A Leadership Academy was recently conducted for Project Managers of the Multiagency Service Network for Students with Severe Emotional Disturbance (SEDNET). The 2002 Leadership Academy and the SEDNET project are funded by the Florida Department of Education and by Federal IDEA funds.

SEDNET Project Managers provide service in all 18 regions of the state in order to promote a quality, comprehensive system of care for children with, or at-risk of, severe emotional disturbance across agencies, utilizing research-based best practices including support to education; access to mental health treatment and access to residential treatment when needed. The 2002 Leadership Academy provided an opportunity for project managers to hear from a number of experts in the field of children’s mental health.

Speakers from the Department of Child and Family Studies included:

• Karen Blase, academy organizer, spoke of the changing role of SEDNET, remarking that while the original goal of psychiatric placement for children is no longer the major issue for SEDNET, the focus continues to be improving outcomes for children with emotional disturbances.
• Judi Jetson, Coordinator of Research Programs/ Services for the USF Collaborative for Children, Families and Communities, provided an overview of the perspectives and best practices for collaborative leadership, profiling case studies in collaboration for SED youth and their families. For SEDNET to be successful, it requires much collaboration among the child serving agencies including child welfare, mental health, education, juvenile justice, substance abuse, and health.
• Sharon Hodges, Assistant Professor for CFS discussed Theories of Change: A Pathway to Making a Difference.
• Don Kincaid, Director of Florida’s Positive Behavior Support Program presented information on using data for school-wide improvement.
• CFS Chair Robert Friedman, nationally recognized for his work on children's mental health service delivery systems, presented Systems of Care and the Struggle to Create Change.
• Robert Paulson, visiting Research Professor at the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, presented on community-based care: systems in transition.

Created by the Florida Legislature in 1981 to facilitate the reduction in out-of-state placements of children in residential psychiatric facilities, SEDNET will continue to develop and improve the comprehensive, integrated Systems of Care (SOC) through strengthening collaboration at the state and local levels. Key SEDNET goals include:

1. To implement activities consistent with the State Department of Education School Improvement team;
2. To establish the central role of removing the psychosocial barriers to learning and improving the outcomes through the use of evidence-based interventions and by establishing a comprehensive system of care. (The SEDNET State Advisory Team will strive to encourage all child and family agencies to embrace this value and recognize the direct link between academic outcomes and community functioning);
3. To increase the acceptance and involvement of families as equal decision-making partners in all aspects of service delivery form policy to practice, and;
4. To advocate for adequate funding of services for children with severe emotional disturbance and their families; This advocacy will promote the increased use of leveraged funding, Medicaid reimbursement, and the increased use of interagency agreements that will include provisions for shared funding.

The Leadership Academy is designed to assist the Project Managers as they work toward achieving these challenging and important goals. For additional information, contact Karen Blase at 813-974-4463, or email kblase@fmhi.usf.edu.

The Department of Child and Family Studies (CFS) is a department of the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida. The faculty and staff of CFS are committed to enhancing the development, mental health and well-being of children and families through leadership in integrating research, theory & practice.