The UMass Chan & Temple Collaborative RRTC on Community Living and Participation among Transition Age Youth with SMHC from Disadvantaged Backgrounds - Abstract Goal: The UMass Chan & Temple RRTC will, over a five-year period, serve as a national leader in state-of-the-art research and knowledge translation activities to significantly advance community living and participation outcomes among transition age youth (TAY) with serious mental health conditions from disadvantaged, vulnerable, and marginalized backgrounds. Objectives: This goal will be achieved through three objectives: 1) generate new knowledge regarding developmentally appropriate interventions to promote participation; 2) generate new knowledge about system and policy issues affecting community living and participation; and 3) provide training, dissemination, and technical assistance activities to TAY and other key stakeholders. Outcomes: The RRTC will conduct five research studies. Two will culminate in new knowledge about the efficacy of interventions for advancing high school student success among BIPOC and economically disadvantaged TAY, and improving social connections among LGBTQIA+ TAY. Two will inform systems transformation and policy reform by: a) identifying actionable solutions to cross-system collaboration barriers in both urban and rural areas to meet the participation needs of justice-involved TAY, and b) elucidating relationships between system involvement and employment outcomes among TAY involved in the justice, child welfare, and/or public mental health systems. A mixed methods study will explore current conceptualizations and experiences of community participation in the post-COVID era to inform interventions, systems, and policies. Products: Through cutting-edge knowledge translation processes, the RRTC speeds capacity-building for current and future service providers, empowers TAY to engage in meaningful areas of community participation, and catalyzes movement of findings into practice and policy. All activities include the participatory involvement of TAY, their families, and other stakeholders.
