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Home My WebLink AboutCASSP Alert October 2014 DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE, Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Bureau of Children’s Behavioral Health Services DGS Annex Complex, Beechmont Building, 2nd Floor, P. O. Box 2675, Harrisburg, PA 17105 Phone: 717-772-7984; Fax: 717-705-8268; E-mail: c-hbicksle@pa.gov Beverly D. Mackereth, Secretary, Department of Public Welfare; Dennis Marion, Deputy Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services; Stan Mrozowski, Director, Bureau of Children’s Behavioral Health Services; Harriet S. Bicksler, Alert Editor Volume 23, Number 10; October 2014 DPW NAME CHANGED TO DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES On Sept. 25, Governor Tom Corbett signed House Bill 993, officially changing the name of the Department of Public Welfare (DPW) to the Department of Human Services. The new law will officially take effect in November, with a phased-in approach and measured transition to the new name beginning at that time. The department will replace deliverables, such as letterhead and business cards, as needed and integrate necessary system changes with scheduled upgrades to effectuate the change in the most cost-effective manner possible. DPW Secretary Beverly Mackareth explained the name change: “For the past several years, advocates, families, legislators, and providers have diligently worked to make this change happen.Our new name will reflect the services and supports our agency currently provides to individuals and their families." OCTOBER OBSERVANCES PENNSYLVANIA'S PROMISE FOR CHILDREN MONTH October is Pennsylvania's Promise for Children Month, an opportunity to celebrate the amazing young children in your life and the families, teachers and leaders that help young children reach their promise through quality early education. Resources for celebrating young children during October: Promise Cards: Make a promise to help young children learn and grow, or thank someone for helping young children reach their promise. Post the cards on PA's Promise Facebook or Twitter pages, or on their website. If you receive a card, keep the promise going by completing a card and sharing with another. Infographics: Pennsylvania's Promise for Children will release a new infographic each week that provides helpful tips for families to help their young children be safe, happy and learning. More information is at http://tiny.cc/gaw3mx NATIONAL BULLYING PREVENTION MONTH October is also National Bullying Prevention Month. The theme for the month is “The End of Bullying Begins With Me.” During the month, schools and communities are encouraged to take an active role in the bullying prevention movement. Resources for the month, including Unity Day on Oct. 22, are available from Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center at www.pacer.org/bullying/nbpm/. In Pennsylvania, the Center for Safe Schools offers resources, training and technical assistance on bullying prevention: www.safeschools.info/bullying- prevention. You can also read about other bullying prevention efforts in Pennsylvania in the September 2014 edition of the PA CASSP Newsletter: http://tiny.cc/1aw3mx BULLYING PREVENTION ONLINE LEARNING SERIES During the 2014-2015 school year, the Center for Safe Schools is sponsoring a live online learning series on bullying prevention. These webinars are held every third Thursday of the month, beginning October 16, 2014, from 3:00- 4:15 p.m. Dates and topics:  October 16: Attentive on the Journey: Engaging Parents in Children’s Learning, Development and Bullying Prevention  November 20: Victimization and Trauma  December 18: SEL Rubric  January 15: The Role of Physicians in Bullying Prevention, Intervention & Recovery  February 19: Dating Violence  March 19 and April 16: to be  announced  May 21: Bullying in Sports The webinars are supported with funding from the Highmark Foundation. Act 48 professional development credit is available for teachers and administrators who attend the entire session. More information and recordings of past webinars are available at www.safeschools.info/bullying- prevention/professional-development SAMHSA RELEASES NEW STRATEGIC PLAN The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration recently released its new strategic plan, Leading Change 2.0: Advancing the Behavioral Health of the Nation 2015-2018. The plan outlines six strategic initiatives: prevention of substance abuse and mental health, health care and systems integration, trauma and justice, recovery and support, health information technology, and workforce development. The new strategic plan will help guide SAMHSA as it sets budget and policy priorities; manages key investments, such as grants, contracts, technical assistance, and SAMHSA staff time and expertise; engages public and private partners at every level; and tracks and disseminates information about its progress. Download the plan at http://tiny.cc/tbw3mx CHILDREN’S BUREAU PRESENTATION ON FASD At the October conference of the PA Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association, staff from the children’s bureau and a family member presented on “Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD): Implications for Youth, Families, and Systems.” The presentation included definitions of terms, specific challenges of children with FASD, a parent’s experience raising a child with an FASD, developmental, cognitive & mental health (primary & secondary) effects, and intervention strategies. The PowerPoint presentation is available at www.parecovery.org/documents/FASD_P resentation_100914.pdf CHECK OUT THE LATEST CMHM COLUMNS AND FOCUS ON ECMH FACTSHEETS Dr. Gordon Hodas and Dr. John Biever, consulting child psychiatrists for the Children’s Bureau, each write a monthly column on Children’s Mental Health Matters (CMHM), addressing contemporary issues in children’s mental health and wellness. Dr. Hodas most recent column addressed how human service professionals can validate their work with youth using the principles of trauma-informed care. Dr. Biever is in the middle of a series on the importance of empathy in developing meaningful relationships between parents and young children. These articles along with the complete series of articles are available at www.parecovery.org (Resources/Children’s Mental Health Matters). In addition, each month the children’s bureau publishes a brief reader-friendly discussion of a topic related to the healthy social and emotional development of young children. The most recent factsheet is on how to take advantage of the natural ability of young children to imitate their parents and caregivers. The entire series (currently 66 factsheets) is available at www.parecovery.org/services_child.shtm l#focus CONFERENCE/TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES Oct. 15-16, 2014: Pennsylvania Suicide Prevention Conference. Ramada Inn and Conference Center, State College. Sponsored by the PA Adult/Senior Adult Suicide Prevention Coalition and the PA Youth Suicide Prevention Initiative. More information at www.payspi.org Oct. 16-17, 2014: Sixth Annual Pennsylvania Infant Mental Health Conference, Sheraton Harrisburg-Hershey, Harrisburg. Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Association for Infant Mental Health. More information at www.pa- aimh.org Oct. 22-24, 2014: Attachment-based Family Therapy Introductory Workshop, Couple and Family Therapy Center for Family Intervention Science, Drexel University, Philadelphia. More information at http://tiny.cc/8u0nlx *Oct. 30, 2014: “Understanding, Supporting, and Strengthening the Partnership of Families, Consumers and Government,” Holiday Inn Harrisburg East, Harrisburg. Sponsored by NAMI Pennsylvania. More information at http://nami-pa.org. *Nov. 5, 2014: “Freeing Your Child from Anxiety: Powerful, Practical Solutions to Overcome Your Child’s Fears, Worries and Phobias,” Doylestown Health and Wellness Center, Warrington. Sponsored by Foundations Community Partnership. More information at www.fcpartnership.org. Nov. 5-7, 2014: Pennsylvania Conference on Juvenile Justice, Harrisburg Hilton and Towers, Harrisburg. Sponsored by the Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission and others. More information at www.jcjc.state.pa.us. Nov. 6-7, 2014: Attachment-based Family Therapy Advanced Workshop (Level 2), Couple and Family Therapy Center for Family Intervention Science, Drexel University, Philadelphia. More information at http://tiny.cc/8u0nlx. Nov. 12-14, 2014: Early Childhood Summit, Penn Stater Conference Center, State College. Sponsored by Pennsylvania Child Care Association, Office of Child Development and Early Learning, and Pennsylvania Head Start Association. More information at https://earlychildhoodsummit.org/ *Nov. 13, 2014: “Building a Safety Net Toward a Suicide-Safer Community,” 11th Annual Regional Symposium on Suicide Prevention, Springfield Country Club, Springfield. Sponsored by Delaware County Suicide Prevention and Awareness Task Force. More information at www.delcosuicideprevention.org. Nov. 16, 2014: “Navigating the Special Education Maze in a Time of Shrinking Resources: Obtaining Appropriate Services for Kids with LD, ADHD and Emotional/Behavioral Issues,” Holiday Inn Harrisburg, Harrisburg. Sponsored by the Learning Disabilities Association of Pennsylvania. More information at www.ldapa.org/wkspandconf.html. Nov. 16-18, 2014: “Building Circles of Wellness,” 25th Anniversary and Annual Conference of the Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, DC. More information at www.ffcmh.org/conference Nov. 24, 2014: “Social Media and Mental Health Usage Trends for Professionals,” Allegheny Intermediate Unit, Homestead. Sponsored by WPIC Office of Education and Regional Programming. More information at www.wpic.pitt.edu/oerp. Dec. 10-13, 2014: 29th National Training Institutes, Westin Diplomat, Fort Lauderdale, FL. Sponsored by Zero to Three. More information at www.zerotothree.org *Mar. 22-25, 2015: 28th Annual Research and Policy Conference on Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Behavioral Health, Hilton Tampa Downtown, Tampa, FL. Sponsored by Department of Child and family Studies at University of South Florida. More information at http://cmhtampaconference.com/. Deadline for proposals is Oct. 24, 2014. April 8-9, 2015: “Do Something Remarkable,” Sheraton Harrisburg-Hershey Hotel, Harrisburg. Sponsored by Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth and Family Services. More information at http://pccyfs.org/Spring_Conf.html. April 22-24, 2015: National Training Institute on Effective Practices: Addressing Challenging Behavior, Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club, St. Petersburg, FL. Sponsored by the University of South Florida and the Pyramid Model Consortium. More information at http://nti.cbcs.usf.edu/ . Note: Additional children’s mental health training is available from Drexel University; University of Pittsburgh Office of Education and Regional Programs, and Philadelphia Child and Family Therapy Training Center. (*new listing this month)