Support ADULT&child Center as you shop @ AmazonSmile
Adult and Child Center is very proud of the effort our clinical staff give their consumer families each day. We have often been asked how people from our community can get involved in our mission. Well, here is a perfectly simple way to help! Simply link your amazon account to “Adult and Child Mental Health Center, Inc” and 0.5% of your purchases will go to Adult and Child! As this fund grows, Adult and Child Center will distribute 100% of the funding to A&C teams in the form of small grants to support clinical service innovation which is not currently reimbursable. We do this, because we know, every family has different and unique needs and we want to encourage our staff to innovate. Please follow the link below to register your AmazonSmile account to A&C and forward to your friends and family!
Host a Mental Health First Aid Training
Mental Health First Aid is an internationally recognized education and empowerment curriculum designed to reduce mental health stigma and educate citizens around identifying and engaging people who experience symptoms of mental illness. Peer-reviewed studies published in Australia, where the program originated, show that individuals trained in the program: Grow their knowledge of signs, symptoms and risk factors of mental illnesses and addictions. Can identify multiple types of professional and self-help resources for individuals with a mental illness or addiction. Increase their confidence in and likelihood to help an individual in distress. Show increased mental wellness themselves. Studies also show that the program reduces the social distance created by negative attitudes and perceptions of individuals with mental illnesses. Mental Health First Aid USA is listed in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices. NREPP is a searchable database of mental health and substance abuse interventions to help the public find programs and practices that may best meet their needs and learn how to implement them in their communities. All interventions in the registry have been independently assessed and rated for quality of research and readiness for dissemination. Adult and Child Center is very proud to have multiple Mental Health First Aid Trainers on staff. If your agency is interested in hosting one of these 8 hour events, please contact our development department at darens@adultandchild.org or 317.893.0336. A summary of Mental Health First Aid is available by clicking here.
A&C Supports 115 Central Indiana Schools
Over the past 5-7 years, school districts and Community Mental Health Centers have worked very closely to better serve the behavioral health and social needs of the families and students in our community. In recent years, evidence has demonstrated the remarkable impact early identification and intervention can have upon lifelong illnesses like mental illness. Adult and Child Center has been very proactive in working with communities and schools to increase access to services in their communities and school based partnerships are a great example of A&C’s willingness to innovate. Currently, Adult and Child Center has clinical staff (Therapists and Skills Development Specialists) embedded in 115 Central Indiana Schools. These staff are working with youth and families who demonstrate “at-risk” behaviors, struggle with emotional challenges which interfere with their ability to learn, or are otherwise identified as someone who might benefit from additional support. A&C staff work with teachers, school counselors, primary care physicians, and family support networks to teach families appropriate parenting, communication, and behavior management techniques. These services have made remarkable impact on the students and families they support. 96% of surveyed school staff believe A&C services have a positive impact on the school environment 91% of school staff would recommend A&C services to another school 85% of parents report learning how to work with the school on meeting the social, emotional and educational needs of their child 90% of parents report learning how to meet any behavioral or emotional needs of their child that might limit his or her ability to succeed in school 89% of parents report feeling better equipped to handle emotional / behavioral needs of their child. 87% of parents report seeing positive behavioral changes in their children since working with Adult and Child Center 95% of parents report they would recommend Adult and Child Center services to another family.
Bob Dunbar retiring after 20 years at A&C; Board Appoints New CEO
Adult and Child Center’s Board of Directors is proud to announce the appointment of Mr. Allen Brown to the position of Chief Executive Officer. He is succeeding Bob Dunbar, who is retiring after 20 years as CEO. Mr. Brown is currently the CEO of Unison Behavioral Health in Waycross, Georgia – an 8-county, $19M non-profit community behavioral health organization serving over 6,000 individuals per year through a broad continuum of CARF-accredited mental health, substance abuse, supportive housing, supportive employment, and developmental disability services. Mr. Brown’s professional affiliations include: the Georgia Association of Community Service Boards, the Medical Directors’ Interest Group (serving as the CEO Liaison and as a member of the Education and Training Committee), the Georgia Information Technology Consortium (serving as Vice Chair), and the Ware County Children’s Initiative (as a member of the Board of Directors). His efforts as a founding member of UserVoice, the national users group for Qualifacts EMR customers, earned him a 2013 CareLogic Community Leadership Award. Mr. Brown’s professional experience spans behavioral healthcare roles from frontline clinician to CEO. He began his work as a shift charge direct care worker in an adolescent inpatient psychiatric program. He spent the next fifteen years working in diverse roles from child abuse/neglect investigator to clinical coordinator for a girls’ outdoor adventure program. As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Mr. Brown has worked with children, adults, and families across the continuum of care including leadership positions in behavioral health managed care in Texas, as well as a Quality Improvement Director and Chief Operating Officer in Colorado before taking the CEO position in Georgia. Committed to all facets of behavioral healthcare, Mr. Brown’s career has been focused on service excellence and innovation, the integration of best practices and technology, risk management and compliance, financial viability and the development and support of every organization’s most important asset – its staff. Mr. Brown received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas and his Master of Science in Social Work (MSSW) from the University of Texas at Arlington in Arlington, Texas. Adult and Child Mental Health Center, a 501(c)3, has provided decades of quality behavioral health services to residents of Marion, Johnson, and surrounding counties. Adult and Child has achieved state and national recognition as a leader in the provision of evidence based practices (EBPs) for adults. They provide a full array of mental health services to adults and children including a very successful transitional living program and a growing therapeutic foster care program serving abused and neglected children. Last year Adult and Child served over 5,600 unique individuals.
