OF RESEARCH PLANIn response to a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) request for proposals, DanyaInternational, Inc, (Danya), proposes to continue development and testing of TIES: Training Interventionfor the Engagement of Families. Recent consensus reports conclude that the undertreatment of childrenwith serious mental health needs constitutes a public health crisis, and addressing barriers to effectivelyengaging children in child mental health services are major concerns (DHHS, 2003; U,S. Public HealthService, 2000). To address this need, TIES is a Web-based training toolkit for certified trainers to use tofacilitate in-person trainings for diverse groups of mental health professionals in evidence-basedapproaches to engaging and retaining children and families in treatment. A significant strength of thisproposal is Danya's collaboration with Dr. Mary McKay and her colleagues at the Mount Sinai School ofMedicine (MSSM). Dr, McKay and her team have been leading workshops with mental health serviceproviders for over 10 years and have completed well over 200 presentations across the country to date.The bulk of her trainings focus on evidence-based telephone engagement strategies and first clinicalinterview strategies as a means for engaging families in mental health care. The TIES training isintended to facilitate the dissemination of an evidence-based program to improve provider knowledgeand skills around problem-solving barriers to mental health care with families. TIES will comprise severalcomponents to ensure the sustained implementation of engagement strategies in practice: The TIESengagement.com Web site, containing information and resources for consumers andtrainers.- The public area contains general information about the TIES program, as well as an onlinerequest form for requesting TIES trainings.- The trainer area is a password-secured area containing the certification tutorial and test fortrainers-in-training, and access to the presentation builder tool where trainers can create apresentation based on the clinic setting (rural vs. urban) and client characteristics (substanceabuse, trauma, and conduct problems), The TIES presentation tool is a Flash-based or PowerPoint-based presentation containinginformation on the evidence base behind the TIES training, as well as the strategies andprotocols clinics can implement to improve family engagement in treatment. Training materials, including a training manual, training workbook, case studies, worksheets, andactivities will be created for use in the TIES trainings. These materials will serve to increaseattendee participation in the trainings and ensure the information and skills can be translated intopractice in the clinic setting.To accomplish these goals, the TIES Phase II project has the following objectives: To expand the pool of qualified trainers through a comprehensive standardized certificationprogram. To provide trainers with Web-based, easily accessible tools and resources for presenting TIEStrainings. To improve the knowledge and skills of mental health professionals for engaging youth andfamilies in treatment through large-scale dissemination of Dr. McKay's evidence-basedengagement skills. To maximize implementation and sustainability of the engagement principles in mental healthprograms through the use of a learning collaborative (LC). To develop accurate. and efficient methods to assess clinician fidelity to the engagement program. To ultimately enhance mental health and clinical outcomes of youth and their families byimproving access to, retention in, and satisfaction with child mental health services .
