Kansans Together

Kansans Together is a collaborative effort to improve behavioral health outcomes for children and youth with serious emotional disturbances (SED) and their families. It ensures that youth and families receive the services and support needed for them to thrive in their communities. SAMHSA awarded a four-year System of Care (SOC) Expansion and Sustainability Cooperative Agreement to KDADS in 2016. The purpose of this program is to improve behavioral health outcomes for children and youth (ages birth through 21 years) with serious emotional disturbances (SED) and their families. Kansans Together is the partnership of the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS), Keys for Networking (Keys), Community Engagement Institute (CEI), and four Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs): Compass Behavioral Health, South Central Mental Health Counseling Center, Sumner Mental Health Center and Wyandot Center for Community Behavioral Health.

Kansans Together supports the wide scale operation, expansion and integration of the SOC approach by creating sustainable infrastructure and services that are required as part of the comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and their Families Program (CMHI). This will build upon progress made in developing comprehensive SOC across the country by focusing on sustainable financing, cross-agency collaboration, the creation of policy and infrastructure and the development and implementation of evidence-based and trauma-informed services and supports. Other activities supported will include the implementation of systemic changes, training and workforce development. The goal is to continue these efforts to ensure that this approach becomes the primary way in which mental health services for children and youth with SED are delivered throughout the nation.

Kansans Together Hosted the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Site Visit Team in February 2018. The Site Visit Team reviewed Kansans Together’s progress toward its Cooperative Agreement objectives. The team found many strengths in the SOC and some areas that may need improvement, including additional orientation and training about the Kansans Together values and principles, more consistency in policies and procedures at the local and state levels (e.g., intake and assessment, flexible funding, and services records), and the implementation of required committees. The Action Plan with updated progress can be found here.

The System of Care Expansion and Sustainability Cooperative Agreements

Provided by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the System of Care Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) No. SM-16-009 was made available February 12, 2016.

This program’s purpose is to improve behavioral health outcomes for children and youth (birth-21) with serious emotional disturbances (SED) and their families. The SOC Expansion and Sustainability Cooperative Agreements should build upon progress made in developing comprehensive SOC across the country by focusing on sustainable financing, cross-agency collaboration, the creation of policy and infrastructure, and the development and implementation of evidence-based and trauma-informed services and supports.

For more information on this FOA, check out SAMHSA’s website.

1. Family Driven

• Families have a primary decision-making role in the care of their own children and the policies and procedures governing care for all children in their communities, states, tribes, territories, and nation. Families are the primary navigating source for their youth. They are supported by community resources as they work to empower their youth to “drive the bus”.
• Families and staff work together.
• Families are resources to their own members, to other families, to programs, to communities.
• Programs affirm and strengthen families’ cultural, racial, and linguistic identities.
• Programs advocate with families for services and systems that are fair, responsive, and accountable to the families served.
• Programs are flexible and responsive to family and community needs.

2.  Youth Guided

• Young people have the right to be empowered, educated, and given a decision-making role in the care of their own lives as well as the policies and procedures governing the care of all youth in the community, state, and nation.
• Youth have rights and are active partners in Kansans Together.
• Youth are utilized as resources.
• Youth have an equal voice and are valued as experts.
• Youth are engaged in developing and sustaining policies and procedures.
• Youth have access to information that is pertinent.
• Youth and adults respect and value youth culture.

3. Trauma Informed

• Is a cultural mindset stating that trauma survivors and service delivery systems sometimes have vulnerabilities and triggers that are made worse by not responding to the impact of trauma at every system level.
• Is a cultural mindset that seeks to create a more supportive, compassionate environment to avoid re-traumatization to people and systems.
  • This approach:

• Realizes the widespread impact of trauma and understanding potential paths for recovery.
• Recognizes the signs and symptoms of trauma in clients, families, staff, and others involved with the system.
• Responds by fully integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, and practices; and in all policy and procedure, the system seeks to actively resist re-traumatization.

   
  Guiding Principles:

• Safety (physical and psychological)
• Trustworthiness and transparency
• Peer support
• Collaboration and mutuality
• Empowerment, voice, and choice
• Cultural, historical, and gender issues

4. Culturally and Linguistically Competent: According to the National Council on Cultural Competence, this requires organizations to:

• have a defined set of values and principles, and demonstrate behaviors, attitudes, policies, and structures that enable them to work effectively cross culturally;
• have the capacity to (1) value diversity, (2) conduct self-assessment, (3) manage the dynamics of difference, (4) acquire and institutionalize cultural knowledge, and (5) adapt to the diversity and cultural contexts of communities they serve;
• incorporate the above into all aspects of policy making, administration, practice, and service delivery and systematically involve consumers, key stakeholders and communities

Georgetown University defines culture as “an integrated pattern of human behavior that includes thoughts, communications, languages, practices, beliefs, values, customs, courtesies, rituals, manners of interacting, roles, relationships, and expected behaviors of a racial, ethnic, religious or social group; the ability to transmit the above to succeeding generations; is dynamic in nature.”

5. Community Based: Strengthening the community resources where families live.

This includes:

• Schools
• Law Enforcement
• Faith-based Organizations
• Nonprofit Agencies
• Neighbors
• Hospitals
• Foster Care
• Court Services

6. Best-Practice Guided

• Treatment is comprised of evidence-based or best practices.

Kansans Together Partnerships

How the Partnerships Work:

Compass, South Central, Sumner, and Wyandot/PACES provide all direct Kansans Together services. Staff deliver services with cultural and linguistic competence and address issues of diversity and disparity. They also collaborate with critical providers and programs to build bridges among partners, including relationships between community and residential treatment settings.

They work with partnered child-serving agencies to best serve transition-aged youth to adulthood. They also establish collaborations across child-serving agencies in each community, such as child welfare, juvenile justice, primary care, education, and early childhood.

The Advisory Council will provide governance for all aspects of Kansans Together. The goals of the Advisory Council are to support infrastructure that allows for the development, implementation, sustainability, and expansion of Kansans Together. The Advisory Council will assist in the creation or enhancement of statewide policies and practices that impact the well-being of youth and young adults with behavioral health challenges and their families. Membership shall include a broad and diverse group of stakeholders: youth, families, Kansans Together partners, community organizations, service providers, and other child-serving agencies.

Mission & Vision:

The Kansans Together Advisory Council seeks to expand the delivery of youth-guided and family-driven supports and resources across child-serving organizations and systems across the state. The council envisions a sustainable, community-based services and support system that is trauma-informed, culturally competent, and evidence-based.

Purpose:

The Kansans Together Advisory Council serves in an advisory role under the auspices of the Governor’s Behavioral Health Services Planning Council (GBHSPC), in consultation with the GBHSPC Children’s Subcommittee. The Council will provide recommendations to the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) and its partners that reflect core SOC principles. The Council will also ensure the availability of an effective, sustainable service array that promotes youth and family voice and choice.

The Council also exists to support the achievement of the specific goals outlined in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Cooperative Agreement for the Expansion and Sustainability of Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children with Serious Emotional Disturbances (#1H79SM063401) with KDADS. The Advisory Council is distinct from the GBHSPC, its Subcommittees, workgroups, and task forces in its emphasis on youth and family leadership.

Goal:

The Kansans Together Advisory Council will assist in guiding the implementation of evidence based services and the development or enhancement of statewide policies and practices that impact the well-being of youth and young adults with behavioral health challenges and their parents/caregivers.

Kansans Together Advisory Council Tasks

Elevate the voices of youth/young adults with behavioral health challenges and their parents/caregivers.

Advise KDADS and its partners on the development and implementation of SAMHSA required planning.

Draw upon the experiences of youth and families to recommend new or enhanced practices that will strengthen consumer-provider partnerships and cross-system collaboration.

Timeline

The Kansans Together Advisory Council meets at least four times per year. Additional Council workgroups may be formed with the assent of Council members. Workgroups will meet as needed to ensure the completion of SAMHSA requirements and other Council tasks.

Local Advisory Councils will provide oversight for local, site-specific, Kansans Together efforts. Three Local Advisory Councils serve as the mechanism to develop and maintain a responsive, accessible, and integrated SOC for children with behavioral health challenges and their families. The Councils will assist in guiding the creation or enhancement of local policies and practices that impact the wellbeing of community members. Local Advisory Councils will provide updates on progress, barriers, and efforts to overcome barriers to the Kansans Together Advisory Council. Membership shall include a broad and diverse group of stakeholders: youth, families, Kansans Together partners, community organizations, service providers, and other child-serving agencies.

To learn more about your local advisory council, contact Linda Buchheister.

Join this committee if you:

• Are passionate about improving access to care for under-served populations.
• Have ideas on how to engage diverse communities.
• Want to see improved strategies for elevating the voice and experience of under-served populations.
  

Join this committee if you:

• Want to help find new solutions to improve mental healthcare in Kansas.
• Are excited about identifying needs and discovering new ways to meet them.
• Feel strongly about expanding the availability and quality of care for Kansas youth and families.

Join this committee if you:

• Are passionate about helping people succeed.
• Like to ensure that others have the right tools for their job.
• Enjoy seeing people grow and learn new skills.
• Like to organize and create.

Join this committee if you:

• Want to help develop and implement new ways to talk about mental healthcare in Kansas.
• Want to influence policies and practices through communication.
• Like to create.
• Like to brainstorm new ideas.

When thinking about mental health, what does rising together mean to you?

Because of the COVID-19 crisis, our usual way of displaying art around the state won't work.

Instead, all the art will be displayed on a website that can be viewed by anyone in a dynamic and easy-to-access format.

There is no entry fee.

The entry is open to youth aged 6-26 years old ONLY. Entries must be the original work of the artist. Art pieces can include but are not limited to; drawing, painting, photography, digital artwork, sculpture, collage, mixed media, textile/fiber, poetry, short stories, and videos. Artwork must be capable of being displayed for exhibition within a digital space (on a website). Only one entry allowed per student, group work will not be accepted.

All artwork and completed entry form must be submitted by 5pm April 30, 2020. Submit your artwork here https://wichitastate.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3qluJartexBSdKd.

For full details on entry or to submit your art, click the link below. If you have questions, contact Kaela at [email protected].

We're so excited to see your art and show it to the world!

The Kansans Together Team