Selected Impacts of our Work
The investment that MA DMH makes in its funding of iSPARC as a Research Center of Excellence provides an impressive return on this investment to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Every $1 invested by MA DMH in FY22 brought to UMass Chan and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts a return of about $9 in funding for our portfolio of research, training, technical assistance, and service delivery.
See the pie chart for iSPARC's different funders in FY22.
FAQs
DeafYES! Center for Deaf Empowerment and Recovery
Dr. Alexander Wilkins, Co-Director of DeafYES, is currently on the path to achieving independence as a clinician-scientist – to our knowledge, the first Deaf person in the nation to serve as a behavioral therapy clinical trials researcher.
A deaf-accessible version of the Question Persuade Refer (QPR) suicide prevention training – was created by the DeafYES team in partnership with the MA Department of Mental Health. This training is designed for Deaf community members and is available at https://deafyes.org/our-training/
Video: “Sign Here: How to Conduct Informed Consent with Deaf Research Participants” - is part of NIH’s “Guidelines on Communicating Informed Consent for Individuals Who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing and Scientists”
https://www.nih.gov/health-information/nih-clinical-research-trials-you/guidelines-communicating-informed-consent-individuals-who-are-deaf-or-hard-hearing-scientists
Law & Psychiatry
Risk Assessment in Juvenile Justice: A Guidebook for Implementation - Produced and disseminated this first (and only) Guidebook on how to effectively implement risk/needs assessment and case planning in justice settings.
Massachusetts Youth Screening Inventory-2 (MAYSI-2) - Developed, normed, and nationally normed this most widely used behavioral health screen in juvenile justice in the United States.
MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool Criminal Adjudication & Juveniles Adjudicative Competence Instrument – These standardized instruments – one for adults and one for juveniles - improved the quality and procedures for competence to stand trial evaluations in the U.S.
Lifeline for Moms
MCPAP for Moms - is an internationally recognized statewide mental health service delivery approach that improves treatment rates and outcomes for perinatal mental health and substance use disorders. It has become a national model for perinatal mental health care, inspiring federal and state-level funding for additional Perinatal Psychiatry Access Programs across the US. https://www.mcpapformoms.org/
Lifeline for Moms National Network of Perinatal Psychiatry Access Programs - There are now 24 funded and operational Perinatal Psychiatry Access Programs in 21 US states with the potential to cover nearly 54% of the 3.7 million US births each year, in addition to two programs available across the US and one Ottawa-based program. https://www.umassmed.edu/lifeline4moms/
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists disseminates our practice-level approach for helping obstetric practices detect, assess, and treat perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.
Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research
Multisystemic Therapy for Emerging Adults – intervention to reduce antisocial behavior, and mental health and substance use disorder symptoms in 17-25-year-olds. The only intervention to date with evidence of efficacy to reduce recidivism in young adults.
Healthy Transitions Initiative – A SAMHSA-funded program that has provided grants to 25 states to improve services for transition-age youth with or at risk of serious mental health conditions. Our research provided the rationale for its launch in 2002 and additional funding for the program over time.
TEST- CTE Guide –guide to promoting Career and Technical Education (CTE) is one of a 3-part set for practicing /implementing best practices in transition planning for secondary students with serious mental health conditions. Promoted in the Department of Labor-funded Social Security Income Youth Solutions as one of “Twelve Ideas to Promote Employment for Youth with Disabilities…”. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/twelve-ideas-to-promote-employment-for-youth-with-disabilities-an-introduction-to-the-ssi-youth
Learn more about the Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research
iSPARC Communications Team
180+ written products - developed to provide current education and information to inform and empower the community of mental health stakeholders in Massachusetts and beyond
300,000+ downloads - of iSPARC’s written products on our website/ e-journal Psychiatry Information in Brief https://repository.escholarship.umassmed.edu/handle/20.500.14038/221
Social Media Impact:
- Developed over 200 videos on cutting-edge mental health topics with over 60K lifetime views worldwide
- 5,000+ followers across its centers and platforms
30 webinars with over 3,000 participants in 5 years
670+ Peer-Reviewed Publications
Adult Criminal Justice & Diversion
Building Equity in Objective Prison Classification: A Model for Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities
Title: Building Equity in Objective Prison Classification: A Model for Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities
Funder: National Institute of Justice (NIJ)/W.E.B. Du Bois Program of Research on Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Justice System
Total Funding Amount (Direct + Indirect): $599,976
Dates: 1/1/2024-12/31/2027
Description: Dr. Spencer G. Lawson was awarded a National Institute of Justice grant through the W.E.B. Du Bois Program of Research on Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Justice System. The title of this award is “Building Equity in Objective Prison Classification: A Model for Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities.” The project will focus on building a scalable method for achieving racial and ethnic equity in objective prison classification, which investigators intend to disseminate to correctional agencies nationally via a collaboration with the National Institute of Corrections. The goals of this four-year project are to collaborate with the Massachusetts Department of Correction to 1) examine the magnitude and drivers of racial and ethnic disparities in their Objective Point Base Classification System, 2) facilitate adjustments to their classification system to reduce observed tool bias and disparities, and 3) pilot the adjustments to evaluate their differential (or equitable) impact on custody level placements and access to programming, both of which impact length of incarceration. Findings will culminate in the design of a generalizable Building Equitable Objective Prison Classification Toolkit to guide correctional agencies nationally to build or improve their existing prison classification systems with an equity lens, while still preserving public safety and institutional security.
