Previous Work

Report Development – Olivia Y STRO Reporting

During 2017, the state of Mississippi entered a period governed by a court order known as the Stipulated Third Remedial Order, or STRO, pursuant to the ongoing Olivia Y lawsuit. This order included language compelling the state of Mississippi to establish baselines, in partnership with an independent consulting agency, with regards to caseworker contacts with foster children, maltreatment in care occurrence, permanency outcomes for foster children, and statistics related to adoption of foster children.

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Focus on Data – MDCPS Actionable Reporting System

Repository In the spring of 2017, I prepared a demonstration of an interactive reporting system built on the R/Shiny platform for providing up-to-date and actionable information to MDCPS Social Work Supervisors and Social Workers. The system was built on a philosophy that effective management by data is predicated on providing the right information to the right people in as readily accessible format as possible. For a direct supervisor, this meant providing information about the individual performance of each supervised social worker, highlighting areas needing improvement before a policy requirement had failed to be met.

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SAMHSA Project LIFT Alum

Project LIFT (Leadership Initiatives for Tomorrow) is a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) initiative that enhances the leadership and technical competencies of emerging behavioral health leaders. The Project also includes a health information technology (HIT) component that facilitates the exchange of electronic health records (EHRs) for individuals with behavioral health conditions, while providing options to safeguard the confidentiality of their sensitive health data. These initiatives are designed to prepare the emerging workforce to be health reform ready and culturally competent to serve vulnerable populations and communities.

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Teen Advisory Board Practice Model

The purpose of this document is to describe the practice model utilized for the Mississippi Teen Advisory Board, titled “Path to Progress”. Many of the methods described by this document are derived from research, general principles, experience, and a bit of trial and error. The Teen Advisory Board (TAB) began under another name, the HOPE Forum (HOPE = Helping Others Prosper Equally). The HOPE Forum was essentially an event held annually as part of a larger event, and provided youth in the foster care system an opportunity to provide feedback about the care they were receiving.

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