This summer, SAMHSA awarded Integral Care continuation funding for two ongoing programs: Mental Health Awareness Training for Service Providers & Families of Armed Service Personnel & Veterans ($125,000) and Clinical High Risk Psychosis ($400,000). Integral Care received initial grant funding for these multi-year projects in September 2018.

The Mental Health Awareness Training grant allows Integral Care to provide Mental Health First Aid training, as well as Counseling on Access to Lethal Means, utilization of the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale, and Safety Planning Intervention to families, caregivers, and service providers in contact with armed service personnel, veterans and their families. Through the Mental Health Awareness Training program, Integral Care aims to increase understanding and recognition of the signs and symptoms of mental illness and teach participants how to safely and appropriately respond. Additionally, the program provides information about local resources to help get veterans connected to supports they need, such as crisis services, substance use treatment, counseling, basic needs assistance, housing, and more. Integral Care’s goal is to provide Mental Health Awareness Training to 600 individuals in Travis County by September 30, 2021.

The goal of Integral Care’s Clinical High Risk Psychosis project is to reduce the duration of untreated psychosis for individuals under the age of 25 in Travis County. Since launching the program in 2018, Integral Care has implemented a stepped-care model, utilizing evidence-based screening and assessment and adding a second Coordinated Specialty care team to increase services and improve clinical prognosis and quality of life outcomes. Outreach efforts focus on youth and young adults who are new to services or will soon transition from child to adult mental health services; additionally, staff support youth who are transitioning from child services to adult services by guiding them through the intake process. Through the Clinical Risk Psychosis program, Integral Care screens more than 300 individuals age 16 – 25 annually, as well as monitoring 100 youth and young adults identified to be ultra high-risk.

The changes and concerns that have come with the COVID-19 pandemic are impacting the mental health and well-being of many in our community — with job losses, school closures, health concerns and separation from our loved ones. KXAN talked to Integral Care about how to support someone who may be experiencing a mental health crisis.
https://www.kxan.com/news/simplehealth/tips-on-identifying-and-responding-to-a-mental-health-crisis-during-covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR1R9AYe30k_x6zTVQTDj308qjMuFQFT2_xM0S5i4it4wFJYN7zGZcQcBvU

Our services are part of the public health response to any crisis. Integral Care is continuing to provide services to our community. For the safety of everyone, more services are now being provided by telephone and telehealth. By reducing in-person appointments and providing care by telehealth and telephone, we reduce the potential spread of COVID-19 and help conserve the limited supply of personal protective equipment (PPE). LEARN MORE

In December 2019, Integral Care received two grant awards totaling $13,955 from the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities for the Central Texas African American Family Support Conference (CTAAFSC). The conference, which celebrates its 20^th anniversary in February 2020, focuses on mental health and the African American community. The conference offers a series of workshops, poster presentations, panel discussions, and keynote addresses that aim to destigmatize mental illness and eliminate health care disparities. CTAAFSC provides much-needed awareness and empowerment for a community that is disproportionately affected by mental illness.

TCDD, a longtime supporter of CTAAFSC, provided stipends for two guest speakers: Le’Andria Johnson, a Grammy-winning Gospel recording artist with lived experience of mental illness, and SaulPaul, a “Musician with a Message” whose presentation focuses on the intersection of self-care and artistic expression.  In addition, TCDD provided stipends for 40 individuals with lived experience and their family members to attend the conference at no cost.

In February 2020, Integral Care received a $25,000 grant award from the Montandon Charitable Trust to create a drop-in office space for 40 community-based staff in the Child and Family Services Division. This community workspace will offer opportunities for staff members to work in collaboration, sharing ideas and experiences that can help improve the services we provide to children with mental health, developmental, and behavioral challenges.

Staff who will utilize the drop-in space work with some of our highest need youth populations, including children enrolled in our Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) and Youth Empowerment Services (YES) Waiver programs. While community-based work is essential to meeting the needs of children and families in Early Childhood Intervention and YES Waiver programs, staff members face unique challenges to working outside a clinic.

Building a new drop-in office space is intended to increase staff engagement, build morale, and improve overall health outcomes for those we serve. When staff members have the opportunity to interact – whether in the break room, in a small meeting space, or with a visit to an adjacent cubicle, they can share their knowledge and work collaboratively to improve team performance.

Integral Care, the Local Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disability Authority for Travis County, announced today the appointment of Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez to its Board of Trustees. The appointment was a result of Senate Bill 632, which promotes Local Mental Health Authority (LMHA) cooperation with the criminal justice system by directing all LMHAs to appoint a sheriff or sheriff’s representative to their local governing board as an ex officio non-voting member.

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Recognizing that behavioral health and physical health go hand in hand, Integral Care works to address our clients’ whole health. This video highlights our care as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, one of the first 8 in the state.

Integral Care is excited to kick off a new strategic plan that will guide our work for the next three years. Watch this video featuring our leadership to learn how we plan to build on our strong foundation and core values to improve health and well-being in Austin-Travis County in 2020-22. READ FULL PLAN

The Austin Chronicle published an article focused on how Austin women are dispelling stigma and moving mental health issues forward. The article features Deborah Rosales-Elkins, Peer Support Specialist, and Ellen Richards, Chief Strategy Officer, as well as key Integral Care partners from NAMI Central Texas and Travis County Sheriff’s Office. Read it out here or grab the 7/4 issue off the stands.

The 86^th Texas Legislative Session has come to a close with over 4,500 bills and resolutions passed. Legislators came together, strong in their bipartisan commitment to various issue areas including mental health, substance use disorder and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

Read more in our monthly newsletter, Transparencies.