In partnership with UM’s Office of Health Research & Partnership, the Center is conducting a Needs Assessment and local evaluation of the Health Extension Network partners and associated communities In Flathead County; Lake County; Sanders County; and the Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribe. During this planning year, community-wide needs, barriers, challenges, and gaps in services of each community are being ascertained and analyzed in preparation for a new, multi-year HRSA grant application that will design and implement a new Health Extension Network in the state.

Funder: HRSA

Contact: Maria Hamm

Develop a Mental Health Resilience for Child Care Workers training which includes a four-module eLearning course and five tele-coaching sessions. Training topics include stress management, building resilience, working with diverse families, organization wellness, and grief and loss. The training is intended for directors and staff at licensed child care facilities.

Funder: DPHHS Early Childhood & Family Support Division

Contact: Kim Spurzem

Disperse mini-grants to a small number of local public health departments develop implementation, evaluation and sustainability plans for adding primary prevention activities into LPH.

Grantees will participate in monthly learning collaboratives designed to problem-solve and share staffing and programmatic challenges and opportunities.

Funder: Behavioral Health and Disabilities Division, MT-DPHHS

Contact: Maria Hamm

Facilitate program evaluation, education, training, and technical support to equip Montana Tribal communities with the means to demonstrate the impact of culturally based substance use prevention programs.  Environmental scan to be conducted of all tribal SUD prevention programming across the state that has cultural integration.

Funder: Behavioral Health and Disabilities Division, MT-DPHHS

Contact: Maria Hamm

The University of Montana Health and Medicine in partnership with the Center, created a 4-part training series to provide thoughtful, tailored support to refine the skills of healthcare preceptors across Montana’s workforce. The series includes 4-asynchronous eLearning modules focused on precepting and supervision, communication, teaming, and provider wellness. In addition, the project's goal is to increase preceptors' ability to support new workers in hopes of improving new worker retention and preceptor’s job satisfaction. 

Funder: University of Montana-College of Health

Contact: Lily Apendaile

As part of the Zero Suicide Project, the Center is implementing Caring Contacts in tribal communities. Caring Contacts is an evidence-based suicide prevention strategy that provides automated text phone messages with culturally relevant, positive messaging and links to health and behavioral health resources sent to interested behavioral health patients. 

Evaluation: The Center is evaluating Caring Contacts. Qualitative and quantitative data are collected via participant surveys deployed by a text messaging vendor (Mosio) and analyzed for quality improvement and participant satisfaction.

Funder: SAMHSA

Contact: Kate Chapin