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Problem:
Families and children with disabilities experience a variety of needs that require supports and services fostering choices. Va-LEND focuses on priority issues of reducing health disparities, providing access to care through the medical home, and delivering quality care through leadership training.
Goals and Objectives:
Goal 1: Train the next generation of MCH leaders to improve the health and address the needs of children with or at risk for neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families.
Objective 1: Recruit annually at least 9 long-term leadership trainees in the core MCH disciplines and at least one long-term leadership fellow in the discipline of physical medicine and rehabilitation or developmental/behavioral pediatrics.
Objective 2: Increase the percentage of long-term leadership trainees/fellows from typically under-represented groups from 16% achieved between 1999-2004 to a minimum of 20% by 2009.
Objective 3: Train at least 9 long term leadership trainees and one leadership fellow annually through and interdisciplinary, competency-based leadership curriculum with emphasis on 10 MCH content areas.
Goal 2: Goal 1 (Continued from above)
Objective 1: Train 20 additional long-term trainees annually in interdisciplinary areas such as early intervention and school health in the 6 disciplines of social work, psychology, nursing, occupational and physical therapy, and special education.
Objective 2: Train a minimum of 50 intermediate level (40-300 hours) interdisciplinary trainees annually.
Objective 3: Train at least 1000 (<40 hours) short-term trainees yearly through courses, clinical rotations, or independent study.
Goal 3: Serve as a state, regional, & national resource for health and related care providers in the MCH community in assuring quality care, and improvements in the health infrastructure and systems of care.
Objective 1: Collaborate with other LEND and UCEDD programs and their trainees to offer at least one national or regional continuing education activity, every other year.
Objective 2: Offer and evaluate one statewide continuing education program for practicing health professionals in collaboration with Virginia’s Title V and related programs every other year.
Objective 3: Provide a minimum of 45 continuing education events annually for school nurses,pediatricians, early interventionists, health professionals, families, youth with disabilities, educators, and hospital personnel to address community needs.
Goal 4: Provide technical assistance & consultation to Title V & other partners to improve services &supports for children with disabilities & their families & eliminate health barriers & disparities.
Objective 1: Provide at least 300 hours of technical assistance/consultation to state and national Title V and other MCH-related partners, annually, by serving on task forces, committees, and policy forums
Objective 2: Present findings from evidence-based practices and research in the field of neurodevelopmental disabilities at a minimum of 2 MCH-related professional meetings (AMCHP, AUCD, APHA, etc.) and other discipline-specific conferences yearly.
Objective 3: Produce a minimum of 15 peer-reviewed journal articles, books, chapters, or educational products each year that are relevant, evidence-based, or tied to emerging health related issues and disseminate nationally and through the LEND/UCEDD network.
Methodology:
Va-LEND is built on the expertise of core faculty from both the medical and academic campuses at VCU. Faculty contribute to one of three subcommittees of the Faculty Leadership Committee (FLC), which provides program oversight. The Recruitment and Selection committee is responsible for the recruitment strategies and selection process for trainees. The Core Curriculum committee develops and evaluates course work, clinical and community-based practica, systems of care, teamwork, and leadership. The Research committee identifies, monitors and evaluates research activities and training components in the Va-LEND curriculum. The curriculum is competency-based with emphasis on interdisciplinary training and leadership development. Long-term trainees in consultation with faculty advisors develop a leadership development plan to document the attainment of core competencies. The curriculum includes graduate level courses on teamwork and childhood neurodevelopmental disabilities, interdisciplinary practica in clinical and community-based sites, a family mentorship experience, and research training. Trainees complete leadership seminars and systems activities, and participate in continuing education, consultation/technical assistance, and research through Va-LEND, the Partnership, and Title V.
Coordination:
Representatives of state and local health agencies, including Title V, serve as course faculty and preceptors for community-based and leadership experiences. Projects with Title V include training of pediatricians on expanded newborn screening, a birth defects surveillance grant, and participation on advisory committees. Locally the MCHB CECOR grant is a collaborative project to address pediatric mental health and neurodevelopmental issues through monthly meetings with pediatricians.
Evaluation:
A comprehensive evaluation plan is used to assess the effectiveness of training. Trainee performance is evaluated through assessments and feedback from team members and families. Trainee data are tracked during and following completion of the program through the trainee database, the trainee’s leadership development plan, and a trainee follow-up survey. System outcomes/impacts are measured through surveys and monitoring of health indicators for the state.
Experience to Date:
Va-LEND is in its eleventh year of operation. We have trained 95 long-term trainees in the disciplines of audiology (5), dental hygiene (2), engineering/research (1), genetic counseling (7), health administration (2), nursing (10), nutrition (1), occupational therapy (8), pediatrics (5), physical medicine and rehabilitation (1), physical therapy (15), psychology (13), recreational therapy (1), rehabilitation counseling (1), social work (8), special education (13), and speech/language pathology (2). Since 1995 LEND faculty and trainees have produced 236 publications/products, contributed to university-based training reaching 19,827 individuals in 32 disciplines, and conducted 2,299 hours of continuing education reaching 35,666 individuals. In addition, LEND faculty and trainees provided 4,088 hours of consultation /technical assistance and served 39,425 clients through clinical services.
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