Comprehend, Inc.

611 Forest Avenue
Maysville, KY 41056
606-564-4016

Project Title
Assertive Community Treatment Planning in Rural Kentucky
Grant Description
To plan an Assertive Community Treatment team for the Comprehend region in Northern Kentucky
Focus Area
Severe Mental Illness
Region Served
Bracken County, Kentucky
Award Amount
$48,333
Year Awarded
2003
Grant Duration
10 months
Results

To date, the planners of a local Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team have:

  • attended the national 2003 Assertive Community Treatment Association Conference in San Antonio, Texas; created an ACT resource library;
  • visited and toured ACT teams and programs in Ohio and Kentucky;
  • worked with ACT consultants;
  • created proposed ACT team model and structure;
  • identified clients who would be assigned to ACT team;
  • explored funding sources for ongoing support of ACT team; and
  • trained existing staff on ACT model.

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Project Title
Planning for Adolescent Intensive Outpatient Family Program
Grant Description
To assess Comprehend's ability to implement a family component in the adolescent intensive outpatient program
Focus Area
Substance Use Disorders
Region Served
Bracken, Fleming, Lewis, Mason, and Robertson Counties, Kentucky
Award Amount
$23,675
Year Awarded
2007
Grant Duration
12 months

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Project Title
Planning for a Drug-free Future
Grant Description
To determine the needs and plan for adolescent substance abuse services in five Kentucky counties
Focus Area
Substance Use Disorders
Region Served
Bracken, Fleming, Lewis, Mason, and Robertson Counties, Kentucky
Award Amount
$74,304
Year Awarded
2002
Grant Duration
12 months

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Project Title
Planning for Illness Management and Recovery (IMR) in Rural Kentucky
Grant Description
To assess the feasibility of implementing the Illness Management Recovery Model
Focus Area
Substance Use Disorders
Region Served
Bracken, Fleming, Lewis, Mason, and Robertson Counties, Kentucky
Award Amount
$20,100
Year Awarded
2007
Grant Duration
9 months

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Project Title
Planning for Tomorrow --- Today: An Assessment of School-Based Mental and Behavioral Health Services
Grant Description
To develop a strategic plan to implement an improved school-based mental health services program
Focus Area
School-Based Child Health Interventions
Region Served
Bracken County, Kentucky
Award Amount
$154,035
Year Awarded
2000
Grant Duration
24 months
Results The first year of the grant Planning for Tomorrow--Today proved to be a huge success for our region’s school-based mental health services program. We better understood the needs of our students following a thorough needs assessment. The partnership among the mental health agencies of Comprehend and the six local public school systems in the region has been enhanced and improved. The needs assessment indicated four main areas of need: improve the present school-based services program, address problematic behavior problems and mental health issues of students, improve communication, and increase teacher training on mental health issues.

In the second year of the grant we plan to address these areas in the following ways:

  • develop a policy and procedure manual specific for school-based services;
  • develop a mental health newsletter for parents, teachers, and mental health providers focused on the needs discovered in the assessment; and
  • provide a comprehensive training program for teachers and mental health clinicians working in our school-based services program.

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Project Title
Response 2000
Grant Description
To develop a cohesive service delivery system throughout a five-county Kentucky region with central intake, screening, and referral
Focus Area
Joint Substance Use Disorders/Severe Mental Illness\Strategic Planning
Region Served
Adams and Brown Counties, OH and Bracken County, KY
Award Amount
$145,500
Year Awarded
1999
Grant Duration
12 months
Results Comprehend identified four grant objectives:
  1. Hire a project manager to provide project management, consultation, training, and technical support in order to redesign Comprehend’s service access and delivery system to become more efficient and client-centered
  2. Develop a Technology Advancement Plan to address Comprehend’s information technology and communication infrastructure needs
  3. Purchase practice management software, connect Comprehend’s regional offices via a computer network, and establish a Comprehend web site
  4. Conduct a regional needs assessment in concert with the Kentucky H. B. 843 initiative (a statewide initiative to enable long-range planning for mental health and substance abuse services across the Commonwealth)

All four grant objectives were met by April 2001.

  1. Hired a project director who conducted interviews with service providers and clients to determine the barriers to client-centered service. He also assessed Comprehend’s technology and management information systems. He found that barriers to client-centered service included redundant administrative tasks, inability to access client information, and limited communication among regional offices. He determined that Comprehend’s current information systems would not support improvements to allow a centralized service system.
  2. Created a technology workgroup to develop a Technology Advancement Plan and monitor the implementation of the plan and researched practice management software from leading vendors in the industry.
  3. Created a technology workgroup to develop a Technology Advancement Plan and monitor the implementation of the plan; researched practice management software from leading vendors in the industry; purchased practice management software and computer hardware to support the software, tested the software, and trained staff; connected all of Comprehend’s offices to its computer network; and established a web site that provides information about Comprehend’s services and programs as well as general behavioral health information.
  4. Conducted a needs assessment via two community forums and mailed surveys to community leaders and service providers. The results of this needs assessment were incorporated into Comprehend’s Kentucky’s H. B. 843 report to the state on service gaps and needs.

Comprehend produced the following outcomes:

  • Centralized intake that matches client need with appropriate services across Comprehend’s service area
  • Streamlined internal processes that improve clinicians’ efficiency by reducing administrative requirements
  • Reduced staff paperwork and client documentation through the elimination of redundant information gathering activities
  • Enhanced utilization review, quality improvement programs, and ongoing local needs assessment

Comprehend identified facilitators and barriers to the planning process. Key facilitators included the support and technical assistance offered by the Foundation staff. A key barrier was the unexpected changes that Comprehend had to undergo in order to incorporate new technology.

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