Northern Virginia Family Services
Creating Training Material and Field Tools for NVFS's Mental Health Responders
CONTEXT
Resources and programs for a diverse community
Serving more than 30,000 people in Northern Virginia, NVFS provides support with housing, immigration, mental health, workforce development, early childhood development, and health equity.
CONTEXT
Training staff for mental health emergency responses
The rise in mental health issues was already present before the COVID-19 pandemic, with the pandemic further amplifying the problem. To support this increased need for mental health care, NVFS planned a training program for their staff from the Healthy Families Program to be equipped to respond to mental health crisis.
NEED
Design printed material and visuals to support staff training
With the content of the training developed, providing staff with printed and digital resources to support their learning was the next step for NVFS facilitators.
What to Say
How to converse with someone experiencing suicidal ideation
Safety Plan
Step-by-step method for clients to create a safety plan
Documentation
Step-by-step protocol to document client suicidal ideation
Supervisor Tips
Suggestions for staff supervisors
USERS
50 Family Support Specialists (FSS) and Family Resource Specialists (FRS) would be participating in the mental health crisis training session
Family Support Specialists at NVFS conduct regular home visits to establish trust with clients, using approved activities and evidence-based curriculum. They facilitate group socialization experiences, provide parenting education, and work with other community providers to provide collaborative services to clients. They perform developmental screenings, make referrals to other services, and maintain client documentation.
PAIN POINTS
Recalling training and protocol suddenly can be challenging
Through stakeholder interviews, I discovered that printed material for staff would be useful during the training, but might be even more important to be able to access, review and use right before and during the very events they are being trained to respond to.
Documentation gets harder to do as time passes after client interactions
Being able to take notes and complete key parts of the documentation process as close to an incident is important for staff members that already has to document so much
SOLUTION
Resource Guide
A booklet that can be referred to after the training and in the field
Client Worksheet
A guide for clients to making a safety plan
Staff Worksheet
A worksheet for staff to document suicidal ideation in clients
Illustrations
Subject sensitive visuals for the booklet and training presentations
DELIVERABLES
