Abstract

The Missouri Institute of Mental Health (MIMH) is applying to SAMHSA to become a Coordinating Center (CC) for the "Cooperative Agreements to Evaluate Consumer-Operated Service Programs." This effort is being led by Jean Campbell, Ph.D., a nationally recognized mental health consumer researcher at MIMH, and Matthew Johnsen, Ph.D., a research director at R. O.W. Sciences, Inc. and health services and disability researcher. This collaborative application is in partnership with (1) R.O.W. Sciences, Inc. (ROW) located in Rockville, Maryland; (2) the National Empowerment Center in Lawrence, Massachusetts; and (3) the National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The MIMH CC will: (1) provide technical assistance (TA) in such areas as evaluation research to the eight study sites; (2) work collaboratively with all study site partners to develop a Common Protocol (CP); (3) monitor the fidelity of consumer-operated service programs; (4) maintain a data repository; (5) utilize the common database to conduct cross-site analyses of the impacts and cost of service delivery; and (6) distribute knowledge gained through this project. This CC proposal represents significant collaborations of service recipients, providers, and researchers from both the consumer and the traditional service and research communities. The consumer postdoctoral fellows program at MIMH will assure the participation of trained consumers in advanced research roles within the CC, and the CC will initiate a consumer Internship Program in electronic communications, library science and conference management to help support many of the administrative functions.

There will be four major tasks forces of the CC: (1) The Cost Analysis Task Force, led by Brian Yates, Ph.D. and composed of experts in cost analysis; (2) the Methods and CP Task Force, led by Paul Binner, Ph.D., and composed of research design and survey protocol experts and consumer researchers; (3) the Cultural Diversity and Competency Task Force, led by Jaime Delgado, and composed of experts in integrating sensitivity to ethnic/race, gender, and disability issues into mental health programs and evaluations; and (4) the Consumer Research and Provider Task Force composed of consumer researchers and service providers with expertise in evaluation and service provision. A series of dialogue sessions will also be held at each study site by Gayle Bluebird, a consumer facilitator, to gather evaluation information and discuss the working relationships among all participants. Since the collaborative nature of the CC necessitates a communication system that allows for a constant flow of information between participants in a variety of modalities, the CC will fund a web-site, Internet mailing list, and web-based chat room. MIMH believes that by developing meaningful roles for stakeholders throughout the critical knowledge exchange functions of the CC, a true partnership can be established and maintained among consumers, providers, and researchers based on equity and cooperation. By successfully fostering a learning community among all participants, the MIMH Coordinating Center can build an outreach infrastructure of multiple independent study sites dedicated to understanding consumer-operated services.

Selections from the Program Narrative

Note: Some of these pages require long download times.    Please be patient.  Additional information on the project is available from Dr. Campbell on request.

Project Background and Goals

Project Plans

Project Study Design and Analysis Plan

Management Plan and Staffing

Coordinating Center Bibliography