FELLOWSHIP PROJECTS AND WORK
Fellows work on projects that align with HMPI identified organizational priorities and have real community impact. Fellows will work closely with HMPI policy analysts, consultants and community partners throughout projects. Fellows are assigned projects based on their interest, skill and future career aspirations.
Fellows will have the opportunity to focus their work on a primary project, and contribute to the general work of the office (supporting the policy team during legislative session, research on emerging issues, etc.). Project topics available for fellows to focus on may include, but are not limited to:
- Strategies for strengthening the behavioral health workforce
- Building treatment capacity in the children’s behavioral health treatment system
- Community wide prevention and harm reduction strategies
- Strategies for integrating mental and physical health care through regulatory, legislation and community partnerships
- Criminal justice behavioral health diversion-to-treatment policy and program research
- Recovery-oriented policy and programming recommendations to strengthen current substance use disorder and mental health recovery support systems
- Mental health and addiction stigma reduction
- Working with publicly-available mental health data to visualize trends and policy needs in ways accessible to policymakers, including by assisting with the development and maintenance of HMPI’s data dashboard
- Developing metrics and sources of measurement to track the progress of the 10-year Tulsa Mental Health Plan
- Increasing community-wide capacity for applying for and implementing federal behavioral health grants
- Create a framework for storing data to inform policy work
- Support for community data partnerships led by HMPI staff
During the course of the fellowship, fellows will have the opportunity to further develop topic-specific knowledge, shape and even lead future HMPI projects and develop sustainable solutions to local and statewide issues, while creating lasting community relationships.
Fellows will complete the above projects by performing the following activities on a regular basis:
- Research and analyze policy issues related to mental health prevention and treatment, compile relevant research findings in written reports
- Maintain positive relationships and regular meetings with community members, including Personal Advisory Board members comprised of area professionals, developed for each fellow
- Synthesize data and compelling talking points in meaningful, usable documents tailored to specific audiences
- Understand the status of the mental health landscape in Tulsa and Oklahoma, including gaps and opportunities at the policy and systems levels
- Develop and provide public education, presentations and outreach regarding mental health issues as needed
- Informed by research and engagement with the community, identify and propose creative solutions for addressing gaps and opportunities in mental health services, including national best practices
- Other duties as assigned
