Welcome to the Summer 2009 Issue of "In the Loop"

In this issue

• Featured Story: South Carolina Programs Exceed National Averages
• Featured Story: SeginusABC MST Edition
• Announcements from MST Services and MST Institute
• MST Community Updates and Announcements
• Update from Family Services Research Center
• New MST-related Publications and Articles

South Carolina Programs Exceed National Averages

Recent data demonstrates that South Carolina's Department of Mental Health has achieved above national average performance indicators for providing MST.

The SC Department of Mental Health currently supports five MST teams around the state (one site closed in March). Recent data provided by MST Institute has reported exceptional outcomes data for the state of South Carolina.

The outcomes data for the SC MST teams were derived from 302 cases in York, Richland, Greenville, Lexington, Orangeburg and Florence counties between March 2005 and March 2007. The performance indicators that were measured at discharge include the percentage of youth who remain in school and/or working, the number of youth living at home and the percentage of youth with no new arrests. South Carolina averaged more than 80 percent in all categories, which is as good as, or better than national averages.

"Our MST teams continue to excel in their work with our at-risk youth," says Louise Johnson, Director of Children's Services at the Department of Mental Health. "Their ability to implement the treatment model with fidelity is the true reason for our success."

The South Carolina Department of Mental Health began utilizing MST for South Carolina's youth in 2002, and is considered an early-adopter of evidence-based programs. The organization originally supported seven teams. Unfortunately, the MST team in Richland County was shut down in early March of this year due to budgetary cuts.

"Evidence-based programs are those that are backed by scientific data and proven to be effective," explains Johnson. "Unfortunately, many social programs are often implemented with little regard to rigorous evidence, costing billions of dollars and failing to address societal needs. It is absolutely in the state's best economic interest to invest in these programs so we may afford our youth the opportunity to change and lead law-abiding and healthy lives, free from gangs, delinquency and criminal involvement."

Download the MST Outcomes SC Team Packet!

If you would be interested in creating a publicity packet for your MST teams, contact Jessica Munday at jessica@trio-solutions.com.

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SeginusABC MST Edition

The Home-Based Services Edition of SeginusABC is specifically designed for therapists, clinical/systems supervisors and administrators. The system currently encompasses the Multisystemic Therapy (MST) treatment model and flows in accord with the MST analytical process.

SeginusABC MST Edition provides an integrated and cost-effective solution to facilitate:

• Goal-Oriented treatment planning
• Replicating all aspects of the MST Do-Loop
• Fit Diagrams to assist in identifying primary drivers and systemic strengths
• Assisting therapists and supervisors to maintain fidelity to the MST model
• Creating Weekly Summary Reports required for compliance

MST is a structured, manualized service. Research consistently supports the link between therapist adherence to MST treatment principles and youth outcomes. Therefore, strong quality assurance is essential to the realization of the goals of MST treatment. The SeginusABC software assists therapists in maintaining fidelity to the model and assists supervisors in tracking quality assurance through built-in tools. The system is compatible with the web-based MST data collection and analysis system.

Find out more about SeginusABC MST Edition!

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Announcements from MST Services and MST Institute

MSTI Enhanced Website: EW 2.0
A major upgrade and enhancement of the MST Institute Enhanced website called, EW 2.0, was implemented mid-July. Users are asked to send feedback or questions to the MSTI help desk at msti@mstinstitute.org.

Version 2.0 Features:

• New look and feel of website functions
• Simplified navigation
• Forms and reports now separted
• Clear-cut data filtering
• Data exports available in Excel and Word
• Faster
• New reports
• New dashboard

Free MSTI Website training
Free training for the MSTI website is now availble. Internet access is required to participate and registration is limited. Please sign up early at http://www.mstconference.com/website_training.

Is your MST team listed correctly?
Please review for accuracy the lists of licensed MST programs at http://www.mstservices.com/licensed_teams_by_organization.php

Webinars for MST professionals
Website training is available via webinars on several topics, and these trainings will be updated in the near future to include information related to EW 2.0 (see above). Registration is limited to 15 telephone connections and is offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Go to http://www.mstservices.com/training.php and click on "Webinar Registration" to sign up. Access to the Internet and a telephone connection are required to participate.

MSTI Follow-up Interview
The MSTI Follow-up Interview service is now available to programs that are also using the TAM-R Data Collection service. For additional information about this service, please contact Molly Brunk at molly.brunk@mstservices.com.

Web Services Order Form
A new web services order form has been posted on the MST Institute website, http://www.mstinstitute.org/contact/resources.shtml. This update includes a revised rate of $25/family/month for TAM-R data collection for new collection contracts. Existing TAM-R data collection contracts are not affected by this rate change.

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MST Community Updates & Announcements

Welcome New MST Teams (April to June 2009)

Mars Home for Youth	Mars Allegheny County	PA
Touchstone Behavioral Health	TUC-B	AZ
Beacon Light McKean	Beacon Light McKean Area	PA
Tri-County Mental Health Services	Region 1 C-Y	ME
Life Changing Solutions, LLC	Life Changing Solutions, Team 3	LA
Harborcreek Youth Services	Harborcreek Allegheny County	PA
Su Vida	Su Vida Team 4	NM
New Horizons Youth Services Bureau	YSB Team #1	LA
Beacon Light Behavioral Health	Beacon Light Warren	PA
Team Rio Ranch	Clovis	NM

Quarterly "Whatever It Takes" Recipients
The following individuals received "Whatever It Takes" recognition this past quarter. These individuals, teams, or programs have demonstrated creative, out-of-the-box thinking, persistence and dedication to do "whatever-it-takes" to accomplish a positive MST outcome for MST youth and their families. Congratulations to the following recipients!

Daniel Bachicha	MST Services	Minnesota
Richard Aucoin	MST Services	South Carolina
Diane Kooser	MST Services	Pennsylvania
Vonetta Lambert	Community Solutions Inc.	Rhode Island
Melanie East	Adelphoi Village	Pennsylvania
Angela de Falco	Community Solutions Inc.	Rhode Island
Marc Murphy	MST Services	South Carolina
Jerad Mellette	PA Counseling Services	Pennsylvania
Sherri Skedel	Columbus Children's Hospital	Ohio
George Naumann	De Waag, Center for Community Forensic Psychiatry	Netherlands
Laura Bell	SCO Family Services	New York
Andres Soto	Central Youth and Family Services	Washington
Rick Schiffer	Mars Home for Youth	Pennsylvania
Ellen Shifko	MST Services	Pennsylvania
Laura Shortt	MST Services	Tennessee
Greg Melendez	MST Services	Finland
Christie Davis	Tides Family Services	Rhode Island
Dan Ensor	Community Solutions Inc.	Georgia
Children's Village		New York

Know Someone Going the Extra Mile?
Consider nominating them for the MST "Whatever It Takes" recognition program. This program is an ongoing effort to recognize those individuals throughout the MST community who demonstrate creative, out-of-the-box thinking, persistence and dedication to do "whatever it takes" to accomplish a positive MST outcome for MST youth and their families.

Each of these nominees will receive a letter of recognition and a Certificate of Merit. In addition, each will be considered for the Annual "Whatever It Takes" Award that will be presented at the next International Conference.

Nominate Someone for Whatever It Takes

MST Jobs
Please remember to utilize the free MST jobs Web site, http://www.mstjobs.com/, as a part of your agency's staff recruitment strategy. You can post positions as well as review resumes of applicants, who are looking for MST-related opportunities and who have posted their resumes on the site.

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News Briefs from Family Services Research Center at MUSC

Highlighted article - Rural Appalachian Project (RAP); Presenting: Sonja Schoenwald, PhD

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New Publications

The following MST-related publications are available:

• 281 Sheidow, A. J., & Henggeler, S. W. (in press). Multisystemic Therapy with Substance Using Adolescents: A Synthesis of the Research. In N. Jainchill (Ed.), Understanding and Treating Adolescent Substance Use Disorders. Kingston, NJ: Civic Research Institute.
• TBD Henggeler, S.W., Letourneau, E.J., Chapman, J.E., Borduin, C.M., Schewe, P.A., & McCart, M.R. (2009). Mediators of Change for Multisystemic Therapy with Juvenile Sexual Offenders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77, 451-462.
• 341 Curtis, N.M., Heiblum, N., Ronan, K.R., & Crellin, K. (2009). Dissemination & effectiveness of multisystemic treatment in New Zealand: A benchmarking study. Journal of Family Psychology, 23(2), 119-129.
• 344 Schoenwald, S.K., Sheidow, A.J., & Chapman, J.E. (2009). Clinical supervision in treatment transport: Effects on adherence and outcomes. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77(3), 410-421.

All MST-related publications can be located at: www.musc.edu/psychiatry/research/fsrc/pubs.htm

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This newsletter has been developed as a communication tool to keep everyone well informed about news, events and issues that impact the greater MST community. We encourage you to explore the contents of this newsletter and provide us with your feedback. Feel free to make recommendations for what you would like to see in future issues. Suggestions can be directed to intheloop@mstservices.com.