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Carter Center Mental Health Forum to Address Policy in Georgia and Children’s Issues

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 23nd 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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Agenda

(Download PDF)

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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