|
The initial quarter of FY2010 in the government contracting world was full of activity as Westover’s technical and logistical staffs shifted into high gear to successfully plan and conduct numerous trainings and meetings for our clients. Similarly exciting events are upcoming in December as highlighted below:
• CMHS Leadership Meetings. Westover will conduct two leadership training meetings on behalf of the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) and in conjunction with the Indian Health Service (IHS) on December 1-2 in Albuquerque, NM and December 3-4 in Portland, OR. For both events, we will be instrumental in helping CMHS to develop strong leaders in Tribal behavioral health. This is an important goal since the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States comprise 1.6% of the U.S. population in July 2008. By mid-century, these cultural groups are expected to comprise 2% of all Americans. The leadership trainings will focus on linking Tribal behavioral health to Tribal nation-building goals, exploring barriers and potential solutions to behavioral health awareness and full integration into behavioral health operations, and examining recovery-oriented systems of care and adaptive challenges at the consumer, practice, system, and policy levels.
• CMHS Consumer Dialogue Meeting. Westover’s continuing partnership with CMHS includes planning and managing a series of regional consumer dialogue meetings on mental health. This includes an upcoming meeting on December 15-16 in Bethesda, MD. These events are key venues through which CMHS identifies the needs, issues, and concerns of individuals with mental illness across the country. These persons are also referred to as consumers, survivors, and clients. The dialogue meetings are also instrumental in obtaining the consumer viewpoint on special topics of interest to CMHS (e.g., suicide prevention among returning veterans) and facilitating networking that fosters transformation in mental health systems. The key outcomes of these informative and lively “grass-roots” meetings will be summarized in the CMHS Building Bridges publication series which can be downloaded from the CMHS website.
• ED Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools Centers/Chiefs Meeting. Westover's partnership with the U.S. Department of Education (ED), Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (OSDFS) is off to a great start. We intend to help ED create safer schools by providing technical and logistical support for meetings that strategically examine school drug abuse and violence prevention and crisis readiness, and student wellness, character, and citizenship. A key part of ED’s strategy to address these matters is forums like the upcoming School Security Officials and Safe Schools Center Directors Meeting on December 8-10 in San Antonio, TX. Many relevant topics will be covered including recent public school gang activity and school violence, lessons learned, and role of the school security/safe schools centers. There will also be an update on the H1N1 flu outbreak and discussions related to the American Red Cross Ready Rating Program, State police certification, juvenile and family court issues, and school facility construction.
|
