Breakout H – May 16, 2013
The following video and slides are for all three abstracts listed below.
1. From Inception to Practice: Taking an Evidence-Based Practice from Development to Implementation
Presenter: Melissa Martin, MSW
Authors: Daniel Herman, PhD,1 Sarah Conover, MS,1 Jeff Olivet, MA,2 & Melissa Martin, MSW2
1Critical Time Intervention Global Network, Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, New York, NY; 2Center for Social Innovation, Needham, MA
Abstract: Critical Time Intervention (CTI) is a time-limited case management model designed to prevent homelessness and other adverse outcomes in people with severe mental illness (SMI) during periods of transition in their lives, such as following discharge from hospitals, shelters, prisons and other institutions. During transitions, people often have difficulty re-establishing themselves in satisfactory living arrangements with access to needed supports. CTI provides focused, time-limited case management assistance during this critical period and can have enduring positive impacts. In this session, presenters will provide an overview of the CTI model and how it was developed to fit an urgent need, as well as the subsequent experimental and quasi-experimental research on the model in a variety of settings. Presenters will describe effective approaches used to provide consultation and training of individuals and agencies for adaptation and implementation of the CTI model, and current collaborations that are enabling the model to be brought to scale to broader national and international audiences.
2. Challenges & Successes in Assessing Fidelity to the CTI Model Over Time
Presenter: Melissa Martin, MSW
Authors: Sarah Conover, MS,1 Suzanne Zerger, PhD,2 & R. Neil Greene, PhD2
1Critical Time Intervention Global Network, Office of Scholarship & Research, Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, New York, NY; 2Center for Social Innovation, Needham, MA
Abstract: In this session, presenters will describe the development of the original “fidelity scale??? for the CTI model and share considerations of how to assess fidelity within existing case management paperwork practices and protocols. The fidelity scale was developed by Sarah Conover at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College. The scale has been tested and used to assist numerous agencies to implement the model in a wide range of settings and increasingly diverse populations. In our recently completed Phase II SBIR study, Sarah Conover helped the research team modify the scale and accompanying case management tracking forms. These tools were adapted to “fit??? the needs and practices of these 20 homeless-service agencies enrolled in the study, and to enable tracking of both provider and client-level outcomes. We describe challenges and successes in helping these agencies adapt the fidelity measures to their existing practices, and in collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and sharing results from the fidelity scale. With funding from this study, the research team was able to adapt the pen-and-paper fidelity assessment process into an electronic format; we describe our development of a user-friendly electronic fidelity assessment product that agencies can employ when they choose to learn and implement the CTI model.
3. Assessing the Implementation of the Critical Time Intervention Model Across 20 Homeless-Service Agencies
Presenter: Melissa Martin, MSW
Authors: Suzanne Zerger, PhD, R. Neil Greene, PhD, Melissa Martin, MSW, & Rachael R. Kenney, MA, Center for Social Innovation
Abstract: With funding from a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, the Center for Social Innovation developed an online multi-media training on CTI which incorporates a Community of Practice approach to encourage peer-based learning. The primary aim of this longitudinal, randomized-control study was to compare and contrast this online training modality with a face-to-face training on implementation of and fidelity to the CTI model over time. In this presentation, we describe research methodologies and lessons learned in our exploration and documentation of the implementation (and adaptation) experiences of 20 diverse homeless-service agencies across the U.S. and nearly two-hundred direct service providers engaged in implementing the model over the course of one-year. We describe challenges and promising approaches used to assess the “readiness??? of the agencies to implement the model prior to training their staff, and with documenting experiences of implementation facilitators and barriers from the perspectives of agency administrators and direct service providers through surveys, interviews, fidelity tracking forms, and in-depth case studies. We also talk about strategies and challenges associated with assessing impacts on clients enrolled in the model.