Transitions ACR October 2018 Newsletter
From The Director's Desk
It's October and National Disability Employment Awareness Month. In light of this the Transitions ACR, in partnership with the Jed Foundation, is pleased to present College to Career: Supporting Mental Health . This white paper analyzes the challenges to emotional wellbeing faced by young adults during the college-to-career transition. The paper also offers strategic recommendations for colleges and employers looking to support young adults and improve outcomes during this critical transition.  Read the report here .

See below for other exciting products and activities we'd like to share with you.
Empowering Youth in Transition
Employment & Independent Living
Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Agencies help people with physical and/or mental health disabilities achieve employment and live independently by offering vocational counseling and related individualized services. There are VR agencies located in every US state. This tip sheet explains how young adults with serious mental health conditions can take advantage of the VR services in their state.

Read our tip sheet here .
Speak Up
Self Advocacy is the ability to speak up for yourself and for the things that are important to you.

Read this tip sheet that offers advice and gives examples of how to self advocate at home, at school, at work and in the community. Leerlo en español.
Advancing Research
Juvenile Justice Research
Did you know that there has been a sharp increase in the number of youth referred to the juvenile justice system for charges related to stressful or chaotic home environments that result in adolescents being charged with domestic violence of a caregiver?

This webinar discusses a) the different categories of youth charged with Adolescent Domestic Battery, b) how to assess them to make more informed justice and treatment-related decisions, and c) coordinated treatment approaches with the potential for success.

Watch the webinar here and find the slides here .
In the Community
Call for Propsals
The 32nd Annual Research & Policy Conference on Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Behavioral Health is calling for proposals. The conference will be held March 3-6, 2019 at the Hilton Tampa Downtown Hotel.

The call for proposals is open until 5:00 p.m. on October 26, 2018 . To download the proposals flyer or submit your proposal please click here .
Employment Tips
Check-out this episode of ComebackTV. In this short video Gus talks about Things to Consider When Looking for a Job .

Watch this espisode here .
Young Adult Corner

Hi, I’m a research staff at the Transitions ACR and I’m here to share a snippet of my experiences as a young adult with multiple medical and mental health conditions. Some people may think that I drew the short end of the stick, but I beg to differ. My conditions have given me perspective, a greater appreciation for life, and opened the door to many amazing experiences. One of those amazing experiences is my current job at the Transitions ACR. My job position is unique in the sense that it is designed solely for a person with a mental health condition. I use my lived experience with a mental health condition to help shape research by effectively implementing youth voice in all areas of the research process.

Read more here .
What Is iSPARC Doing?
SPARC Is Now iSPARC!
We are excited to announce that the University of Massachusetts Medical School's (UMMS) Department of Psychiatry was awarded a new contract for a Center of Excellence for Public Mental Health Services and Implementation Research, continuing 25 years of funding from the state Department of Mental Health (DMH), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As of October 1, 2018, the former UMMS Systems and Psychosocial Advances Research Center (SPARC) will be known as the Implementation Science and Practice Advances Research Center , or iSPARC .

The new iSPARC builds on the demonstrated strengths of the Department of Psychiatry's previous research centers of excellence by 1) adding investigators from the UMMS Department of Quantitative Health Sciences and its matchless expertise in implementation science and engagement of underrepresented groups, and 2) adding investigators from Boston University's Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation and its 35+ years of implementation and services research focused on the recovery of adults with serious mental illness. iSPARC will work in close partnership with the DMH and its stakeholders to use the tools of research to improve public mental health in the future.
Fellowship Opportunity
Boston University Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
A two-year postdoctoral research fellowship program in psychiatric rehabilitation and vocational recovery from serious mental illnesses will begin in January 2019, at the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Boston University. Didactic seminars, extensive research practicum and annual stipend of $50,000 are included in the fellowship. Applications are due November 20th, 2018. Contact: Dr. Zlatka Russinova at (617) 353-3549 or zlatka@bu.edu .

Who We Are
The Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research  promotes the full participation in socially valued roles of transition-age youth and young adults (ages 14-30) with serious mental health conditions. The Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research ( Transitions ACR ) is located within the Implementation Science and Practice Advances Research Center  ( iSPARC ) and houses The Learning & Working During the Transition to Adulthood Rehabilitation Research & Training Center ( The Learning & Working RRTC ), among other projects.
 
The Learning & Working RRTC  is a national effort that aims to improve the supports of this population to successfully complete their schooling and training and move into rewarding work lives. 

Funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), and from the Center for Mental Health Services of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

As a Massachusetts Department of Mental Health Research Center of Excellence, iSPARC aims to improve the mental and behavioral health of all citizens of Massachusetts and beyond.
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Some of the contents of this message were developed under a grant with funding from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, and from the Center for Mental Health Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, United States Department of Health and Human Services (NIDILRR grant number 90RT5031). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this message do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, HHS, and/or SAMHSA and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

The Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research is part of the Implementation Science and Practice Advances Research Center, a Massachusetts Dept. of Mental
Health Research Center of Excellence.