CLAS Standards as a Catalyst for Prevention: A Learning Collaborative

Summary

Overview

The CLAS Standards as a Catalyst for Prevention: A Learning Collaborative (CLAS Learning Collaborative) gave participants the skills to improve service delivery and integrate culturally responsive strategies into their organizational structures. The CLAS Learning Collaborative presented cultural competence not as a distinct knowledge base but as a framework to incorporate CLAS Standards, leadership development, and process improvement into the inner workings of an organization.

Funding

Funding for this project was provided by Ohio University – Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service and Prevention Action Alliance (PAA). Funds supported a flexible learning stipend for each eligible agency, including food and venue. PAA also covered the cost of the NIATx Foundation CLAS Assessment (NFCA™) tool. Training support was provided by the Great Lakes Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) located at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Process

A request for applications was announced, and participation was open to OhioMHAS-certified prevention agencies. Eleven unique prevention agencies serving urban, rural, and suburban communities in NE, NW, Central, and SW Ohio, as well as Appalachia Ohio, were selected to participate in the learning collaborative.

Twenty-nine participants representing the 11 agencies attended a two-day summit to initiate prevention agency-specific CLAS Standards change projects. All agencies were given the opportunity to assess their agency’s understanding and utilization of the National CLAS Standards using a customized NIATx Foundation CLAS Assessment (NFCA™) tool provided by Prevention Action Alliance in collaboration with NIATx™. This assessment was used as the baseline measurement to track progress and outcomes for the project.

A combination of collaborative coaching sessions and Individual organization coaching sessions were provided during the three months after the summit. All teams participated in these learning collaborative webinars during the implementation phase of the collaborative to share ideas, successes, and challenges with others in the collaborative. Throughout the process, the learning collaborative coaches provided technical assistance through Zoom meetings, phone, and email feedback on plans and implementation. This included a review of each organization’s strategic plan prior to implementation.

At the conclusion of the CLAS Learning Collaborative, all the participating organizations came together to celebrate and present their respective change project in what was called a 5x5 PowerPoint presentation, five slides in 5 minutes.

Teams share out an example of using the NIATx™ Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycle.

Each agency presented their Change Project in a 5x5 presentation.

Next Steps

The trainers provided by the Great Lakes PTTC will be meeting with each agency again to review their NIATx Foundation CLAS Assessment (NFCA™) and progress made over the course of the project. The collaborative team will continue to meet and consider ways to support this group of CLAS Standards Collaborative alumni, as well as ways that we can expand upon this work.

Preliminary Analysis

The Center of Excellence has been working with a Voinovich Undergraduate Scholar, Noel Rozic, to conduct a preliminary analysis of the CLAS as a Catalyst for Prevention Learning Collaborative Initiative. Collaborative participants were asked to complete a retrospective survey 6 months after the initiative concluded to measure gains in knowledge and confidence in their ability to apply new knowledge about CLAS Standards, Cultural Responsiveness Concepts, and the NIATx Process Improvement Framework into their daily work. We are pleased to share that the preliminary findings indicate a significant increase in knowledge and confidence for application across all concepts measured. The Center is conducting a more detailed analysis that will measure knowledge and confidence levels across 25 indicators. We anticipate the final report will be ready by early June.

Access Preliminary Report

Learning Collaborative Timeline and Activities

April, 2023

April 26, 2023

Request for Application is released.

May, 2023

May 1, 2023

Informational Webinar

May 19,2023

Application Deadline

May 26, 2023

Applicants notified of selection decision

June, 2023

June 14, 2023

Summit - Day One

The cohort was introduced to a comprehensive analysis of the 15 National CLAS standards Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services - Think Cultural Health (hhs.gov) to be considered as a framework in the prevention arena.

June 15, 2023

Summit - Day Two

The NIATx™ Change Leader Academy model was utilized to help participants define a cultural change project that will initiate continuous process improvement.

All participants received templates to guide the development of a plan for their organization. The teams began selecting their CLAS change project goals and strategies during the summit and continued the development of their plans after the meeting in consultation with senior leaders and others in their organizations.

July, 2023

July 27, 2023

Agency Reports and Collaborative Coaching Session

August, 2023

August 30, 2023

Agency Reports and Collaborative Coaching Session

September, 2023

September 20, 2023

Agency Reports and Collaborative Coaching Session

September 27, 2023

Project Presentation and Celebration

Participating organizations came together to celebrate and present their respective change project in what was called a 5x5 PowerPoint presentation, five slides in 5 minutes.

Partners

Prevention Action Alliance (PAA), in collaboration with The Great Lakes Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC), Ohio University - Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service, the Ohio Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health Prevention and Promotion, and the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, joined together to provide a unique learning opportunity - The CLAS Standards as a Catalyst for Prevention: A Learning Collaborative (CLAS Learning Collaborative).

Presenters

Alfredo Cerrato is the Senior Cultural and Workforce Development Officer for the Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies (CHESS) at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He currently manages Intensive Technical Assistance (ITA) projects for addiction, mental health, and prevention at the Great Lakes Technology Transfer Centers funded by SAMHSA and The HEAL Initiative funded by NIH. He is a Subject Matter Expert (SME) and Trainer of Trainers (ToT) of the National Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) Standards and other culturally related topics. As a senior consultant for the NIATx Foundation, Mr. Cerrato specializes in the relationship between the National CLAS Standards and Process Improvement, focusing on organizational change, cultural communications, worldview dynamics, and conflict resolution. As CEO of various NGOs in former roles, Mr. Cerrato has 25 years of international relations experience. He has conducted advocacy, policy, and disaster relief work in collaboration with multiple governments across the globe.

Mathew Roosa, ACSW, LCSW-R, is a consultant, trainer, and coach, providing organizational and systems-level support for program development, quality improvement, and strategic planning in behavioral and healthcare environments. He is also Director of Planning and Quality Improvement for the Onondaga County Department of Adult and Long-Term Services, providing support to mental health, substance use, Corrections, Aging, and other service systems. Mr. Roosa is the former Clinical Director of Central New York Services, a Non-Profit Agency providing residential, forensic, and treatment services and specializing in services for people with co-occurring chemical dependency and mental illness. Formerly Mr. Roosa was the Clinical Director of Family Services Associates, providing outpatient family therapy and chemical dependency services. Mr. Roosa’s experiences also include the maintenance of a private psychotherapy practice and teaching as an adjunct faculty member of the Human Services Department at Cazenovia College and the Syracuse University Social Work Program.

Melissa Cole (she/her) joined Prevention Action Alliance in 2021 to serve as the prevention coordinator for school-based services, where she will help expand the utilization of evidence-based prevention curricula within school systems across the state. Prior to joining PAA, Melissa worked in substance use disorder treatment and prevention as well as community mental health. She spent over 15 years serving as a school-based prevention service provider, community-based prevention coordinator, and prevention team supervisor in southwest Ohio. Melissa had the privilege to mentor over a dozen student interns during her time as a prevention team leader, many of whom continued in the field. Melissa served as the president of the Brown County Mental Health and Addiction Services Board and as a member of the Ohio Problem Gambling Advisory Board. She is an Ohio Certified Prevention Specialist, a Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist, and a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor II.

Participating Prevention Agencies

Outcomes

Eleven unique behavioral health organizations, 32 participating staff members
Representing NE, NW, SW, Central, and South-Central Ohio; urban/metro, rural and suburban communities
- Youth
- New citizens: Guatemala, Nepali, Somalia
100% agency representation for all learning opportunities

Participant Feedback

What was most effective about the training?

It allowed us to prioritize efforts.
New information
TA with implementing a system-based change
It was very informative
Poster project
The understanding, care, and professionalism that everyone put in to make this possible.
Collaboration learning
The ability to network and collaborate resources
Networking
New information, learning from the other members of the cohort
The agency 5x5 presentations were varied and eye-opening
The new knowledge that was gained and learning and hearing from the other groups.

What was least effective about the training?

The time difference between meeting in person.
A lot of information to retain, and difficult to start the process of the model
The practicality to actually connect the materials to the client
Just running out of time for the sustainability conversation.

What is one concept that you learned from this training that you will try to incorporate into your own work?

How important my ideas are to the overall success of the organization.
The 5x5 presentation structure was beneficial. I definitely want to use it for other presentations.
Development of a flow chart to implement culturally based change.
Continue change project
Brainstorming techniques and processes of change projects.
How there is more meaning to the world culture.
NIATx
On-the-spot polling of survey information.
To recognize that we don't know what we don't know...we need to be humble and willing to learn.
Sometimes definitions of terms aren't needed, as in "cultural frame."
Approach the community and fellow prevention staff with an open mind, culturally and linguistically.
CLAS standards