Call for Proposals
Innovations Institute welcomes presentation proposals for the 2025 Training Institutes, Building a World Where Young People Thrive, that challenge us to advance research-based, inclusive, culturally responsive, and transformative solutions to improve outcomes.
Join colleagues from across the country who will present their work in more than 165 innovative, in-depth workshops that address workforce development, systems design and financing, data-driven strategic planning, evidence-based services, cultural competence and equity, and quality improvement for child/youth and family services including mental health, substance use, public health, juvenile justice, child welfare, education, early childhood, and transition age services.
Thank you all for the wonderful submissions! We are reviewing now and will be back in touch soon!
Submission Details
Innovations Institute welcomes presentation proposals for the 2025 Training Institutes from individuals with expertise in integrating systems and improving outcomes for children, youth, young adults, and their families. This includes experts and leaders in state, county, tribal, and territorial children’s systems; direct service providers; state purchasers and experts from Medicaid and managed care; family and youth leaders; and educators.
Proposal Content & Policies
Required Proposal Content
- Presenter name, email, organization, title, 200-word bio and resume
- Title (full title – 15 words or less)
- Session Type (see list below)
- Focus area (see list on following page of options)
- Three to five action-oriented learning objectives
- Description of Proposed Session (1,000 characters max)
- Learning methods
Presenter Information
The primary presenter should also be the main contact person who will receive correspondence regarding the proposal. Please convey relevant information to all co- presenters.
Policies
- All presenters must be registered participants at the 2025 Training Institutes and are responsible for the full conference registration fee, unless noted otherwise below, as well as for any Pre-Institutes Training Programs they elect to attend.
- Presenters are responsible for their own travel and hotel costs.
- Presenters are eligible to apply for continuing education credits for their participation. Continuing education credits are an additional cost. Please view the conference fee structure on the website: .
Deadline for Submissions
Proposals are due by October 10, 2024, 11:59PM EST. Changes to proposals may be completed online up to the deadline but no changes will be accepted after this date. Incomplete submissions will not be considered.
How to Submit Your Proposal
- Choose the Submit Proposal link to enter your detailed information. Create a profile.
- Enter the primary presenter’s details. Add co-presenters by selecting the Add Co-Presenter button. Up to 5 co-presenters can be added. Select Next.
- Select your presentation type and focus area and information about your content. Select Next.
- Review your information before selecting the Submit button.
- Check your email for receipt confirmation.
- Make edits as often as you wish until October 10, 2024, 11:59PM EST. To make edits, log in to your Call for Proposals Portal (CVent), choose My Submissions, choose Edit Submission, select Next to advance and when done, select Submit. You will need the link in your confirmation email to make edits.
Questions regarding the proposal submission process can be directed to: traininginstitutes@uconn.edu and technical questions about CVent can be directed to innovationshelp@uconn.edu.
Review Criteria
Proposals will be assessed on the following:
- Relevant and innovative approach
- Evidence of impact and positive outcomes
- Financing strategies, if appropriate
- System of care core values of community-based, family-driven, youth-driven, and culturally and linguistically responsive designs, models, services, and approaches
- Practical, how-to information on approaches that can be adapted with real-world examples
- Clear learning objectives and approaches designed to engage participants
- Expertise relevant to the topic including meaningful participation of families, youth, and young adults, as appropriate
- Forward-looking discussion around next steps or future challenges and opportunities
Workshop: These 1 1/2-hour sessions include adult learning strategies to enhance participants’ knowledge in a topic area. Information should be operationally relevant, innovative, and replicable. Presenters may include up to four individuals, one of whom can receive a discounted presenter registration.*
Ignite Talk: Five-minute inspirational talks with 20 slides that automatically advance every 15 seconds. Ignite Talks are thought-provoking personal and/or professional stories on hot topics designed to enlighten, inspire, and entertain the audience. If selected, you will receive virtual coaching and support in developing and presenting your talk. The presenters of Ignite Talks will receive one discounted registration.
Poster Presentation: Highlight research findings, new ideas, innovations, and advances in the field in an informal setting. A poster template will be provided to focus on your most important findings with a QR code that participants can scan for more information. Details will be provided for accepted poster presentations. Poster presenters may include up to four individuals.*
Data Points: Ten-minute presentations and accompanying posters that introduce data and show results from new programs, initiatives, or research with slides. Data Points are an opportunity to present a well- organized talk that starts with a clearly defined opportunity for change, introduces relevant data, and presents results or conclusions. Data Points are great vehicle for impactful initiatives that result in improved outcomes for children, youth, young adults, and their families. Practice is key to a successful PowerPitch as your presentation time will end at 10 minutes!
Youth Leadership Program: These 1 1/2-hour sessions on a wide range of topics provide youth and young adults with the knowledge and skills to become effective leaders and advocates. Presenters may include up to four individuals, one of whom can receive a discounted presenter registration. Youth Leadership Program Sessions must include at least one youth or young adult.
*Presenters are strongly encouraged to include parents, youth, and young adults as co-presenters in Workshops and Poster Presentations when meaningful and appropriate to the topic.
Focus Areas
Proposals are accepted in one of ten focus areas that are critical components of effective delivery systems for children, youth, young adults, and their families. We welcome presentations from experts working in child/youth and family systems such as mental health, substance use/abuse, public health, physical health, juvenile justice, child welfare, education, early childhood, and transition-age services. Proposals must explicitly address the system of care core values of community-based, family-driven, youth-driven, and culturally and linguistically responsive designs, models, services, and approaches. These core values span a full-service array continuum including prevention, early intervention, and home, community, hospital, and residential services and supports.
Within each focus area, presentation content should include effective strategies and best practices for the topics listed below. The examples provided under the topics below are provided to give guidance and are not exclusive. Proposals can expand on the examples listed within the following topics:
Culturally & Linguistically Responsive & Competent Care
- Eliminating disparities and improving equity in, access to, and outcomes in child, youth and family systems of care
- Developing and utilizing mental health disparity impact statements and implementing CLAS standards within Medicaid and other major delivery systems
- Building and sustaining culturally responsive and competent provider networks, including cultural adaptations of evidence-based practices, and culturally adapted or new, emerging, and evidence-informed practices
- Improving health literacy, and strategies, to address the social determinants of health and well-being
- Reaching and meeting the needs of specific populations (e.g., Black/African-American; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Queer, Two Spirit, and other diverse sexual orientations and gender identities; Latino/a/x/Hispanic; Asian/Pacific Islander; American Indian/Alaskan Native; metropolitan, suburban, rural, frontier; immigrant and refugee)
- Engaging diverse youths, young adults, and their families with lived experience in developing, implementing, and evaluating culturally and linguistically responsive care
Family Engagement, Leadership, Organizational Development & Advocacy
- Identifying and advocating for current and emerging policy issues
- Developing models, training, and best practices in parent peer support
- Financing and building capacity of family-run organizations
- Building partnership between family-run organizations and managed care organizations
- Engaging families and building partnerships within child- and family-serving systems
- Shaping the next generation of parent and family leaders
- Creating family leadership roles within systems at the state and local levels in major child-serving systems
- Designing family-led research and evaluation
- Promoting and supporting diversity and equity in family leadership
Health Integration, Design, Financing & Practice
- Designing and financing structures and processes to integrate mental health and primary care
- Implementing strategies to coordinate health and mental health services (e.g., care coordinators, information exchange, consultation, team-based treatment planning and delivery, co-location of primary care and behavioral health providers, shared electronic health records)
- Implementing innovative approaches to providing behavioral health consultation to primary care providers, including through tele-medicine technologies
- Incorporating effective screening approaches and tools for mental health and substance use problems in primary care
- Implementing psychotropic medication monitoring and psychiatric consultation to primary care providers and medications therapies
Measurement, Outcomes & Quality Improvement
- Collecting and using data for decision-making and continuous quality improvement (CQI) at system and service delivery levels including prevention
- Researching the impact of family, youth, and young adult leadership roles in child, youth, and family serving systems and services
- Creating partnerships with community providers, families, youth, and young adults (with lived experience) in CQI and evaluation processes
- Enhancing current or creating new systems for collecting, reporting, linking, sharing, and utilizing data across child, youth, and family-serving systems
- Identifying and implementing information management systems to support intensive care coordination using fidelity Wraparound
- Using performance and outcome measures within Medicaid that are relevant to children, youth, or young adults with mental health challenges
- Developing culturally and linguistically competent quality and outcome measures and CQI processes
- Using data to identify and address disparities and inequities
- Evaluating implementation efforts, with data, including workforce initiatives, efforts to improve the quality of care, and supervision implementing best-practice approaches for evaluation and research in tribal communities
System Design, Financing & Value-Based Purchasing Approaches
- Using data systematically to inform design and population-focused approaches, monitor performance, track outcomes, and reduce disparities and inequities
- Driving change through alternative purchasing and payment models such as risk adjustment approaches, collaborative financing, and return on investment strategies
- Using data systematically to inform design and population-focused approaches, monitor performance, track outcomes, and reduce disparities and inequities
- Driving change through alternative purchasing and payment models such as risk adjustment approaches, collaborative financing, and return on investment strategies
- Optimizing quality and cost outcomes through Medicaid and managed care approaches
- Financing the expansion and sustainability of evidence-based and trauma-responsive practices in home, school, community, and residential services
- Devising and implementing financing strategies that are culturally and linguistically responsive and include partnerships with families and youth and their families (with lived experience) within systems
- Designing and financing crisis systems inclusive of mobile response and stabilization approaches
- Customizing and financing strategies to meet the needs of specific populations (e.g., youth at risk for first-episode psychosis or at clinical high risk for psychosis; youth who have experienced trafficking/exploitation; families with substance use disorders; youth and their families involved with the child welfare and/or juvenile justice systems, LGBTQ+, Black, AI/AN, Latino and other populations over-represented in the public child, youth and family systems)
- Building collaborative approaches among child welfare, Medicaid, juvenile justice, and behavioral health to Family First Prevention Services Act planning and implementation
Strategic Communications & Social Marketing
- Developing core elements, tools, techniques, and examples of effective strategic communications and social marketing initiatives in children’s services
- Utilizing formative research and data in strategic communications and social marketing
- Employing strategic communications with decision-makers in child-serving agencies
- Evaluating strategic communications and social marketing strategies
- Using digital media and technology creatively in social marketing
- Collaborating with youth and families in social marketing and the use of strategic storytelling
- Implementing culturally and linguistically responsive strategic communications and social marketing approaches
- Partnering with businesses, faith-based organizations, and other community stakeholders in strategic communications and social marketing initiative
Systems Strategies & Best Practices in American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) Communities
- Implementing evidence-based, emerging, and best practices that are culturally grounded in the needs of AI/AN families and youth
- Applying the latest research on the well-being of AI/AN children and effective children’s mental health services and child welfare policies and practices
- Developing intergovernmental agreements with states to access children’s mental health services
- Financing culturally appropriate tribal children’s mental health services with Medicaid
- Executing strategies to address the over-representation of AI/AN in psychiatric facilities and other disparities and inequities
- Engaging tribal governance, holistic approaches, language-based approaches, decolonization, and strategies for reducing historic, collective, and complex trauma
Treatment, Services, Supports, Early Intervention & Prevention Approaches
- Implementing and sustaining universal prevention approaches, early intervention, and intervention approaches for populations at high risk of system involvement
- Designing and implementing clinical practices and models, including evidence-based and outcome-informed treatments used in home, community, and residential settings that support:
- Youth and young adults from early childhood (0-5) through transition age (14-26) and their families
- Youth and parents/caregivers with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders
- Opioid use treatment
- Individuals with first-episode psychosis or at clinical high risk for psychosis
- Diverse populations and address disparities and inequities
- Unaccompanied youth and young adults experiencing homelessness
- Children, youth, and young adults with co-occurring intellectual/developmental disabilities and mental health conditions
- Community- and evidence-based services for all family members (and fictive kin) to support the child and their family in their community
- Executing strategies to address the installation of Family First Prevention Services Act services and supports
- Implementation and sustaining school-based health and mental health services and supports or restorative justice models
- Developing approaches for the implementation and sustaining of value-based care coordination models such as Wraparound
- Developing approach for the implementation and sustaining of parent and youth peer support and family navigator models
- Utilizing technology and social media applications in clinical practice and community support
- Implementing and providing crisis response services including mobile response and stabilization
Workforce Development, Management & Leadership
- Building state or local structures and processes that increase equity and effectiveness in workforce development
- Innovative approaches for recruiting and retaining staff at the practice and system levels
- Creating university/state/community organization partnerships that produce high performing staff and organizational capacity in the service of improved outcomes
- Using implementation science to design, implement, and sustain system and practice change in child, youth, and family-serving agencies
- Achieving and sustaining change with care coordinators, child welfare workers, and other direct-care workers
- Implementing practice change within public child, youth, and family-serving agencies
- Designing, implementing and sustaining evidence-based, evidence-informed and emerging practices
- Supporting and expanding capacity for families and youth in the workforce
- Building organizational structures that use data-driven capacity building and professional development approaches
- Approaches for cultivating diverse leadership at multiple levels within an organization
Youth Engagement, Leadership, Organizational Development & Advocacy
- Increasing meaningful youth engagement and youth leadership in systems and programs
- Developing and implementing youth peer support
- Supervising and providing support for youth peer providers
- Building and sustaining youth-run organizations and programs
- Fostering the development of youth leaders and advocates
- Generating and supporting youth voice in local and national evaluation efforts
- Financing and sustaining youth movements