Transitions ACR July 2020 Newsletter
A Message from our Director, Maryann Davis

July is Minority Mental Health Month and the racial conflict we've faced as a country over the past few months makes the focus of this month more meaningful than ever. As our Center's Director, Maryann Davis, has said, "I speak for the Center in agreeing with the principle that Martin Luther King Jr. so powerfully stated: 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere'."  Read Maryann's comments about the inequalities in mental health impacting our culture and what we are doing  at Transitions ACR here: Our Director's Statement
EMPOWERING YOUTH IN TRANSITION
AT SCHOOL

Two New Tip Sheets for Youth:
Leading Your IEP Meeting
Bringing Community Partners to Your IEP Meeting
These NEW Tip Sheets were created by our TEST research team to help young adults take a leadership role in their IEP meetings. The Translating Evidence to Support Transitions (TEST) project has created practice guides to increase the use and adoption of 3 research-informed practices for the transition planning of high school students with emotional disturbance who receive special education services: student-led IEP meetings, community agency representation at IEP meetings, and concentrations of CTE coursework along career pathways. Find out more and download the practice guides at the TEST website.
YOU GOT THIS : Taking a Leadership Role in Your IEP Meeting

There are benefits linked to taking a leadership role in your IEP meeting. High school students who lead their IEP meetings tend to have higher graduation rates, go to college more often, and make more money in jobs after high school. Here are tips for leading your IEP meeting even when it's virtual.
Read/Download this Tip Sheet.
I'VE GOT MY CREW : Inviting Community Partners to your IEP Meeting

A community partner is a person from an organization outside of your high school that can help you plan for your life after graduation. It may be helpful to invite community partners to your IEP meetings, even if they are virtual, because partners can help you lay out your goals and the steps to take to meet those goals. Read/Download this Tip Sheet.
ON THE JOB

Disparities in Vocational Supports for
Black Young Adults with Mental Health Conditions
Our recent research brief, "Disparities in Vocational Supports for Black Young Adults with Mental Health Conditions" by Jonathan Delman , Ph.D., J.D., M.P.H. begins, "Young adult Black people with disabilities, including serious mental health conditions (SMHCs), are less likely to find and keep jobs than peers who are White" and then discusses the "Whys". It discusses the Research on Barriers and Facilitators to Employment including Socioeconomic Status (SES), Discrimination, and Court Involvement and goes on to present information on Engagement and Access to
Vocational Services. Read or download this research brief HERE . 
IN THE COMMUNITY

PARENTS CHIME IN: Our Self-Care Strategies While Supporting
Loved Ones with Mental Health Conditions During a Pandemic
Back in 2019, the Transitions ACR Family Advisory Board created a tip sheet called  For Families or Caregivers: Self-Care is Putting on YOUR Oxygen Mask First  to remind caregivers about the importance of intentional self-care. In the wake of COVID-19, that tried and true saying of “putting on your mask first before helping others” takes on a whole new meaning. We recently asked our Family Advisory Board members to provide thoughts on how they adapted their self-care strategies and to share tips on supporting their loved ones w/ mental health conditions in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are a few strategies you will find in this NEW tip sheet .

Tip 1: Remember that when you get a text from someone, unless it’s an emergency, you don’t have to respond right away. You can wait until the moment is right for you. It’s important to set boundaries for communication (e.g., text, email, phone calls, DM’s, etc.) and tasks. 
Tip 2: Take a ride alone. Put on your favorite music. Even if the destination is the pharmacy to pick up your loved one’s meds.

Read/Download the complete Parents Chime In tip sheet  HERE .
YOUNG ADULT BLOG
"Managing My Chronic Medical & Mental Health Conditions
Amidst COVID-19"
One of our young adults at Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research just posted a new blog called "Managing My Chronic Medical & Mental Health Conditions
Amidst COVID-19". She writes, "The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted our world in a multitude of ways, including our healthcare system. I find this aspect of the pandemic particularly challenging because I have multiple medical conditions that require regular and frequent treatment, including inpatient hospital stays and surgeries. Like many others, my healthcare has been affected by the pandemic. It has been harder to manage my medical conditions, which has consequently led to an increase in mental health symptoms."  Read more  HERE .
ADVANCING RESEARCH

New Webinars & Presentations to Watch


Our Webinar " Supporting Youth Vocational Goals with Mental Health and Vocational Rehabilitation Collaboration: Implications for the Present " is now available on our website. This webinar presented findings from a study examining collaboration between state vocational rehabilitation agencies and public mental health systems related to the vocational goals of transition-age youth (ages 14-24) with serious mental health conditions.  You can download the slides and watch the full webinar HERE .

IN THE NEWS - RESEARCH STUDY RECRUITMENT
SEED STUDY: Transitions ACR is currently recruiting for the Sequences of Employment and Education (SEED) research study to better understand how the employment and education experiences of young (ages 16-25) with serious mental health conditions change over time. You may be eligible if you are a young adult with a serious mental health condition who has experience in foster care and/or additional challenges with substance use.

Participation includes six 1-hour surveys over a 20-month period. All information shared will be kept confidential. Participants will be compensated up to $145 in gift cards for their time. To see if you’re eligible visit: The Seed Study
SMOKER2SMOKER STUDY: Transitions ACR is seeking the help of individuals to serve on an advisory board made up of young adult smokers – or former smokers who have quit within the last 5 years – who have lived mental health experience, in order to improve our questions for our qualitative interviews, help to solve any recruitment problems, and help us interpret our results. The goal of this research is to understand the reasons for one’s smoking and strategies that may help them quit. That understanding will be used to modify a text-based support for quitting that work well for the general population, so that it works well for young adults. Members will be paid $25/hour and will meet four times over the year. Are you interested? If so. contact Ian at ian.lane@umassmed.edu. 
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Research study – Experiences of young adults with disabilities, the internet, and work : Researchers with the  Great Lakes ADA Center  in the Department of Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago are seeking participants to complete an online survey about work, internet use, and disability rights. 
 
Who is eligible for this study?
Survey participates must:
  • Identify as having a disability.
  • Be 18-24 years old.
  • Work or be currently seeking employment.
  • Live in the United States.
 
What does the research involve?
It involves taking this online survey  that includes questions about how and where you work, how you use different social networking websites, and your familiarity with disability rights related issues. You do not need to have any prior knowledge in order to participate. Survey participants can enter a drawing for  one of eight $50 Amazon gift cards.
UPCOMING EVENTS
NAMICon 2020  - July 13-14. Join NAMI at their first virtual NAMI Convention. "Together Towards Tomorrow". Info/Register  HERE .

R aise the Bar Higher Conference  - October 21st. Work Without Limit's conference will be virtual this year. Info/Register  HERE .
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).

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, United States Department of Health and Human Services (NIDILRR grant number 90RTEM0005 ). 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, and/or HHS, 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.