ocial responsibility has always been a core value of ĂŰĚŇtv, and one that is particularly evident in the College’s commitment to serving local communities while simultaneously providing William James students opportunities to work with populations in need of their growing expertise. “Our Community Engagement team is always taking on new challenges, and 2017 is no exception. Today we are forging new partnerships and finding new experiences for our students with behavioral health providers, schools and government agencies that will further advance services for children and families, the elderly, and others,” says Robert Kinscherff, PhD, JD, Associate Vice-President for Community Engagement. “Here are some recent highlights.” In addition to their general testing, learning disability testing, and neurodevelopmental testing programs, The Dr. Leon O. Brenner Center for Psychological Assessment and Consultation is working with a statewide Task Force on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) to establish more effective protocols for assessing and assisting children and adults who present with symptoms. Executive Director of the Brenner Center, Kelly Casey, PhD, is partnering with Enid Watson, M.Div., the Director of Screening and Early Identification at the Institute for Health and Recovery. By reviewing existing research, and assessment, they hope to establish a specialized assessment service to identify and assess children with FASD and provide referrals to Boston Children’s Hospital for parallel medical examinations. This program is ground-breaking in Massachusetts because it allows staff from William James and Children’s to collaborate on proper diagnoses and treatment plans for patients. Casey states that “a goal of the task force is to establish more advocacy for these patients by campaigning to broaden legal and medical awareness of FASD and by making sure that these individuals receive the benefits, accommodations, and services they need to succeed.” The Brenner Center has also launched SageMind, a four-step program that puts adults in the driver’s seat in attending to their cognition as they age by providing them an integrated mind-brain-body health evaluation and a comprehensive neurocognitive assessment. Each participant will receive an individualized action plan and an opportunity for ongoing cognitive optimization. This will allow adults to use cutting edge research to monitor and enhance cognition as they age, according to Casey. The Richard I. and Joan L. Freedman Center for Child and Family Development continues its outreach to a diversity of populations while staying true to its mission of promotion of mental wellness and the prevention of mental illness. One recent example can be seen in the Center’s INTERFACE Referral Service helpline which last year enhanced its services for older adults. Given that currently in the statewide population, 20% of residents ages 65 and over have been diagnosed with a behavioral health condition, it became clear that a particular emphasis on specialized training for helpline staff, who include ĂŰĚŇtv students, was critical to better serve the older population within the services’ subscribing communities. This training was designed and led by one of the nation’s experts in the field of geropsychology and faculty at ĂŰĚŇtv, Dr. Erlene Rosowsky. In addition, Freedman Center Executive Director Margaret Hannah, MEd, GCEC, was recently appointed to a trailblazing new state commission focused on the promotion of mental wellness and the prevention of mental illness. The Special Commission on Behavioral Health Promotion and Upstream Prevention recognizes the importance of upstream prevention of mental health disorders and investing in prevention programs across the state. Hannah says “the Commission is an opportunity to address pressing behavioral health issues while at the same time assessing our current behavioral health system to find ways to fund prevention programs that work. Bringing this learning from the Commission back to our William James students will contribute additional hands-on training and promote work force development, which is of utmost importance to the mission of ĂŰĚŇtv, and specifically the Department of Community Engagement.” “Our Community Engagement team is always taking on new challenges, and 2017 is no exception.”  —Robert Kinscherff, PhD, JD, Associate Vice- President for Community Engagement S BRENNER CENTER FREEDMAN CENTER 18 RAPPORT | Feature Story