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Session Title: Evaluating Integration: Evaluation of Aggregated Prevention Programs
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Panel Session 819 to be held in Carmel on Saturday, Nov 5, 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM
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Sponsored by the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Mindy Dahl Chai, Wyoming Department of Health, mindy.dahl@health.wyo.gov
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| Abstract:
The evaluation of prevention programs comes mainly from observing how well those programs address a problem. Health care reform has had a large impact on prevention. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has started to put mental health, suicide, and substance abuse prevention together. This, coupled with budget cuts, has led several states to integrate their systems and to begin to see the relationships between things like mental health prevention and substance abuse prevention. Attendees of this panel will hear from evaluators and clients on methods used to integrate multiple prevention programs. Attendees will gain understanding of how data documentation ties together different prevention programs, the vision of a state level prevention program, and the impact these adjustments have on evaluation, including the lessons learned from integrating a rural state's prevention programming.
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Connecting Diverse Prevention Programs Through Data Documentation
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| Reese Jenniges, University of Wyoming, jenniges@uwyo.edu
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| Humphrey Costello, University of Wyoming, hcostell@uwyo.edu
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The first presentation concentrates on the rationale for integrated prevention programming. The panelist will discuss the data suggesting benefits of integrating prevention efforts. He will focus on data that connects prevention programs to one another at the state and national level. This information includes a rich discussion of tobacco use and how it is specifically associated with mental health, alcohol dependence, and other areas of concern in health care. It is this documentation that helped inform the discussion on how the tobacco prevention and control programs in the state of Wyoming integrated with the remaining health care prevention programs. The presentation will cover current information from literature on tobacco research. Additionally, the panelist will discuss the results of some novice analyses and a logistic regression which details the connections between tobacco use and several mental disorders.
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Prevention Integration Among State Agencies: A Team Approach
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| Mindy Dahl Chai, Wyoming Department of Health, mindy.dahl@health.wyo.gov
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| Marilyn Patton, Wyoming Department of Health, marilyn.patton@health.wyo.gov
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A typical Wyoming citizen who receives state services often receives those services from two or more state agencies. In 2006, the Wyoming Department of Family Services (DFS) and Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) recognized the growing need to discuss shared programmatic responsibilities and began meeting regularly. These agencies were soon joined by representatives from the Governor's Office, the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE), the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services (DWS), and the Wyoming Department of Corrections (DOC) to form the Planning Team for At-Risk Children, Youth, and Families (PTAC). The presenter will provide an overview of the organizational components of this team, team activities, as well as the team's identified core values and principles. The presenter will highlight processes used by the team to ensure continuation of a sustainable framework to advance human service policy initiatives. The presentation will showcase the comprehensive prevention model developed by the PTAC Prevention subcommittee.
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The Impact of Integrating Programs and Funding Streams on Evaluation
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| Laura Feldman, University of Wyoming, lfeldman@uwyo.edu
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| Rodney Wambeam, University of Wyoming, rodney@uwyo.edu
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In this final presentation researchers will discuss their work to evaluate separate state level projects that include integrated projects, outcome based goals, and funding. Presenters will discuss how integration impacted evaluation design, measurement, and technical assistance provided to the State and to sub-recipient communities. They will also discuss major challenges to evaluating integrated projects as well as lessons learned from these evaluations. This topic is particularly relevant to attendees because of recent recognition of the strong relationships between many public health issues. In light of this reality and the current economic crisis, more and more evaluators will be faced with the challenge of assessing the impact of integrated programming.
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