The mental health needs of children and families are becoming more and more complex, and there are increased demands on the system to implement evidence-supported practices, be more accountable for service provision and treatment outcomes, be more efficient, and shift from agency-driven treatment to family-centered, youth-driven care.
To meet these needs, the Children’s Directors from New Hampshire’s 10 community mental health centers are working together to develop and implement a set of core competencies designed to enhance the ability of the workforce to provide evidence-informed and best practices in children’s mental health. To accomplish this, the directors have joined with the Department of Health and Human Services, the Bureau of Behavioral Health, the Granite State Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, NAMI New Hampshire, New Hampshire Hospital, and the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire to create a workgroup to develop, complete, and disseminate a set of core competencies and a plan to implement the competencies in the centers and in NH Hospital. The project includes consultation from Dr. Joan Dodge, Senior Policy Associate at the Georgetown University’s National Technical Assistance Center for Children’s Mental Health, to assist with the competency-development process and to offer technical assistance on the refinement of the competencies.
