Partnerships for Families

Partnerships

Partnerships for Families is a project that strives to facilitate collaborative, equitable partnerships that balance research evidence and practice expertise to benefit families.

Community partners actively participate in guiding and implementing evidence-based interventions.

• Agencies
• Caregiver Advisory Board
• Community Advisory Board
• Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB)
• Research Consultants

Agencies

Partnerships for Families works with several community based agencies in Allegheny and Butler Counties to address the behavioral and emotional needs of children and adolescents.

Auberle 1101 Hartman St. McKeesport, PA 15132 Phone: 412-673-5800	Mon Yough Community Services 331 Shaw Ave. McKeesport, PA 15132 Phone: 412-675-8300
Every Child Inc Village of East Side 6401 Penn Ave. Suite 300 Pittsburgh, PA 15206 Phone: 412-665-0600	North Shore Community Alliance (NCA) 1439 North Franklin St. Pittsburgh, PA 15233 Phone: 412-322-7400
FamilyLinks 2664 Banksville Rd. Pittsburgh, PA 15216 Phone: 412-661-1800 Fax: 412-661-6525	Rankin Christian Center 230 Third Ave. Rankin, PA 15104 Phone: 412-271-8313
Family Pathways 100 Brugh Ave. Butler, PA 16001 Phone: 724-284-9440 Fax: 724-284-9441	Wesley Spectrum Services 243 Johnston Rd. Pittsburgh, PA 15241 Phone: 412-831-9390
Family Resources 141 S. Highland Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15206 Phone: 412-363-1702 Fax: 412.363.1724	WPIC Family Based Mental Health Services WPIC Child and Adolescent Services Family Based Mental Health Services 3811 O'Hara St. Pittsburgh, PA. 15213 Phone: 412-798-6870 Fax: 412-798-6871

Caregiver Advisory Board

A Caregiver Advisory Board has been established to allow interested caregivers to serve as advisors to researchers and community leaders in the areas of child mental health and child welfare.

Interested caregivers are eligible if they meet the following criteria:

• Caregiver has a child who is or was involved in the mental health or child welfare system.
• Caregiver can be active with a participating agency.
• Caregiver should have a child 5 years of age or older.
• Caregiver plans to attend meetings regularly.
• Caregiver not enrolled in the Partnerships for Families study.

The purpose of the Caregiver Advisory Board is:

• For members to learn more about research.
• To provide feedback to the project partners on questions and procedures involving families.
• To educate the project partners as to how services and research are perceived by families.

The Caregiver Advisory Board is facilitated by both a study researcher, Barbara Baumann, PhD; and a community leader, Annette Trunzo, PhD. These board meetings are held each month in a community location identified as being convenient for all caregivers.

Community Advisory Board

A community advisory board is a formalized partnership between representative community agencies and university-based researchers.

In the Partnerships for Families project, the community advisory board (CAB) consists of representatives from each participating agency; the Allegheny County Office of Children, Youth, and Families; and the investigative team at the University of Pittsburgh.

The CAB meets once each month to discuss issues that have come up in the project or to plan for future stages of the project.

Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB)

We conduct a weekly DSMP (Data and Safety Monitoring Plan) review, and given the use of multiple settings, a vulnerable population, and the potential for heightened safety risk to children participating in the trial, we have created a formal Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB). The primary role of the DSMB will be to monitor the safety of participants in both the AF-CBT intervention and TAU comparison group, report any and all adverse effects in a timely and consistent fashion, and check the validity and integrity of the data. The DSMB will be kept apprised of any adverse events as they occur and will be asked to provide feedback and judgments regarding any serious clinical problems that arise during the study.

We have included members with the relevant experience to help us monitor the safety and overall appropriateness of our study methods. A semi-annual review of reports is conducted for feedback purposes. The Chairperson of the DSMB is Molly Berkoff, MD. The DSMB includes the principal investigator (David Kolko, PhD), an efficacy researcher (Judith Cohen, MD), a community treatment researcher (Aletha Akers, MD), a parent advocate (Doreen Barkowitz, MSW), a local family services agency director (Annette Trunzo, PhD), a practitioner/supervisor from a community agency (Lachelle Freeman, MA), and our statistician (Steve Wisniewski, PhD). We also include a study community liaison (Barbara Baumann, PhD) and the study coordinator (Betsy Holden, MEd). Thus, we have composed a diverse group of individuals varying in ethnicity and gender, discipline, specialization and functions, actual participation in the larger study, and community agency involvement.

Research Consultants

Doreen Barkowitz, LSW Parent Advocate	Lachelle Freeman, MA Clinician/Supervisor Community Practitioner Advocate
Lucy Berliner, MSW Harborview Sexual Assault and Trauma Center Seattle	Charles Glisson, PhD University Distinguished Research Professor and Director, Children's Mental Health Services Research Center (CMHSRC), University of Tennessee
Barbara Burns, PhD Services Effectiveness Research Program Duke University	Annette C. Trunzo, PhD Director of Research, Evaluation, and Quality Improvement Pressley Ridge
Judith Cohen, MD Center for Traumatic Stress in Children and Adolescents Allegheny General Hospital