For the past six months Clinton School student John Memmer (’10) has worked with the Family and Youth Assistance Network (FYAN) creating data tracking and call-in procedures for a resource center providing assistance to the families of children and youth struggling with behavioral health issues.
FYAN is a coalition of Arkansas organizations, families and caregivers that work in children’s behavioral health. The resource center’s goal is to provide information, resources and referrals to consumers while also working to establish advocacy and training networks throughout the state.
The FYAN resource center is a component of the Arkansas System of Care for children’s behavioral health care established by Arkansas Act 1593 in 2007. Initial funding for the center is provided by the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) through a Person Centered Planning grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Memmer met with FYAN representatives to build consensus amongst the various interests represented in the resource center’s mission. The goal was to create an agreed upon set of call-in and data tracking procedures that build community and track barriers to service while also respecting Arkansans’ right to privacy.
“John’s involvement in the project not only provided an objective outside perspective essential to facilitating the resource center’s information collection and reporting process, but also devoted significant support to a primarily volunteer effort” said Dawn Zekis, DHS Director of Policy and Planning.
Memmer’s work will soon culminate in a draft form of policies and procedures for data intake at the FYAN resource center and will be accompanied by a report detailing future steps and recommendations based on themes that emerge during the consensus-building process. These reports will be released at a presentation for Arkansas DHS and FYAN representatives.
The work was Memmer’s Capstone project for his Master of Public Service degree from the Clinton School.
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