Events

For a complete listing of upcoming events visit our Training and Events page.

What's New

The Front Page

This is the place where you can find out what's new at PBHJP and in the world of children's mental health and juvenile justice. Along with "The Front Page", you can find other newsworthy items such as newspaper articles & radio pieces, State and Federal legislation, recent reports & publications, special features from PBHJP, and news from the Report on Emotional & Behavioral Disorders in Youth.

May 2, 2013

It's Time to Speak Up for Kids

“More than 15 million American children have a psychiatric or learning disorder. Yet, less than half of them will ever get help because of stigma, misunderstanding, and lack of access to good care. Kids who don’t get treatment for mental health issues are at increased risk for: academic failure, alcohol and substance abuse, bullying, conflict with their families and authorities, and unemployment.”

We all can be a part of a movement to stand up and speak up for our kids. Join the Child Mind Institute on their month-long campaign to protect and promote children’s mental health. To learn more about the campaign, click HERE.

March 26, 2013

Examining the Cost of a Youthful Mistake

The Public Interest Project with support from MacArthur, are increasing public awareness around the need for juvenile justice reform that moves away from using punitive, unforgiving, and outdated policies to creating a system focused on the rehabilitation of young offenders. Mistakes Kids Make is a storytelling project providing an overview of the project and information around our existing juvenile justice system.

To view the video, click HERE

February 22, 2013

Affordable Care Act Expands Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Benefits and Federal Parity Protections for 62 Million Americans

One-third of those with health insurance through individual market plans receive no coverage for substance use disorder services and about 20 percent receive no coverage for mental health services. The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation has issued a brief discussing the expansion of mental health and substance use disorder benefits that will be provided by the Affordable Care Act beginning in 2014.

To read the ASPE Issue Brief, click HERE

February 4th, 2013

Washington State Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Assessment Report Released

Since 1992, the Federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), acting on Congressional legislation, has required states to conduct regular assessments of the level of DMC at each major decision point in the juvenile justice system.

The University of Washington Division of Public Behavioral Health and Justice Policy conducted the assessment for Washington State and the final report has been releases by the Washington State Partnership Council on Juvenile Justice (WA-PCJJ).

To read the press release, click HERE
To read the full report, click HERE

December 14th, 2012

Report of the Attorney General's National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violance

“Defening Childhood: Protect Heal Thrive”

“Exposure to violence is a national crisis that affects approximately two out of every three of our children. Of the 76 million children currently residing in the U.S., an estimated 46 million can expect to have their lives touched by violence, crime, abuse, and psychological trauma this year.”

The Attorney General’s Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence issued a new report highlighting key recommendations and strategies on ending the epidemic of children exposed to violence, identifying children exposed to violence, treating and healing exposure to violence, creating safe and nurturing homes, engaging communities to rise up out of violence, and rethinking our juvenile justice system.

To read the full report, click HERE

December 14th, 2012

Starcia Ague Honored as a Champion for Change

Starcia Ague, Research Coordinator with PBHJP and member of the Washington State Partnership Council on Juvenile Justice was recently awarded the Champion for Change award by the John T. and Catherine D. MacArthur Foundation making her the youngest person to ever receive the award. Congratulations, Starcia.

Click HERE to see a video of Starcia

Click HERE to read an article on the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange

November 29th, 2012

Research by Drs. Walker, Pullmann, & Trupin published in the Fall 2012 Issue of Journal of Juvenile Justice

“Juvenile Justice 101: Addressing Family Support Needs in Juvenile Court”

Despite widespread acknowledgement that a  youth’s ecological context, particularly the family, is key in planning for the effective provision  of services with the goal of reducing recidivism,  the traditional court model largely neglects the  family in the court process. Anecdotal evidence suggests that lack of awareness on the part of parents/guardians can lead to misunderstanding about court process, create frustration and tension, and compromise the needed engagement of families. Using a community-based participatory approach, we developed Juvenile Justice 101 (JJ 101) to address the concerns expressed by parents about the lack of support and information during this time. The program is currently operating through a family advocacy organization, Washington Dads, that contracts directly with the court. The centerpiece of the program is onsite peer support, in which Family Partners facilitate an orientation and provide one-on-one support to families at court. A preliminary study demonstrated that program participants were satisfied with the program and more knowledgeable about court processes as a result of their participation, although the research design could not establish causality. This article examines implications for program development and additional research needs.

See the article in the Journal of Juvenile Justice here

November 14th, 2012

Washington Awarded Grant to Help Foster Children with Emotional Disabilities
 

Washington State has received a one-year $639,000 grant from the U.S Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families to enhance mental health services for children in foster care. The grant will focus on comprehensive planning to improve the social and emotional well-being of children in foster care.

Upon successful outcomes of the grant’s one-year planning process, there is also the potential for the grant to expand over the next four years. Additional grant funding will support infrastructure development, staff training, evidence-based practices service training and evaluation.

Leading these efforts are the UW Division of Public Behavioral Health & Justice Policy, the Children’s Administration and Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery of DSHS, and Harborview Center for Sexual Assault & Traumatic Stress. Community partners will also play an integral role in carrying forward this work and includes but not limited to Families and Youth as well as members from the Washington State Institute for Public Policy and Health Care Authority.

To read DSHS’s full press release click here

November 5th, 2012

Annual Champions for Change Award Granted to Starcia Ague
 

PBHJP’s very own Research Coordinator, Starcia Ague, has been recognized as a champion in the State for her work in advocating to improve the lives of youth involved in the justice system. Starcia’s initial involvement in Washington Models for Change occurred while she was an undergraduate student attending Washington State University (WSU).  Now as a Research Coordinator for PBHJP, Starcia continues to work towards juvenile justice reform. Among many other projects, Starcia is currently working on a project to increase youth voice in JRA’s programs, policies and potential legislation efforts and is a youth member of the Washington State Partnership Council on Juvenile Justice and co-chairs the Council’s Youth Committee.

Congratulations Starcia!

October 11th, 2012

Seattle Public Schools Family Support Program Evaluation Published
 

Pullmann, Wiggins, Hensley, & Bruns (2012). Evaluation of the Seattle Public Schools Family Support Program. Division of Public Behavioral Health & Justice Policy, University of Washington School of Medicine.

The Seattle Public Schools Family Support Program (FSP) is a school-based family support program financed by the City of Seattle’s Families & Education Levy that seeks to address barriers to learning, particularly for students who are struggling academically. The City of Seattle’s Office for Education (OFE) contracted with the Division of Public Behavioral Health and Justice Policy (PBHJP) at the University of Washington (UW) to conduct an evaluation of the outcomes experienced by the students and families who receive FSP services. Results indicated that the FSP provides a broad variety of services to families and students with high needs, principally by providing non-academic support such as basic needs assistance and connection to community resources. There was some indication that the FSP was positively related to reductions in mobility and increased availability of external resources and supportive programs available to students. However, our quantitative analyses, though limited by unavoidable weaknesses in design, did not find any strong relationships between the FSP and improvements in standardized test scores, attendance, or disciplinary actions.

Read full report here.

September 24th-27th, 2012

International Exchange:Sharing Knowledge and Experience with Child Welfare Colleagues from Norway, Estonia, and Russia
 

Dr. Eric Trupin spent two weeks at the beginning of September visiting Norway, Estonia and Russia to discuss implementation of FIT and MST. He visited a number of directors and senior officials in government in each country including: Per Jostein Matre, Robert  Jensen, Kitty Dahl Ph.D, Pal Christian Bergstrom –Director general, Regional office for children, youth and family affairs, Northern Norway (Bufetat), Director from the Ministry of Children and Equality, Willy-Tore Moerch- Prof.  the Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare - North Regional Centre works under the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Tromsø. (Attending 25th), Anniki Tikerpuu—Head of department for Children and families - Ministry of Social affairs, Estonia, and Siw Ellefsen—Director, Child welfare professional development, Ministry of Children, Equality and Social inclusion, Norway. These same colleagues will join Dr. Trupin at PBHJP for the week of September 24th. They will observe EBP implementation efforts in Child Welfare, Juvenile Justice and Mental Health. In addition to visitng facilities of each service system, they will engage in a number of dialogues with professors, project leaders and policy makers connected with PBHJP.

August 28th, 2012

Working with Girls in the Juvenile Justice System: A Guidebook for Practitioners

The Justice for Girls Coalition of Washington State, co-directed by Sarah Walker, Ph.D., published a practitioner guidebook for how to work effectively with girls involved in the juvenile justice system.

Access the guidebook here

August 24th, 2012

FITTM on CrimeSolutions.gov

Family Integrated TransitionsTM (FIT), a program developed by Eric Trupin, Ph.D. and David Stewart, Ph.D to provide integrated individual and family services to juvenile offenders who have co-occurring mental health and chemical dependency disorders, will be included on the CrimeSolutions.gov as a “Promising Program.” The Crime Solutions website is a resource developed by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) to inform practitioners and policy makers about what works in the criminal justice, juvenile justice, and crime victim services.

June 26th, 2012

No Place for Kids: The Case for Reducing Incarceration

A new report by The Annie E. Casey Foundation, No Place for Kids: The Case for Reducing Juvenile Incarceration, highlights years of data demonstrating that our current efforts to addressing youth crime through juvenile incarceration has failed. The report highlights successful efforts taking place in several states and provides recommendations on reforming the juvenile correction system to ensure better outcomes for our nation’s young people.

Read the full report here

May 17th, 2012

Facilitating Poetry with Teens Who Are Leading Difficult Lives Workshop Offered By the Pongo Teen Writing Project

The Pongo Teen Writing Project is pleased to offer scholarships for their upcoming one-day training on how to facilitate poetry with teens who are leading difficult lives. Attendees will also receive support after the workshop as they start their own poetry programs with youth in their schools and agencies. The training is Saturday, May 19. To learn more and to register, click here.

Pongo is wrapping up its 17th year in sites such as Juvenile Detention and the State Psychiatric Hospital where they work with youth to write therapeutic poetry about their lives. Pongo's work with youth has been featured on King5.com. To read the story, click here.

April 25th, 2012

Registration Now Open for The Safe and Effective Use of Psychiatric Medication in Children and Adolescents: A Mini-Fellowship for Primary Care Clinicians (PPP)

Offered by the REsource for Advancing Children's Health (REACH Institute), the Primary Pediatric Psychopharmacology (PPP) is an intensive training program consisting of a 15-hour (3 days) on-site intensive workshop on May 18-20, followed by six months of live interactive distance learning conducted from your own desk and at times that fit your busy practice. To learn more, click here.

April 3rd, 2012

House Bill 2536 Signed by Washington State Governor

This bill represents a significant progressive step for our State in implementing the most effective behavioral interventions for children and their families. It is being recognized nationally as a strategic approach to integrating and coordinating evidence based children’s services.

HB 2536 requires that by September 30, 2012, the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), in consultation with the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) and the University of Washington Evidence-Based Practice Institute (EBPI) publish descriptive definitions and prepare an inventory of Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs), research-based practices, and promising practices for the prevention and intervention services of children and juveniles in child welfare, juvenile justice, and mental health. Requires that by June 30, 2013 DSHS, in collaboration with the Health Care Authority (HCA) complete a baseline assessment of the utilization of evidence-based and research-based practices in the areas of child welfare, juvenile rehabilitation, and mental health. Requires that by December 30, 2013, DSHS and HCA report strategies, timelines, and costs for increasing the use of evidence-based and research-based practices and provide updated recommendations in 2014 and 2015. Requires that DSHS, in consultation with multiple University, State, and community-based entities, develop unified and coordinated case plans for families involved in multiple systems within the department and that the department shall work with these entities to monitor the quality control and fidelity of the implementation of these evidence and research-based practices.  DSHS and HCA shall seek matching funds to support the implementation of evidence and research-based practices.  

Read the full bill as passed here

On February 3rd, 2012 KUOW Seattle Public Radio featured a story on HB 2536:

"Talk Therapy may work in some cases. But a Washington state lawmaker says it's time to invest in evidence-based programs to treat mentally ill youth..."

To listen to the story, click here.

March 28th, 2012

Presentation to the Washington State Supreme Court

Mike Pullmann presented about the Washington State Disproportionate Minority Contact Assessment to the Washington State Supreme Court, with support from Starcia Ague and Eric Trupin. This was a collaborative effort with the Washington Partnership Council on Juvenile Justice, and part of an overall presentation organized and conducted by the Task Force on Race and Criminal Justice. The specific presentation begins at 48:00 and can be found HERE.

March 26th, 2012

King County Juvenile Drug Court Enhancement Project Evaluation (JDCEP)

The Juvenile Drug Court Enhancement Project (JDCEP) Evaluation is a process evaluation of the implementation of evidence-based substance use treatment approaches for adolescents in the King County Juvenile Drug Court. We will use this information to help guide decision making to improve the JDCEP and to track changes over time. Youth engagement is an important element of this study and youth helped conduct focus groups with the treatment providers and drug court team. To learn more, click here.

 

Washington State Disproportionate Minority Contact Assessment (DMC)

This statewide assessment will examine disproportionate minority contact with the juvenile justice system from multiple perspectives. In this evaluation, we are analyzing quantitative data about the relative rates of minority contact throughout the juvenile justice system, as compared to white contact, to identify points of disproportionality. We are conducting qualitative interviews with local knowledge-holders to assist in analyzing and interpreting this data, and conducting additional analyses based on these interviews. One goal from this assessment is to assist jurisdictions in analyzing data and identifying possible contributing mechanisms to DMC prior to developing programs to address DMC. To learn more, click here.

 

King County Assertive Adolescent and Family Treatment (AAFT-4) Evaluation

Assertive Adolescent Family Treatment-4 (AAFT-4) Evaluation is a process evaluation of the implementation of evidence-based substance use treatment approaches for adolescents receiving substance use services in north King County. We will use this information to help guide decision making to improve the AAFT-4 and to track changes over time. Youth engagement is an important element of this study and youth helped conduct focus groups with the treatment providers and drug court team. To learn more, click here.

 

Family Support Program Evaluation

The mission of the Seattle Public Schools Family Support Program (FSP) is to inspire and motivate students in the Seattle Public School system to succeed academically by advocating increased parent involvement in education, facilitating student and family access to academic resources and providing support to help students and families overcome social, emotional, and physical barriers that may hinder student academic progress. PBHJP is conducting an external evaluation of the FSP, which was requested by The Office of Education in the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. To learn more, click here.

March 7th, 2012

The CA-UW EBP Partnership  

In partnership with the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services Children’s Administration, PBHJP has established a state-academic collaboration to train, coach, and monitor fidelity of evidence based practices and promising practices for children and families involved in the child welfare system. To learn more about the partnership, click here.

January 27th, 2012

Washington State Girls Group Evaluation Report Published

The final report of the Washington State Girls Circle Evaluation, supported by the Washington State Partnership Council on Juvenile Justice and commissioned by the Justice for Girls Coalition of Washington State, has been completed and published. Click here for the report of the study by Sarah Cusworth Walker, PhD, and Ann Muno, MSW.