Supporting families struggling with food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic: An innovative cross-sector collaboration.

Food insecurity is an ongoing and persistent problem for many individuals and families in the United States and in New York City. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the scope of the problem and data show that food insecurity rates have increased almost three times over pre-COVID rates. In addition, with unemployment increasing daily and the closure of safety net programs and services, there became a need for creatively attending to the basic needs of individuals and families. SCO Family of Services (SCO), a large human service provider in New York City and Long Island, launched an innovative project with DoorDash during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and successfully got food into the homes of more than 1,900 families. This article discusses the practice innovation, project impact, lessons learned, and social work implications.

An Assessment of The New York State Behavioral Health System's Readiness to Transition to Medicaid Managed Care.

New York State has one of the most richly funded Medicaid programs in the United States. In an effort to achieve the triple aim New York State is undergoing a significant redesign of its Medicaid program including transitioning nearly all Medicaid funded behavioral health services into Medicaid managed care. In preparation for this transition, a state funded technical assistance center assessed the behavioral health care system's readiness to undergo this reform across 11 domains. Between September and November, 2014, the TA center electronically distributed a readiness survey to 897 mental health and substance abuse agencies: 313 (n = 269, 33%) organizations completed the assessment. As a whole, the sample felt partially ready to transition; analysis by domain revealed agencies were most ready to interface with managed care providers, and least ready to collect and evaluate outcome data. Significant differences in readiness were found depending by organizational characteristics (number of programs, licensure, and region). In anticipation of large-scale reforms, states would benefit from an initial needs assessment to identify gaps in knowledge and skills, which in turn, can then guide preparatory efforts and provide needed supports to facilitate major changes in service delivery and billing.

Multiple Family Groups for Children with Disruptive Behavior Disorders: Child Outcomes at 6-Month Follow-Up.

This paper reports on the 6-month follow-up outcomes of an effectiveness study testing a multiple family group (MFG) intervention for clinic-referred youth (aged 7-11) with disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) and their families in socioeconomically disadvantaged families compared to services-as-usual (SAU) using a block comparison design. The settings were urban community-based outpatient mental health agencies. Clinic-based providers and family partner advocates facilitated the MFG intervention. Parent-report measures targeting child behavior, social skills, and impairment across functional domains (i.e., relationships with peers, parents, siblings, and academic progress) were assessed across four timepoints (baseline, mid-test, post-test, and 6-month follow-up) using mixed effects regression modeling. Compared to SAU participants, MFG participants reported significant improvement at 6-month follow-up in child behavior, impact of behavior on relationship with peers, and overall impairment/need for services. Findings indicate that MFG may provide longer-term benefits for youth with DBDs and their families in community-based settings. Implications within the context of a transforming healthcare system are discussed.

Multiple Family Group Service Model for Children With Disruptive Behavior Disorders: Child Outcomes at Post-Treatment.

The purpose of this study was to determine the benefits of a multiple family group (MFG) service delivery model compared with services as usual (SAU) in improving the functioning of youth with oppositional defiant/conduct disorder in families residing in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. Participants included 320 youth aged 7 to 11 and their families who were referred to participating outpatient clinics. Participants were assigned to the MFG or the SAU condition, with parent report of child oppositional behavior, social competence, and level of youth impairment as primary outcomes at post-treatment. Family engagement to MFG was measured by attendance to each group session. Caregivers of youth in the MFG service delivery model condition reported significant improvement in youth oppositional behavior and social competence compared with youth in the SAU condition. Impairment improved over time for both groups with no difference between treatment conditions. The MFG led to greater percentage of youth with clinically significant improvements in oppositional behavior. Attendance to the MFG was high, given the high-risk nature of the study population. The MFG service delivery model offers an efficient and engaging format to implement evidence-based approaches to improving functioning of youth with oppositional defiant and/or conduct disorder in families from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities.

Statewide implementation of the 4 Rs and 2 Ss for strengthening families.

Embedding evidence-informed practices for children with mental health needs into "real-world" community settings has proven challenging. In this article, we discuss how the Practical, Robust, Implementation, and Sustainability Model (PRISM) guided statewide (New York) implementation of an evidence-informed intervention targeting families and youth with oppositional defiant and conduct disorders, collectively referred to as disruptive behavior disorders. Additionally, we present qualitative findings based on provider reports of integrating a novel, evidence-informed intervention within their respective community mental health settings. Finally, we discuss a process of modifying the intervention to address agency-level factors, as well as inform more widespread implementation efforts.

Caregiver Depression and Youth Disruptive Behavior Difficulties.

This study examines the rates of depressive symptoms and service use among caregivers whose children receive treatment for disruptive behavior disorders. Descriptive analyses examined preliminary baseline data from the Family Groups for Urban Youth with Disruptive Behaviors study for 212 caregivers to determine rates of caregiver depressive symptoms and lifetime mental health service use. Findings indicate that caregivers manifest substantially higher rates of depressive symptoms compared to national norms. Of those caregivers with clinically significant depressive symptoms, less than half reported ever receiving mental health services. Findings suggest that greater attention should be paid to identifying and treating caregiver depression among children receiving treatment for disruptive behavior disorders.

Multiple family groups: an engaging intervention for child welfare-involved families.

Differences between child welfare- and non-child welfare-involved families regarding barriers to child mental health care, attendance, program satisfaction, and relationship with facilitators are examined for a multiple family group service delivery model aimed at reducing childhood disruptive behaviors. Although child welfare-involved caregivers reported more treatment barriers and less program satisfaction than non-child-welfare-involved families, no significant differences exist between groups on average total sessions attended and attendance rates over time.