ABOUT US
Welcome to the iSPARC
February 2021 Newsletter!
Improving Practice
Improving Mental Health Care for Pregnant & Postpartum Individuals

Mental health conditions are the most common obstetric complications of the perinatal period, impacting 1 in 5 individuals during pregnancy and the year following pregnancy. Perinatal mental health conditions have deleterious effects on the health of perinatal individuals and their children and are a leading and preventable cause of maternal mortality. Nevertheless, perinatal mental health conditions are underrecognized, underdiagnosed, and undertreated.

To address these gaps, several U.S. states have created Perinatal Psychiatry Access Programs to leverage scarce psychiatric resources by providing education, support, and resources to frontline healthcare providers so that they address and treat mental health conditions and substance use disorders in perinatal individuals.


This report summarizes the Perinatal Psychiatry Access Program model and its individual and national impact.
Tips & Tricks for Sustaining a Family Advisory Board Webinar

Looking to increase your collaboration with the family members of your organization? Consider creating a Family Advisory Board (FAB) to strengthen stakeholder engagement.

The Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research hosted a webinar on January 21, 2021 offering tips and tricks to creating a family advisory board (FAB).

In this webinar, participants learned the purpose and the value of utilizing Stakeholder Engagement Groups, such as a Family Advisory Board in their organizations. The presenters shared tools for successful recruitment of council members and strategies to keep your members engaged, even when meetings are 100% virtual. They described successes and challenges with the Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research's Family Advisory Board, providing plenty of examples and specifics, and share materials and resources they've developed.

The slides and other materials are available on the Transition to Adulthood Center for Research’s website.
Changing Policy
Risk Assessment and Behavioral Health
Screening Project

The Risk Assessment and Behavioral Health Screening Project, led by Gina Vincent, examined whether comprehensive implementation of a risk-needs assessment (SAVRY) in juvenile probation offices coupled with a behavioral health screening protocol (the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument-Version 2 (MAYSI-2) for mental health and CRAFFT for substance use) would improve case management (e.g., disposition decisions, service allocation) and youth outcomes (e.g., recidivism, violations). The study also examined whether behavioral health services (e.g., substance use or mental health counseling, inpatient) appeared to reduce recidivism depending on characteristics of the youth receiving treatment (e.g., behavioral health issues, risk level). This brief summarizes the project.
Empowered to Act
Advancing Research
New Research Brief: Adulting is Hard

Our newest brief — "'Adulting' is Hard: Understanding the College-To-Career Transition and Supporting Young Adults' Emotional Wellbeing" was created in collaboration between the Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research and The Jed Foundation, to better understand the experiences of young adults during the college-to-career transition and how these experiences affect their emotional wellbeing.
In the News
iSPARC’s sister DMH Research Center of Excellence, the MGH Center of Excellence for Psychosocial and Systemic Research, launched a new website. The MGH Center of Excellence (COE) aims to research and implement community-based projects and interventions that support individuals with mental health challenges. The COE focuses on research and psychoeducation, and it works to identify and remediate healthcare disparities.
Our newest center - Center on Knowledge Translation for Employment Research - CeKTER has launched its website.

The Center on Knowledge Translation for Employment Research (CeKTER) aims to promote the use of employment research findings & research-based products by people with disabilities, employers, employment service providers, vocational rehabilitation professionals, and policy makers, with the overall aim of improving services, approaches, practices, and policies that support improved outcomes for people with disabilities.
What is the Transitions ACR Doing?
The goal of the Translating Evidence to Support Transitions (TEST) project is to increase the use and adoption of research-based best practices in transition planning services for high school students with emotional behavioral disturbance receiving special education services. The TEST team has created a series of practice guides to increase the use and adoption of 3 research-informed practices for the transition planning of high school students with emotional behavioral disturbance (EBD) who receive special education services.

  1. Supporting Student-Led Transition Planning for Students with Emotional Behavioral Disturbance
  2. Partnering with Community Agencies in Transition Planning for Students with Emotional Behavioral Disturbance
  3. Incorporating Career and Technical Education in Transition Planning for Students with Emotional Behavioral Disturbance
Upcoming Events


• Date: Feb. 11-12, 2021
• Time: 3:00–4:30 PM ET
• Presenter: Dr. Nancy
Byatt, Executive Dir.,
Lifeline4Moms
• Sponsored by:
TX Collaborative for
Healthy Mothers & Babies


• Date: Feb. 23, 2021
• Time: 1:30–3:30 PM ET
• Sponsored by:
Work Without Limits


• Date: Mar. 24, 2021
• Time: 3:00–4:30 PM ET
• Presenter: Gina Vincent,
Ph.D
• Sponsored by:
Multi-Health Systems Inc.
Who We Are
The Implementation Science and Practice Advances Research Center (formerly known as the Systems and Psychosocial Advances Research Center) is a part of the University of Massachusetts Medical School's Department of Psychiatry. 

iSPARC is a Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (DMH) Center of Excellence for Public Mental Health Services and Implementation Research that aims to improve the mental and behavioral health of all citizens of Massachusetts and beyond. iSPARC is committed to transferring knowledge and insights gained through rigorous research to improve the lives of people with lived mental health experience.

We conduct Participatory Action Research, an all-inclusive approach that ensures that every aspect of our research incorporates the voices of those with lived mental health experience.
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Implementation Science and Practice Advances Research Center (iSPARC) | University of Massachusetts Medical School
508-856-5498 | 508-856-8700