Youth & Family
Educating families, caregivers, and communities about the complex mental health needs of children and adolescents. Our Youth & Family Division works to reduce stigma and barriers associated with children’s mental health disorders.
+ MACMH’s Somali and LatinX culturally specific parent leadership training and 40-Day Project started with the Somali Parent Leadership trainings, parent education and support groups. 10 Somali parent leaders were certified as CFPS (Certified Family Peer Specialists) and as Youth Mental Health First Aiders. MACMH teamed with University of Minnesota Extension to create the Somali 40-Day Project website and training curriculum. 10 additional Somali parents attended a series of trainings on the 40-Day Postpartum period. They learned about the importance of caring for their own mental health and physical health through their pregnancy and in the weeks after giving birth. The training series included nutrition, warning signs of post-partum complications and postpartum depression. They discussed their cultural community supports and how to make this a special time of healing and attachment with baby. MACMH is currently working with a group of Spanish-speaking professionals to develop the Spanish language 40-Day Project Website, similar to the Somali site.
+ Through a SAMHSA MHAT grant introduced the SOS (Sources of Strength) program in the Mounds View Public School District and will be adding SOS in Burnsville High School, and District 916. Sources of Strength brings together a group peer leaders and adult advisors from diverse sectors of the school community. Sources of Strength is an upstream suicide prevention program that encourages help-seeking, breaking the code of silence by approaching trusting adults with concerns about the mental health of classmates. The mission is to spread hope by focusing on stories of strength rather than stories of trauma. The group helps to build connections between groups and individuals so that no one has to feel isolated or marginalized.
+ MACMH staff have trained 100s of adults who work with youth in the Youth Mental Health First Aid program. Participants become YMHF Aiders, to better deal with a student at risk for a mental health crisis.
+ MACMH will be adding Teen Mental Health First Aid to the training options as we offer training for TMHFA instructors to teach students about recognizing the warning signs and best practices for helping their classmates to discuss mental health concerns with trusted adults and mental health providers. These students will be certified in TMHFA after taking the course in their health classes.
+ MACMH has taught over 200 Certified Family Peer Specialists through a MACMH-developed 30-hour curriculum. The project is a collaboration with the MN Department of Human Services, who currently manage the state peer certification process. Certified Family Peer Specialists empower parents, families, and caregivers of children with a mental health diagnosis through mentoring and offering non-clinical support to help families navigate the systems of care for children’s mental health. CFPS candidates must be (or have been) parents or caregivers of a child or youth with a mental health diagnosis and have personal experience in navigating the systems.
+ MACMH staff members provide ongoing coaching and advocacy to parents of children and youth who are experiencing frustration or need advice in accessing services for mental health concerns. MACMH helps parents find providers that meet their needs geographically and according to the diagnosis. MACMH staff often attends IEP meetings for children and youth who receive special education services or are on a 504 plan. We guide them in determining the best accommodations and modifications, plus help them to understand the rights and responsibilities that are guaranteed to the child and family under special education and disability law.
Our Family Education Programs focus on developing and facilitating training to provide families, community members, and professionals with tools to enhance skills of self-advocacy, navigating child welfare, mental health, juvenile justice, and education systems.
We emphasize practical application and use best practices techniques as they relate to mental health and well-being. Our family education programs aid in obtaining the skills needed to support physically, psychologically, and emotionally healthy children.
Curriculum Development: both manuals and power points. Trainings: presentations to parents/caregivers, youth, educators, mental health professionals and community members.
Our goals
- Build
Build supportive relationships with families and caregivers - Develop & Facilitate
Develop and facilitate trainings to provide families, community members and professionals with tools to develop skills of self-advocacy, navigating child welfare, mental health, juvenile justice and education systems - Act
Act as a referral resource to parents and caregivers - Provide
Provide direct advocacy for families by accompanying them at meetings, court hearings, and school IEP’s
Our continuum of Family Education
- Certified Family Peer Specialist
- Key Warning Signs of Early Mental Illness in Children
- Suicide Prevention
- Sources of Strength
- Circle of Parents
- Support Group Facilitate
- Youth Mental Health First Aid Certification Training
- Parent Advocacy for Your Children
- Parent Involvement for Student Success
A group of moms created the 40-Day Project to share resources, education, and support with Somali parents and caregivers during the postpartum period.
This initiative is a collaborative effort supported by the University of Minnesota Extension Department of Family Health and Wellbeing, the Minnesota Association for Children’s Mental Health, the University of Minnesota Center for Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Public Health, and many parent and professional content experts.
Education
Youth & Family Services develops curriculum, both manuals and PowerPoints, as well as offers presentations to parents/caregivers, youth, educators, mental health professionals, and community members
Our goal is to provide the skills and knowledge necessary to navigate child welfare, mental health, juvenile justice, and education systems.
Additionally, the Youth & Family Services department offers a number of family education, trainings, and opportunities to further support our children, including,
- Access to Certificated Family Peer Specialists.
- Key Warning Signs of Early Mental Illness in Children.
- Suicide Prevention.
- Sources of Strength.
- Circle of Parents.
- Support Groups.
- Youth Mental Health First Aid Certification Training.
Developing Self-Advocacy Skills
Parents will develop a sense of self-awareness (identify values, interests, and desires); know the type of support that is anticipated; and articulate these needs to individuals or agencies for appropriate services.
The Minnesota Association for Children’s Mental Health has a long history of providing suicide prevention education and training. Key MACMH staff are certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid and have presented this curriculum to organizations and community groups across the State. Youth Mental Health First Aid is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peer, neighbors, health and human service workers and other caring citizens how to help an adolescents (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or crisis.
Additionally, MACMH staff are also certified to train of the Changing the Narrative program. This program is an upstream suicide prevention conversation designed by the Minnesota Department of Health’s Suicide Taskforce.
Lastly, the Minnesota Association for Children’s Mental Health has created a Key Warning Signs and Suicide Prevention training specifically designed to meet the Minnesota State statute and Minnesota Board requirements for educators to meet licensure recertification guidelines for suicide prevention continuing education.
Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) is a model program managed, operated, and disseminated by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. Training participants are adults who interact with young people ages 12-18. The course teaches one how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses, mental health crisis, and substance use disorders. The training gives one the skills to reach out and provide initial help and support to some having a mental health challenge or crisis. One is certified as a Youth Mental Health First Aider upon completion of the 8-hour course. In order to become an instructor of YMHFA, one needs to take the instructor training from the National Council on Mental Wellness. There are other versions of this Mental Health First Aid training, including Teen Mental Health First Aid, in which participants are teenagers who will be certified to reach out to peers who are exhibiting in a mental health crisis and guide them to adult helpers.
https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/about/
Sources of Strength (SOS) is a SAMHSA model program listed on the National Registry of Evidence Based Programs and Practices (NREPP). SOS is a strength-based, comprehensive wellness program that focuses on suicide prevention and also impacts other issues such as substance abuse and violence. The program is usually school based, using teams of Peer Leaders mentored by Adult Advisors to change peer social norms abut help seeking and encourages students to individually assess and develop strengths in their life. It emphasizes connectivity, school bonding, peer adult partnerships, and help seeking behaviors. (Ongoing during the school year)
https://sourcesofstrength.org/discover/faq/
Key Warning Signs and Interventions of Mental Health Disorders in
Children and Adolescents & Youth Suicide Prevention
This two-part presentation fulfills the requirements for re-licensure for Minnesota educators in Key Warning Signs and Suicide Prevention in Youth. It is also appropriate for other professionals who work with youth. The first part of the presentation examines risk factors, early warning signs, and educational implications of common mental health disorders for children and teens. Professionals learn teaching styles, interventions, and accommodations to lessen the negative impact of children’s mental health disorders on a young person’s social, emotional, and academic success. The second half of the presentation examines best practices for suicide awareness, prevention, intervention and postvention for youth. Participants will learn to recognize suicidal ideation, support the youth through a mental health crisis, and to encourage and guide them to appropriate professional care. (3 hours/3CEHs)
Changing the Narrative on Mental Health and Suicide
Changing the Narrative on Mental Health and Suicide was developed by the Suicide Prevention Taskforce led by the Minnesota Department of Health for use by mental health agencies and community health educators for a general audience of community members including parents and caregivers. The presentation helps participants understand the importance of using appropriate language when talking about mental health and suicide through healthy conversations. It emphasizes protective factors and warning signs for young people at risk. Best practices for de-escalation and crisis intervention for a youth in distress are examined. A public health model approach discussing the eight dimensions of wellness and a holistic approach to recovery are part of the training tools for improving mental health to move a person up the continuum from mental distress to mental wellness. (2.5 hours)
Building supportive relationships with families and caregivers
Our goals
- Assist parents and caregivers in developing self-advocacy skills
- Refer parents and caregivers to community resources
- Develop an Annual Self-Care Day Retreat
Referrals to Community Resources
- Parents will collaborate with the parent support specialist to get needs assess and understand family goals
- Serve as a systems navigator and partner to aid parents in receiving necessary guidance
- Facilities conversation that will help agencies understand the parent’s concerns.
Developing Self-Advocacy Skills
- Develop
Parents will develop a sense of self-awareness (identify values, interest and desires) - Know
Know the type of support that is anticipated - Articulate
Articulate these need to individuals or agencies for appropriate services
Annual Self-Care Day Retreat
- Continental Breakfast
- Ground activity and Introduction
- Workshops
- Journaling
- Lunch
- Mindful exercise
- Think-Pair-Share
- Reflection and Action Steps
Family Support
Building supportive relationships with families and caregivers is a main goal of Youth & Family Services. Through parent programs, assisting caregivers in developing self-advocacy skills, and offering referrals to community resources, MACMH is aiming to strengthen the mental health of all families.
Additionally, Youth & Family Services provides direct advocacy for families by accompanying them at meetings, court hearings, and school IEP meetings.
Community Resource Referrals
Parents will collaborate with the parent support specialist to get their needs assessed and understand family goals.
The support specialist will serve as a systems navigator and partner to aid parents in receiving necessary guidance.
They will facilitate conversations that will help agencies understand the parent’s concerns.
Youth Intervention Program (YIP) Grant
Funded by MN Department of Children, Youth, and Families
0Sources of Strength Prevention and Youth Intervention Project
The Youth Intervention Programs (YIP) Grant was originally funded by the Office of Justice but has been moved to the MN Dept of Children, Youth, and Families. The goal of the YIP grant is to strengthen positive connections through open dialogue between student and staff, to encourage resilience through strengths and resources to address student concerns. The YIP grant project is aligned with our SAMHSA MHAT grant and the SAMHSA MHAT grant provides the required one-on-one match for the YIP grant funding. Sources of Strength (SOS) and Teen Mental Health First Aid (TMHFA) are the model programs implemented through the YIP grant. We finished the first two-year YIP grant on December 31, 2025. We received the funding to continue the programming with a new YIP grant, which started on January 1, 2026. Our project focus will remain the same, with the addition of a new partner district, Intermediate School District 287.
SAMHSA Mental Health Awareness Training (MHAT) Grant
Funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Sources of Strength Prevention and Youth Intervention Project
Our SAMHSA Mental Health Awareness Training (MHAT) Grant project is titled the Ramsey County Youth Mental Health Awareness Grant. The five-year grant started on October 1, 2022, and ends on September 30, 2027. The grant project includes implementation of Sources of Strength and Teen Mental Health First Aid in the Mounds View School District’s three high schools (Irondale, Mounds View High and the Alternative Learning Center School) and in District 916 at the Quora Education Center, with additional sites in 2026 in Intermediate School District 287. Sources of Strength is a club-based suicide prevention program that trains adult advisors and peer leaders to design school-wide campaigns based on 8 resilience-building strengths and messages to break the code of silence by seeking adult helpers when a student struggles with a mental health crisis. Teen Mental Health First Aid is taught to all 10th graders in health classes, teaching youth to be aware of signs and symptoms of mental health concerns in teens and how to listen, respond, and encourage classmates to seek mental health resources and talk to trusted adults. MACMH Staff and school district staff have been trained by national trainers in Sources of Strength and Teen Mental Health First Aid.
Regional Parent Leadership Institute Training Grant (PLTI)
Funded by the MN Department of Children, Youth, and Families
Metro Region PLTI Initiative
MACMH is one of seven grantees for the three-year MN Regional Parent Leadership Institute (PLTI) Training Grant funded by the MN Department of Children, Youth, and Families. MACMH’s region for the grant project is the Twin Cities Metro Region. The grant started on January 1, 2026. The grant involves working with the National Parent Leadership team to develop a Civic Design Team reflective of the diverse cultural demographic profile of the Twin Cities Metro region. The Project Coordinator will work with the NPLI and the Civic Design Team to build a 3-person facilitation team, along with the project coordinator who will be trained by the national PLTI trainers in June 2026. The coordinator and facilitators, along with the Civic Design Team, will recruit yearly cohorts of 15-25 parents who will attend 20 weeks of leadership training and create civic design projects to improve the lives of children and families in the Twin Cities Metro region.
Project Director Responsible for Grant Implementation:
Deborah Cavitt, Project Director, Manager of Advocacy and Education
Email: dcavitt@macmh.org
MACMH Grantee Leadership and Oversite:
Lauren Moberg, Interim Executive Director
Email: lmoberg@macmh.org
