Developmental/behavioral training innovation in a high-need, low-resource state: The child health and development promotion fellowship.

INTRODUCTION: Developmental and behavioral problems are prevalent in early childhood, whereas the workforce available to identify and address early problems is comparatively limited. Beyond workforce shortages, additional barriers to developing and training a highly skilled workforce in this area exist-particularly in rural, high-need, and underserved U.S. states. As the health care landscape emphasizes expertise in interdisciplinary care, training approaches that provide intensive learning opportunities for supporting a skilled early childhood developmental workforce necessitate novel training approaches. This Workforce Catalyst report summarizes the initial conceptualization, development, execution, and evaluation of a Child Health and Development Promotion (CHDP) postgraduate fellowship in a high need, underserved rural area. METHOD: Three cohorts totaling 15 trainees across fields including psychology, pediatric nursing, speech-language pathology, social work, and occupational therapy were recruited and cross-trained in an intensive postgraduate fellowship in early childhood development and behavior. RESULTS: The CHDP fellowship led to experiences across the care continuum and resulted in multiple clinical, educational, and scholarly products. Outcomes revealed a training program aligned with Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health competencies, high in-state retention (71%) and employment (93%) following training, and graduates who report leadership positions and sharing of specialty developmental-behavioral knowledge in organizations focused on early childhood. DISCUSSION: The CHDP Fellowship is a novel, immersive, and interdisciplinary training experience demonstrating positive initial training outcomes in Mississippi. The model and experience may serve as a roadmap for bolstering a skilled early childhood workforce in other underserved and high-need states. Aspects regarding scale of reach, funding, and accreditation are discussed as barriers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

HIV/STI Service Delivery Within Juvenile Community Supervision Agencies: A National Survey of Practices and Approaches to Moving High-Risk Youth Through the HIV Care Cascade.

Justice-involved youth (JIY) are at considerable risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), but are disconnected from treatment and prevention. Juvenile justice agencies providing community supervision (CS) are well positioned to provide HIV prevention, testing, and prompt referral to treatment for JIY. However, we lack an understanding of juvenile CS agency responses to HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) needs among JIY. We conducted a nationwide systematic assessment of how juvenile CS agencies identify, refer, and move youth through the HIV care cascade using a nationally representative sample of 195 juvenile CS agencies across 20 states. Two-thirds of CS agencies did not offer any HIV-/STI-related services, and 82% reported no collaboration with health agencies. Screening or referral for HIV risk behaviors was reported by 32% of the CS agencies and 12% for any intervention or prevention for HIV/STI risk behaviors. Between 21% and 30% of agencies were unaware of the location of local HIV/STI services. HIV/STI prevention training was not a priority for directors and was ranked second to last out of 16 training topics. Agencies where staff expressed need for HIV risk training and where specific court programming was available were more likely to provide or refer for HIV/STI screening and/or testing. Agencies were more likely to provide or refer for services if they provided pre-trial/pre-adjudication supervision, parole, or court programming. Considering the low provision of HIV/STI-related services and limited collaboration between health and justice agencies, interventions that promote cross-system collaboration designed to minimize barriers and facilitate identification, referral, and linkage to HIV services for JIY are necessary.

Improving Substance Use Services for Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth: Complexity of Process Improvement Plans in a Large Scale Multi-site Study.

Despite the high prevalence of substance use disorders among juvenile offenders, most do not receive services. System-level process improvement plans to address unmet service needs can be optimized by combining data-driven decisions and facilitated meetings with behavioral health stakeholders. This paper operationalizes and analyzes the level of specified complexity among process improvement plans evident within 36 juvenile probation and drug courts across 7 states. To inform more effective implementation strategies, this analysis identifies and prioritizes promising courses of agency enhancement toward addressing unmet substance use needs.

Racial differences in college-student drinking.

Racial differences in drinking motives, protective behavioral strategies (PBSs), alcohol consumption, and alcohol-related problems were examined among college student drinkers (N = 443: 296 [66.8%] White, 147 [33.3%] Black). Survey participants were recruited from large undergraduate sociology classes and residence halls at the university. Key differences between Black and White college students in drinking behaviors, reasons for drinking (i.e., motives), and the use of PBSs were observed. These racial differences have implications for the implementation of prevention/intervention programs intending to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems among college students.

Juvenile justice staff endorsement of HIV/STI prevention, testing, and treatment linkage.

BACKGROUND: While involvement in the legal system offers an opportunity to educate, screen, and treat high-risk youth, research shows that staff attitudes toward these practices can serve as barriers to implementation. The current study investigates the degree to which JJ staff endorse HIV prevention, testing, and treatment linkage practices with youth under community supervision and examines differences between individuals who supervise youth (e.g., juvenile probation officer) and those working in non-supervisory roles (e.g., case manager, assessment specialist). METHODS: Juvenile justice staff consenting to participation in JJ-TRIALS completed an initial staff survey (N = 501). Survey items measured perceived importance of HIV/STI prevention (4 items); perceived importance of HIV/STI testing (7 items); and perceived importance of HIV/STI treatment linkage (8 items). RESULTS: Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was computed (SAS CALIS procedure) for each of the three domains. Findings suggest that while staff recognize that youth are at risk for HIV/STIs and require provision of HIV/STI prevention and treatment linkage, attitudes concerning the importance of procuring or providing testing services for youth is substantially lower. Furthermore, analytic models comparing staff with and without supervision responsibilities (computed using SAS PROC MIXED) indicated that attitudes differed by site and staff responsible for supervision rated HIV treatment linkage practices as less important compared to non-supervising staff. CONCLUSIONS: Establishing partnerships with health agencies equipped with resources and skillsets to provide HIV/STI testing and related services may be an effective model to promote greater awareness and use of best practices among JJ staff and more effectively address the unmet needs of this high-risk population of youth.