IL Discretionary Funding Fiscal Year 2023

The C3 - Community Connect to Care Project will provide mental health awareness training for teachers and school staff, counselors, professors, parents/caregivers, and staff from other community partners working with youth or young adults. The population of focus includes children, adolescents, and young adults in the Chicago Metropolitan Area with anxiety, depression, eating disorders, substance use, self-injury, suicidal ideation, or other mood disorder. The C3 Project will implement a five-year mental health awareness training program with the goals of 1) developing an extensive network of trained staff and other constituents from community partner agencies to identify children, adolescents and young adults in need of mental health services and 2) provide referrals for treatment and prevention services to AMITA behavioral health provider sites. The training curriculum will use the Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) evidence-based practice (EBP) as the foundation to develop its curriculum, as well as components of other EBP education models. While the YMHFA is designed to teach skills to assist youth ages 12 - 18, the C3 Project will adapt the model, so that information is provided for participants working with children ages 8 - 11 and young adults ages 19 - 24. Four training session will be offered every month – two in-person with 30 participants and two virtual due to the pandemic with 20 participants. All participants will be trained to identify general mental health issues and serious mental health disturbances including self-harm, suicide or violence among children and adolescents, and young adults. Training participants will also learn how to use skills in crisis prevention and response, de-escalation, and making behavioral health services referrals, including learning how to fill-out the referral form when appropriate. The first two years of the project will focus on AMITA Health’s Northwest Region Service Area (Suburban Counties), the next two years in the City of Chicago, and the last year in the South Region (Suburban Counties). C3 Project objectives include training approximately 4,200 community residents, with 600 trained the first year and 900 trained each subsequent year. In addition, we estimate that 560 referrals for behavioral health care services will be made over the five-year project period. In addition, an improvement in the knowledge of the learning modules among all training participants using a pre- and pot-test assessment will be demonstrated. The Alexian Brothers Health System d/b/a Presence Alexian Brothers Health System is a legal entity of Ascension Health and was created through a merger of Alexian Brothers Health System and Presence Health. It is a part of AMITA Health, a joint operating company managed by two sponsors - AdventHealth and Ascension Health.

American Indian Health Service of Chicago will ensure that American Indians/Alaska Natives within the state of Illinois have access to culturally competent, trained 988 crisis center support along with access to our culturally relevant, trauma informed care services. Our Chicagoland AI/AN community suffers from a loss of self-confidence and identity from historical and intergenerational trauma as well as health disparities from systemic discrimination and exclusion. We will spearhead a decolonizing data project to ensure AI/AN individuals are no longer miscategorized by first responders, medical staff, local law enforcement, and coroners when completing death certificates. We will promote suicide awareness and prevention within our immediate indigenous community and the general Illinois population. To get community stakeholder input about suicide and needs, we will perform a community needs assessment through the facilitation of a Gathering of Native Americans for youth and adults. Our goal is to integrate indigenous ways of healing and cultural practices within our standards of care, especially for behavioral health. AIHSC utilizes culturally based Promising Practices to facilitate healing of our patient population including Wellbriety, Mending Broken Hearts, and an indigenized Operation Snowball program. It is also vital to implement community activities such as a Pow Wow to honor the community as a whole and allow families to reclaim traditional teachings about Pow Wow dances and cultural etiquettes, such as entering a dancing circle. The best way to prevent suicide is to use a culturally relevant integrated approach that includes culturally resonant practices, connection to community’s resources to create a shared vision of wellness, and the gathering of information from Elders and community members to gain knowledge and understand the community beliefs regarding suicide. Using the input from our most important stakeholder, our AI/AN community, AIHSC will work to help those activating 988 to receive the best care possible using a culturally sensitive approach with access to the unique services our clinic offers for the holistic healing of mind, body, and soul.

Association House of Chicago's (AHC) Mental Health Awareness Training (MHAT) Program will serve community members in and around Humboldt Park on Chicago's West Side. This community faces significant challenges that affect residents' mental health including violence, racial disparities, unemployment, and poverty. The neighborhood's population is 52% Latinx, 41% Black, and 5% White. The MHAT program currently offers Adult Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) with specialized training for veterans, first responders, and higher education, and Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA). This funding opportunity would allow AHC to add new training opportunities to the program: teen MHFA, QPR Gatekeeper Training, and Emotional CPR. Most trainings can be facilitated in English and Spanish. Participants trained in any of these MHAT courses will be prepared to assist an individual with SMI and/or SED and de-escalate an unsafe situation with an individual in crisis. They will also be able to make referrals to community mental health resources and services. AHC's MHAT program will train 650 individuals annually, for a total of 3,250 individuals over a five-year period. The goals of the MHAT program are to 1) increase the number of individuals trained and certified in a mental health awareness training so that they can appropriately respond to an individual in crisis; 2) establish linkages between community-based mental health agencies that accept referrals for individuals with signs/symptoms of mental illness or emotional disturbance; and 3) facilitate education and outreach events that make community resources more available to those with SMI/SED.

Project Abstract Project Title: Bridgeway Inc. Mental Health Awareness Training-Mental Health First Aid As a provider of mental health and substance use services for over 25 years, Bridgeway believes that the stigma surrounding mental illness creates a significant barrier to the provision and acceptance of treatment and recovery. Our goal is to promote the elimination of this barrier in order to motivate individuals to seek appropriate and necessary mental health care with the same confidence they seek treatment for other health problems. Bridgeway understands that mental health is essential to overall health and instilling this understanding throughout Bridgeway’s community service area is fundamental in order to establish a healthcare system which treats mental illnesses with the same urgency as physical illnesses. Bridgeway believes the community at large is important to the identification, intervention and recovery of persons with mental illness. There is much work to be done to inform, educate and equip the community with the compassion and skills necessary to be of help to people with mental illness or mental health crisis. Bridgeway’s Mental Health Awareness Training Program will utilize our 5 current Certified Mental Health First Aid Instructors as well as the Project Director, once certified, to implement a plan to specifically establish linkages and training to local school systems, community-based mental health agencies, emergency service personnel, law enforcement, fire department personnel, veterans and armed service members. Training will also be made available to family members of these groups as well as any interested community members. Bridgeway will utilize the evidence-based Mental Health First Aid training through the National Council of Behavioral Health. Training will help the core group of personnel to identify persons with a mental disorder and employ crisis de-escalation techniques as they have a high probability to interact with persons who may experience mental health issues, symptoms or crises. Training will also ensure these individuals are educated regarding resources that are available in our rural communities. Mental Health First Aid training will be conducted primarily in Knox, Warren, Henderson and Henry counties in West Central Illinois, but we would be willing to train in other areas of Illinois if requested. Over the five year lifetime of the project, our goal is to train 1,000 individuals in Mental Health First Aid; annually, our goal is to train 200 individuals. The performance strategies and interventions to achieve this goal and measure these standards include: conducting outreach activities, organizing, scheduling and conducting training for the specified groups listed above and completion of training evaluations for each individual.

The Board of Education of the City of Chicago, District 299, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) proposes the Sustainable Infrastructure for Crisis Response & Continuum of Care project. Through a SAMHSA Project AWARE grant the district could create a much-needed permanent crisis intervention and prevention infrastructure. The population of focus is the district’s high school communities, including students and their families and caregivers, staff, and educators in geographic Networks 14, 15, 16, 17. While these schools span the city, the majority are on the south and west side, and encompass communities of color, of which, most are historically disinvested. Demographic data shows that the majority of CPS high school students, 80% on average, come from families facing economic hardship, while 14% are learning English, 17% live with a disability, and 89% are youth of color. CPS needs to enhance its crisis response infrastructure to: 1) ensure students have the social and emotional learning supports and resources they need, and 2) fill the gaps in our existing response mechanisms to ensure the continuity of care for students during the school day. CPS proposes the Sustainable Infrastructure for Crisis Response & Continuum of Care project to create a coordination of care response team within the Office of Social Emotional Learning that coordinates across CPS departments, high school staff, and our community behavioral health services partners. This team will become the anchor of support throughout the lifecycle of a crisis. By the end of the award period our partnerships with community behavioral health service providers will achieve a ratio of 1 clinician for every 2 CPS High Schools within their assigned network. Goals include: 1. Ensure every CPS high school student referred for crisis intervention, receives group and/or individual social-emotional counseling services through school-based community partners at identified school sites. To do this, we need each community partner to be responsible for a smaller number of schools. Eventually, reaching a 1:1 ratio. 2. Expansion of certified Youth Mental Health First Aid trainers in the district to provide and train additional related service providers. 3. Provide universal CPS staff training on student substance use and supportive measures 4. The Mental Health Training Specialist will train school staff (nurses, social workers, counselors, discipline staff) on Screening, Brief Intervention, & Referral to Treatment. CPS proposes to: 1) Serve all high school students in need both annually and throughout the project. The district’s current high school population is 16,600+ students; and 2) Provide social and emotional mental health response and awareness trainings to 2,300 staff, teachers, and other educators.

The Board of Education of the City of Chicago, District 299, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) proposes to expand its current trauma-informed mental health services to include those which focus on substance use prevention and intervention. The population of focus is the district’s school communities, including students and their families and caregivers, staff, and educators. The year one geographic catchment areas are High School Networks 14 and 16. However, youth and their families regardless of enrollment in CPS or residence in these networks or of high school age, will have access to developmentally and culturally appropriate trauma-informed mental health services for substance use. We plan to expand the project to networks 15 and 17 by the project’s end in 2026. These networks encompass communities of color, of which, most are historically disinvested. Research shows that over 80% of high-school youth in Chicago have been exposed to violence in their lifetime and that this violence is concentrated in communities with high rates of disinvestment (Gorman-Smith et al., 2014). Data from Chicago’s 2019 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) demonstrates students experience high rates of emotional distress (35%) and suicide attempts (10%). The YRBS data also reflects an increase in the number of high school students who report feeling sad and hopeless (28% in 2005, 38% in 2019). Student substance use is rising in tandem with the rise in students feeling sad and hopeless. Instances of substance use infractions increased by 59% in SY19. According to the YRBS, 26% of surveyed students report currently drinking alcohol, and 23% of students report currently using marijuana. Possessing or using substances in school is a violation of the Student Code of Conduct (SCC 4-14) and 2,011 infractions were recorded across the district in SY20. The project is organized across five activity areas to provide effective prevention education and responsive screening and interventions to impact youth substance use behaviors in Chicago Public Schools across a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS). 1. Prevention/Education (Tier 1) 2. Responding to Substance Use Behaviors: Engaging Students & Families (Tiers 2-3) 3. Responding to Substance Use Behaviors: Substance Use Resources & Interventions (Tiers 2-3) 4. School-Based Substance Use Intervention Supports (Tiers 2-3) 5. Community-Based Substance Use Intervention Supports (Tiers 2-3) Proposed number individuals served: STUDENTS: YEAR 1: 150 YEAR 2: 500 YEAR 3: 7,400 YEAR 4: 10,500 EDUCATORS/STAFF/ADMINISTRATORS: Y1: 350 Y2: 400 Y3: 450 Y4: 500 PARENTS/CAREGIVERS: Y1: 100 Y2: 200 Y3: 300 Y4: 400

This project will serve children ages 0-5, and their parent or caregiver, who are enrolled in an early childhood program with Children’s Home & Aid. The project will be implemented in two phases. In phase 1, the project will focus on two large Head Start-funded early childhood care and education centers operated by Children’s Home & Aid. These are the Mitzi Freidheim Englewood Child & Family Center, which serves 164 children and their families and is located in the southside Chicago neighborhood of Englewood, and the Marletta Darnall Schaumburg child & Family Center, which serves 136 children and their families and is located in the suburb of Schaumburg. In phase 2, the project will expand to a larger group of early childhood and home visiting programs operated by Children’s Home & Aid statewide. This includes Head Start and Early Head Start programs serving 700 children and their families, and early childhood home visiting programs serving 600 infants and young children and their families. Each location provides priority enrollment to children considered at-risk, including children of adolescent parents, victims of child abuse and/or neglect, and children from very low-income households. Our programs prioritize services to families involved in the child welfare system, including youth in foster care who are pregnant and parenting and families with an indicated case of abuse and neglect where the children remain in their parents’ care. The Bright Future project will provide screening, assessment and evidence-based treatment to 120 individuals annually; will provide infant and mental health consultation to support families in center-based early childhood programs; will provide cohort-based professional development to 30 early childhood professionals annually; will deliver 4 trainings per year on the impact of trauma and young children’s symptoms of trauma to child and family-serving professionals reaching 50 staff per year and 250 staff over the life of the project; and will provide training and clinical supervision to 2 graduate interns per year and 10 interns over the life of the project.