Staff turnover in behavioral healthcare organizations has always been a challenge for sustaining service innovations that improve quality of life and other outcomes for people diagnosed with severe mental illness and addiction to alcohol, tobacco, opioids, and other drugs. The Center for Evidence-Based Practices at Case Western Reserve University celebrates its 20th Anniversary helping service systems and organizations advance workforce development to support and sustain best practices that improve quality of life and other outcomes for individuals and families. / The Center is supported by the Ohio Department of Medicaid.

Help people discover and talk about their desire for personal change, like managing symptoms of mental illness; reducing the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs; and improving physical health. Attend our Center's Motivational Interviewing (MI) training events. MI is an evidence-based treatment utilized in a variety of service settings and models (e.g., ACT, IDDT, SE/IPS, Integrated primary health, housing services, residential treatment). / Supported by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS).

The State of Ohio continues to make Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) a top priority for people with severe mental illness who are most at-risk of homelessness, psychiatric crisis and hospitalization, and involvement in the criminal justice system. The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and Department of Medicaid are supporting the implementation of ACT in local communities with help from the Center for Evidence-Based Practices at Case Western Reserve University. Our Center is providing consultation, evaluation, training, and learning communities for behavioral healthcare organizations that are implementing ACT or thinking about starting the process.

The Center for Evidence-Based Practices at Case Western Reserve University has created new resources and free downloads for its online ACT Team Meeting Tools resource page. Among the new resources is an eight-page booklet that provides an introduction to some popular tools that ACT teams use in daily-team meetings to organize information about their work supporting the recovery of people with severe mental illness. The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and Department of Medicaid are supporting the implementation of ACT in Ohio with help from the Center.

Providers of housing services for adults with severe mental illness and addiction (adult-care facilities and recovery housing) are building the capacity to reduce the impact of trauma upon residents and staff with a new training developed by the Center for Evidence-Based Practices at Case Western Reserve University in collaboration with the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS). The event, titled "Creating a Trauma-Informed Culture of Care for Housing Providers," will take place on 14 dates in 2018-19 in 7 cities throughout Ohio (Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Portsmouth, and Toledo), beginning in July.

In an effort to increase housing stability among people with mental illness, addiction, and co-occurring disorders, the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) has teamed up with the Center for Evidence-Based Practices at Case Western Reserve University to host an important training for owners, operators, and staff members of adult-care facilities throughout the state. "Motivating Residents for Housing Success" takes place on 15 dates (Jan-Aug) in 8 cities. Participants learn to assess stages of behavior change among residents and engage in conversations that minimize resistance to change and maximize personal transformation.

It's time to update your address books. The main office of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices is now located in the newly renovated Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences on the campus of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. We moved on November 30, 2016. Our new office is located just down the street from our old office. Our phone number remains the same but our fax number and address have changed. Please update your records with our new contact information and be sure to use our complete 9-digit postal (zip) code.

Free PDFs of many PowerPoints and handouts now available for download! / Over 225 people from 10 states attended our Evidence-Based Practices (EBP) Conference 2016, which took place on October 19 and 20 at the Cleveland Airport Marriott. The event helped participants gain knowledge and skills for behavioral healthcare transformation and redesign. It featured a keynote plenary by James Tassie and Tracy Plouck of the Ohio Departments of Medicaid and Mental Health and Addiction Services and by Lorna Moser of the University of North Carolina. It also featured 42 workshops for implementing and integrating  evidence-based practices and other service innovations for adults and youth with mental illness, substance use disorders, and co-occurring disorders (e.g., ACT, IDDT, SE/IPS, MI, CBT, DBT, much more).

The State of Ohio continues to expand its commitment to employment for people with severe mental illness, and the Center for Evidence-Based Practices is helping to make this happen with consulting and evaluation services and a statewide training initiative. The training series is designed for organizations implementing Supported Employment/Individual Placement and Support (SE/IPS), the evidence-based practice. The series is supported by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. / Next up: September 29 & 30, 2016 in Columbus, OH.

Attend the Mandel School's "Doctoral Program Open House" in Cleveland, Ohio. / The nationally ranked Doctoral Program of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences (school of social work) at Case Western Reserve University offers excellent preparation for careers in social welfare research, policy, and teaching. / RSVP by June 14 / Learn about part-time and full-time study options; cutting-edge curriculum; financial support, much more.