Transitions ACR February 2020 News
Welcome to our Transitions ACR
Feb. 2020 Newsletter!

Hello! In our first Transitions ACR newsletter of 2020, we highlight some of the most important research we've done and products we've released this past year. You'll also find a new video our Family Advisory Committee created, a new young adult blog post and more details on the "Tampa Conference". We'd love your feedback on what we've done. You can reply to this email if you have comments or ideas you'd like to share.
Happy New Year!
New and Popular 2019 Products from Transitions ACR

Here are some of our new products from this past year, as well as a few of our most popular Tip Sheets. Feel free to share these products with anyone in your network!
How to Talk about Mental Health: Addressing Misunderstandings about Mental Health in the Media

This tip sheet was developed as a collaboration between the Massachusetts Statewide Youth Advisory Council (SYAC) and the Learning and Working Center at the Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research (TACR) to clear up some common misunderstandings about mental health conditions and to share strategies to talk about mental health in a more accurate and more helpful way! Read more HERE .
Disparities in Vocational Supports for Black Young Adults with Mental Health Conditions


Our new research brief, 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" including research on barriers and facilitators to employment and presents information on engagement and access to vocational services. Read or download it  HERE .    
T ACR SHORTS: The #1 Thing College Students with Mental Health Conditions Should Know...

Our first TACR Comic was developed by in partnership with our Youth Advisory Board. It was created to share t he #1 thing college students with mental health conditions
should know, which is that they have the right to accommodations. What exactly are accommodations? 
You can view our " TACR SHORTS " Comic created by the 
Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research team HERE.
WIOA: New Law Helps Youth & Young Adults Get Jobs – What Families Need to Know

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) mandates services for youth and young adults (ages 14-24) with disabilities, including those with psychiatric disabilities or serious mental health conditions, to help them prepare for, obtain and pursue careers in integrated settings that offer competitive salaries and benefits. This tip sheet provides information that parents can use to advocate for and educate themselves about WIOA services that are available.
Read it HERE.


This Tip Sheet was developed by our Family Advisory Board and Transitions ACR. We all know that we need to take care of ourselves first, because it enables us to do our best job helping our loved one. But this is easier said than done. This Tip Sheet offers some concrete suggestions that can be incorporated into your daily routine so you really can "put your oxygen mask on first." Read more HERE .
Memes from our Youth Advisory Board!

Our Youth Advisory Board (YAB) is part of our Stakeholder Engagement Program. We value the voices of people with lived mental health experience to inform our research and provide us feedback on what we do. Our YAB is a virtual board of about 10 young adults between the ages of 14-30 years old with serious mental health conditions from all across the United States. One fun thing they did this year was to create a set of memes to share their perspective.
If you'd like to see the memes they created, find them on our:
Read more about our Stakeholder Engagement Program HERE .
We Just Launched a New Video Series!

When a Mental Health Crisis Hit My Family: Irene's Story
When a mental health crisis hit Irene's family, it was completely unexpected. Everything was going smoothly, until...it wasn't. The stress of being thrown into the mental health system, searching for answers and being the primary caretaker of someone with a mental health condition was overwhelming and Irene didn't have time to take care of her own health. Irene tells her story of what happened, the tools she came to find and use to maintain her own well-being, and how that, in turn, helped her family member as well.
This video was created by members of  Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research 's Family Advisory Board.
OUR TRANSITIONS ACR WEBINARS IN 2019
Recent Webinars
from Transitions ACR

Our research teams often present their current research and results via Webinar format. After the webinar, we post them online. Join our email list to always be notified of upcoming webinars. You can view an archive of our past webinars HERE .

Join our mail list HERE .
Re-Conceptualizing & Boosting Engagement for Young Adults with Serious Mental Health Needs in Community-Based Services - Nov. 2019
Download the slides and watch the full webinar HERE .

Best Practices for Transition Planning for High School Students with Mental Health Conditions -Sept. 2019
Download the slides and watch the full webinar HERE

Moving from Trauma-Informed to Trauma-Responsive Care Through Training, Referral and Treatment for Youth and Families -Sept. 2019 
Download the slides and watch the full webinar HERE .
UPCOMING EVENTS
Transitions ACR Researchers Will Be Presenting at "Tampa".

The 33rd Annual Research and Policy Conference on Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Behavioral Health (the " Tampa Conference ") is March 15-18, 2020. Registration is now OPEN. Find more details HERE. We will be attending and are presenting several sessions around young adult mental health. In addition, we will be hosting our annual Transition Research Networking Reception on Monday, March 16th from 6:00-7:30 in partnership with Pathways to Positive Futures. Connect with researchers from around the country at our annual kickoff event! New and aspiring researchers are especially encouraged to join us!
2020 NARRTC Conference
Telling our Story: Past, Present and Future

The Transitions ACR team will be attending and presenting at the annual NARRTC conference on April 2 and 3rd, 2020 in Arlington, VA. Find more details on the conference on the website for NARRTC .
2020 Pacific Rim International Conference
on Disability & Diversity

March 2-3, 2020 we are leaving our winter coats behind and heading to Honolulu, HI for the first time to attend this conference! Want to get warm while enjoying what sounds like a fabulous conference with a variety of topics including post-secondary education supports? Visit the website for Pac Rim 2020 Connect .
One member of our Young Adult team at Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research just wrote a new blog called Combating the Winter Blues: Getting Back on Track after the Holidays. In it she suggests we give ourselves 4 challenges. They are all good and cause you to reflect on how you are gearing up for the new year. Challenge Number 4: ME TIME. "The holidays are great for spending time with our loved ones, but come January, I need some time for myself."  Read more of our latest blog post HERE .
IN THE NEWS
WHAT IS ISPARC DOING?
iSPARC recently released their 2019 Annual Report in which they presented their research activities and achievements to the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health. The iSPARC mission is to conduct, disseminate, and support the use of research in the public mental health system and to enhance services for people with behavioral health conditions that promote their recovery and improve their quality of life. Read about what iSPARC accomplished this past year in the 2019 Annual Report 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.