system of care implementation.
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Press Briefing on Capital Hill Addresses
Unregulated Residential Treatment

The Alliance for the Safe, Therapeutic and Appropriate use of Residential Treatment (A START) is co-sponsored by the Department of Child and Family Studies of the University of South Florida and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. In October, 2005, A START coordinated a press conference on Capitol Hill to increase awareness of concerns relating to unregulated residential facilities for youth, and to support the federal legislation proposed in the End Institutionalized Abuse Against Children Act and the Keeping Families Together Act. This handout includes information about ASTART, as well as a checklist for families considering residential treatment.
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Transformation: Personal, Professional,
and about Systemic

Robert Friedman addresses the APA Annual Convention about the activities of the Department of Child & Family Studies and their relationship to the national call for transformation of mental health services systems. Includes program profiles.
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Taking a Giant Step Forward—
From Good to Great for Systems of Care

In this presentation, Robert Friedman, Director of the Research and Training Center for Children's Mental Health, addresses the present status of efforts to develop effective systems of care, and offers new concepts to be added to the framework for systems of care. Includes the role of evidence-based practices within systems of care, and recommendations for taking advantage of the increased focus on children's mental health to build more effective systems of care that enable children to enjoy a high quality of life within their community.
View Handouts [128kb pdf]

Keynote Presentations

Keynote presenters from the 17th and 16th Annual Research Conference Systems of Care for Children's Mental Health: Expanding the Research Base, described how best to address complex, real world problems and needs of children and families.
17th Annual Conference Keynotes
16th Annual Conference Keynotes

Developing Data- and Value-Based Systems of Care that Incorporate Effective Practice: Expanding the Framework

This presentation at the 2004 Training Institutes in San Francisco, Robert Friedman addresses the role of theories of change and performance measurement in systems of care.
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Effectively Serving Children with Special Needs and their Families: What Does it Take?

At the Winter 2005 Systems of Care Communities Meeting in Dallas, February, 2005, Robert Friedman described a model of fourteen key factors that contribute to implementation of effectives systems of care.
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Creating Informed Choice for Families:
The Link Between Individualized Care,
Data-Based and Value-Based Systems of Care,
and Evidence-Based Practice

This presentation addressed the role of family choice and development of evidence-based practices in the context of systems of care. Presented by Dr. Friedman May 2004, at the Family Strengths Conference sponsored by the Research and Training Center on Family Support and Children’s Mental Health in Portland, Oregon.
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The Status of Children's Mental Health: 
A Need for Urgent Care

This presentation by Robert Friedman to the National Conference of State Legislatures in Salt Lake City, July, 2004, addressed current and future policy approaches for improving services for children with serious emotional/behavioral disorders.
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Positive Systems of Care: Effective Community Responses for Children & Families

In his October 2004 address in Waterloo, Ontario, Dr. Friedman describes the key characteristics and current status of systems of care implementation.
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Promises and Challenges of Evidence-Based Practices for Latino Youth and Families

Mario Hernandez addresses the under-representation of the Latino population in research on evidence-based practices, and identifies steps that should be taken to ensure that promising programs can be successfully adapted to systems of care with a culturally diverse population. Presented for Improving Systems of Care for Latino Youth and Families: Effective and Evidence-Based Strategies for Engagement and Treatment, July 21-23, 2004, Miami, Florida.
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Home School and Community Partnerships

To deal with the seriousness and complexity of many children's problems, an array of services that go beyond traditional place-bound programs are needed. Today, it is essential that school systems develop partnerships and supports with various service providers within their communities (e.g., social services agencies, mental health agencies, vocational counselors). Albert Duchnowski and Krista Kutash delivered this training session in Lexington, Kentucky in February, 2004. These handouts show how some school systems have worked together with community service providers to successfully address the diverse needs of students with learning and behavior problems and their families.
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President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health: A Status Report and Call to Action

In July 2002, Robert Friedman was invited to address the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health regarding the status children’s mental health in the US. This presentation outlines the scope and seriousness of emotional and social problems in the nation’s children, as well as recent examples of federal recognition of the need for policy change to address children's mantal health issues. Dr. Friedman also explored the current status of the child-serving system; recommending future directions for its improvement.
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Developing and Using your Program’s Theory of Change to Support Implementation, Evaluation and Sustainability

This presentation addresses the development of theories of change and their relationship to the implementation, evaluation and sustainability of community based services for children, families and communities. Delivered by Mario Hernandez at the Building Mentally Healthy Communities I/II National Grantee Meeting, September 2002, Vienna Virginia, the structure and application of theory-based frameworks to community-based initiatives is explored.
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What Works Well and Why: Translating Research into Practice in Community Mental Health Services

CFS Chair Robert Friedman provided a keynote address March 14th, 2003 at the 6th Annual All-Ohio Institute on Community Psychiatry conference. The focus of this year's Institute was the implementation of evidence-based practices in community mental health services. Friedman's presentation focused on the improvement of access to care for children in need, quality and effectiveness of care, and the mental health status and well-being of all children.
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Children’s Mental Health Policy: Is it working?

This invited presentation by Dr. Robert Friedman elaborates on the current realities of the children’s mental health service system and its relationship to policy formation and implementation. This presentation specifically discusses the scope of the problem, and explores resolutions that are currently at the forefront of the field, including systems of care, evidence-based practice, and new research and evaluation paradigms.
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Child & Adolescent Mental Health: Recommendations for Improvement by State Mental Health Commissions

This presentation summarizes common themes and issues in state-level child mental health service system policy as identified by an analysis of Mental Health Commission reports for several states.
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Expanding Frame Work for Developing Operating and Sustaining Local Systems of Care

At the 2002 Training Institutes sponsored by the National Technical Assistance Center for Children’s Mental Health, Georgetown University, Dr. Friedman and colleagues Don Dixon, Steve Gilbertson, Margaret Jefferson, Bruce Kamradt, Mary Jo Meyers defined and examined the key principals and values of systems of care as they relate to real-life implementation in several sites across the nation.
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Evidence Based Practice and Systems of Care: Building on the Strengths of Each

This presentation explores two central themes: the definition and evolution of systems of care; and criteria and methods useful to support the notion of evidence based practice. Dr. Friedman also discusses the challenges of incorporating evidence-based practice within community-based system of care and effectively evaluating outcomes for the system and for children and their families.
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Systems of Care: What Makes Them Work?

In this presentation, Dr. Robert Friedman provides an in-depth look at the evolution of the system of care concept and its implementation. This presentation focuses on conditions that led to the creation and development of systems of care, and reviews key principles and values in the context of what makes a system of care successful.
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Surgeon Generals Conference on Mental
Health 1999

At the request of the Surgeon General, Dr. David Satcher over 300 mental health professionals, researchers, advocates, parents and youth gathered in Washington, D.C in September of 1999. The purpose of this gathering was to develop an action plan to improve the mental health of children in the United States. Robert Friedman, Ph.D. presented on the evolution of child mental health policy and system of care implementation in the US, its relationship to policy at all levels, and how the move toward adopting evidence based practice will interact with system efforts.
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View Handouts [108kb pdf]