FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rennie Sloan, 404-420-5129, rennie.sloan@cartercenter.org
New CDC Research Provides Analysis of Georgia’s Mental Health Landscape
ATLANTA…New CDC research into children’s mental health services and policies will be unveiled during the 23rd annual Rosalynn Carter Georgia Mental Health Forum on May 11, 2018, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Carter Center. This event is open to the public, but registration is required. (More details below.)
The Rosalynn Carter Georgia Mental Health Forum, established in 1995, is held each May to address timely mental health policy issues facing the state. Service providers, policymakers, advocates, media, and consumers of mental health services in Georgia are invited to participate in discussions on diverse topics.
This year, the forum will include a special award presentation to former U.S. First Lady Rosalynn Carter, a mental health advocate for more than 45 years. Dr. Antonio Puente, president of the American Psychological Association, will present Mrs. Carter with a Presidential Citation, an annual tradition that recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the field of psychology.
For the past six years, the Georgia Forum also has provided an opportunity to update local stakeholders on the 2010 settlement agreement and the 2015 settlement agreement extension between the U.S. Department of Justice and the State of Georgia. While the state has made much progress in meeting the obligations in the settlement agreement extension, they are still short of full compliance. Both the accomplishments and the areas that still need work will be discussed in a panel that includes the Commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, Judy Fitzgerald.
In addition, the forum will host a panel focused on a Children in Need of Services (CHINS) pilot program. Since 2015, in collaboration with Casey Family Programs, the Center’s Mental Health Program developed a pilot program to improve the functioning and evaluate the effectiveness of four Children in Need of Services (CHINS) courts in their efforts to divert children and adolescents away from the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. Judge John Sumner, Presiding Judge for the juvenile court in Cherokee County, will present a practice guide that he has developed that could be used by other juvenile court judges to institute CHINS programs.
Editor’s Note:
• Media wishing to attend the Georgia Forum must RSVP by May 10 at 5 p.m. to Rennie Sloan (404-420-5129, rennie.sloan@cartercenter.org).
• The public is encouraged to register to attend the event, which will take place in the Ivan Allen Pavilion of The Carter Center at 453 Freedom Parkway; additional details are available here.
• Learn more about the Carter Center's Georgia mental health activities:
-Helping Georgia Build a Healthier Mental Health Care System »
-Carter Center Commends Eight Recommendations to Improve Mental Health Services for Children in Georgia »
• The opening remarks, award presentation, and first panel will be broadcast live on the Center’s Twitter account: @CarterCenter. During the forum, you can follow the conversation on Twitter using #GaMentalHealth18.
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May 11, 2018
8:30 – 9:00 a.m. Registration/Breakfast
9:00 – 9:10 a.m. Opening Remarks: Eve Byrd, D.N.P., M.P.H., Director, The Carter Center Mental Health Program
9:10 – 9:15 a.m. Welcome: Rosalynn Carter, Chair, The Carter Center Mental Health Task Force
9:15 – 9:45 a.m. American Psychological Association Presentation of Presidential Citation to Mrs. Carter: Antonio Puente, Ph.D., President, American Psychological Association, Professor, Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Wilmington
9:45 – 10:10 a.m. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Presentation of the Latest Research on ADHD, resulting from the National Survey of Children’s Health Report
Coleen Boyle, Ph.D., M.S. Hyg., Director, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Q & A
10:10 – 10:25 a.m. BREAK
10:25 a.m. - Noon Panel I: Applying Science and Policy to Help Georgia Families with Young Children Thrive: Moderator
Jennifer Kaminski, Ph.D., Team Lead, Child Development Studies Team, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Discussion: Russell F. McCord, J.D., Public Health Law Fellow, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Joseph Holbrook, Ph.D., Epidemiologist, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Melissa Danielson, M.S.P.H., Statistician, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Marvin So, M.P.H., Evaluation Fellow, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Noon – 12:45 p.m. Lunch
12:45 – 1:45 p.m. Panel II: Update on the U.S. Department of Justice Settlement Agreement with Georgia
Moderator: Eve Byrd, D.N.P., Director, The Carter Center Mental Health Program
“What happens on June 30?” Susan Goico, J.D., Staff Attorney, Disability Integration Project, Atlanta Legal Aid Society
“What Successes Have We Seen?” Cynthia Wainscott, Member, DBHDD Region1 Regional Advisory Council
“Where do We Still Need to Improve?” Jewell Gooding, M.B.A., Executive Director, Mental Health America of Georgia
“What is the Plan to Make Those Improvements?” Judy Fitzgerald, M.S.W., Commissioner, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities
Q & A
1:45 - 2:00 p.m. BREAK
2:00 – 2:40 p.m. Panel III: Children in Need of Services (CHINS)
Moderator: Lei Ellingson, M.P.P., M.S.S.E., Senior Associate Director, The Carter Center Mental Health Program
John Bartlett, M.D., Senior Project Advisor, The Carter Center Mental Health Program
Kate Dowd, M.S., Program Associate, The Carter Center Mental Health Program
Honorable John Sumner, Presiding Judge, Juvenile Court, Cherokee County
2:40 – 2:55 p.m. BREAK
2:55 – 4:00 p.m. Panel IV: School-Based Behavioral Health in Georgia: Moderator
Eve Byrd, D.N.P., Director, The Carter Center Mental Health Program
Dante McKay, J.D., M.P.A., Director, Office of Children, Young Adults and Families, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities
Susan McLaren, M.P.H., Research Associate, Center of Excellence for Children’s Behavioral Health, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University
Rebecca Blanton, M.Ed., Georgia Project AWARE Director, Georgia Department of Education
Q & A
4:00 p.m. Adjourn
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