e-Connect: A Service System Intervention for Justice Youth at Risk for Suicide
Columbia University
Summary
The investigators propose to create e-Connect, a new service delivery model that will enable real time identification and targeted, county-specific referral and linkage of participants with suicidal behavior (SB) and related behavioral health (BH) problems. e-Connect will: (i) establish and formalize interagency referral decisions based on clinical need, jointly derived by JJ (juvenile justice) and BH agencies; (ii) train probation staff to increase BH/SB understanding; (iii) utilize an existing evidence-based (EB) BH/SB screen; and (iv) develop a mobile application to seamlessly integrate screening, classification of clinical need and development of a related referral plan. There are 4 project phases: Development, Baseline, Implementation, and Sustainment/Evaluation. After development, activities take place in 10 NY (New York) counties and all study counties will begin the intervention at the same time. The investigators will examine changes in outcomes (e.g., service use) relative to baseline in (i) identification of participants service need (SB and BH correlates) in juvenile probationers; (ii) cross-system (probation-BH agency) referral; and (iii) participants BH service use (access and engagement). Analyses will further consider contributions of multi-level factors (e.g., staff, organizational, family, and community) that influence implementation (feasibility, acceptability, sustainability) of e-Connect across various probation department processing categories (e.g. status offenders, diversion cases). The investigators will consider the role of mediating elements (e.g., probation practices) in explaining the association between e-Connect and identification, referral, and service use.
Description
While youth at all juvenile justice (JJ) processing points are at increased risk for suicidal behavior (SB) and associated behavioral health (BH) issues, those supervised in community settings (e.g., probation), may be at greatest risk: (a) protocols for identification and service referral are far more common in secure settings, (b) national policy increasingly favors community supervision/diversion over incarceration, (c) participants supervised in the community have far more access to means and opportunity than do those in secure settings, and (d) the multi- system coordination challenges to…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 10+ years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Sample: County Probation Leadership (Executive and Supervisory) and Line (Juvenile Probation Officers) Staff Inclusion Criteria: Probation Officers ages 21-70 years old with active employment at the probation department working with youth, or supervise those working with youth in one of the following capacities: probation supervision, assessment, and referral, or engage in work that is related to policies, procedures, and decisions around these activities in 10 site counties Exclusion Criteria: There are no exclusionary criteria and no special classes of participants. Sample: Youth on Proba…
Interventions
- Behaviorale-Connect
e-Connect
Location
- Columbia UniversityNew York, New York