iCarol is your help line software company that is here to make your job easier as Executive Director or leader of a non-profit contact center. Whether you have a crisis, help or 211 referral line, we are here to help you help more people in your community. Read more...
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is distributing $62.4 million in grant funding to provide and increase access to effective treatment and services systems in communities throughout the nation for children, adolescents, and their families who experience traumatic events. The White House is bolstering these awards with $800,000 in American Rescue Plan (ARP) support.
In 2000, Congress established the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative (NCTSI) as part of the Children’s Health Act. Through this initiative, a collaborative network of experts was created to further the development and dissemination of evidence-based clinical interventions for systems that serve children, adolescents, and families.
SAMHSA’s NCTSI raises awareness about the impact of . . . Learn More.
On Wednesday, June 16, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced that Vibrant Emotional Health will be the administrators of the new 988 dialing code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in the United States. Vibrant, in partnership with SAMHSA, has administered the Lifeline since its creation in 2005. Click here to read SAMHSA’s full statement.
The process of creating the three-digit national number to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline has been ongoing for several years. Click here For more information on 988.
The team at iCarol extends our congratulations to Vibrant Emotional Health for being designated as administrators of the 988 dialing code. Through our years working with Vibrant Emotional Health and the many Lifeline Network Centers answering calls to 1-800-273-TALK, we have seen firsthand the passion and professionalism these teams bring to their work addressing the critical public health issues of suicide and mental health. We believe that 988 will improve accessibility and equity for Americans seeking emotional support and assistance. By designating a three-digit number for suicide prevention and mental health crises, our leaders send a clear message that these concerns deserve the same immediate attention and access to assistance as a physical health emergency, while also reducing harmful stigmas that create barriers to treatment. As the leading software provider among the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network of centers, we stand ready to support our customers making the transition to answering 988, and welcome new centers coming on board for the 988 initiative.
Do you have sales experiences, experience working in or with a not-for-profit, or Admin Experience with iCarol Software? If you said yes to two or more of these, you could be the person we need!
iCarol is currently seeking candidates to fill the position of Solutions Expert, which is a sales representative role. Below is our full job listing. Interested parties can apply using the link at the bottom of this listing!
Solutions Expert/Sales Representative
The Solutions Expert is a sales representative that is part of the Business Development Team and reports to the Director of Business Development. As a Solutions Expert, you will join the Sales Team with a primary focus on new prospects to increase new sales and help with the overall growth of the company, and additional sales to current clients to ensure stability for the future of the company.
As a Solutions Expert you will work remotely within Canada or the United States. Depending on location, an office may be available at one of our many offices, if the successful candidate prefers to work within an office setting.
What we are looking for:
Experience as a sales representative
Some technical aptitude
High character, be trustworthy, authentic, and do what you say you will do
A desire to learn with the ability to be trained, take responsibility for your actions, and are able to be coached to improve
Ability to work well autonomously, and be authentic in their abilities and demeanor
Self-starter and highly motivated for success
What would make you stand out:
Experience in information technology or software sales
Experience working in a not-for-profit setting or demonstrated understanding of not-for-profit structure and needs
Experience working with the iCarol solution, preferably as an iCarol Administrator
What we can offer:
3 weeks’ vacation and 5 personal days
Comprehensive Medical, Dental and Vision coverage from your first day of employment
Employee stock ownership and 401K matching programs
Lifestyle rewards
Flexible work options
About us:
CharityLogic, a division of Harris Computer, is the makers of iCarol software. iCarol is the first and only commercially available, subscription based, helpline software management system that automates all the processes associated with managing contacts and providing iCarol Messaging (live chat and texting/SMS). While iCarol was originally built specifically for non-profit helplines, our solution serves not-for-profit agencies and government organizations of many different scopes and types who serve people in need not just over the phone, but in-person, on the web, and through live chat or texting conversations.
iCarol is excited to exhibit at the National Council on Aging’s (NCOA) Age+Action virtual conference and tradeshow June 7-10.
Since 1950 NCOA has been a vocal advocate for older adults in the United States. Among their accomplishments is ending mandatory retirement, advocating to secure Medicare, Medicaid, and the Older Americans Act, and supporting local organizations as they serve older adults in their communities each day. NCOA provides trusted, unbiased information that enables older adults and their caregivers to take small steps that make big impact on their health and financial security.
We at iCarol share NCOA’s vision of a just and caring society in which each person lives with dignity, purpose, and security as they age. We believe in their mission of improving the lives of millions of older adults, especially those who are members of under-served and vulnerable populations. We believe in NCOA’s goal to impact the health and economic security of 40 million older adults by 2030, especially women, people of color, LGBTQ+, low-income, and rural individuals. Like NCOA, iCarol believes that aging well for all is a matter of equity, dignity, and justice.
At the conference, we look forward to connecting with professionals who serve older adults and their caregivers and providing them with information on how iCarol can help them achieve their missions. Our virtual booth will have information about how iCarol empowers ADRCs, AAAs, and Senior Information Lines, and other services for older adults, individuals with disabilities, and their caregivers to:
Provide social connection and ease loneliness through Telephone Reassurance Programs
Meet people on preferred communication channels
Collaborate with Community-Based Organizations to address Social Determinants of Health
Participate in Health/Community Information Exchanges and No Wrong Door initiatives
Provide comprehensive I&R, Closed-Loop referral and collect outcome data
Document information included on reimbursement requests
Integrate with other software and systems
If you’re attending the Age + Action conference, be sure to visit the iCarol virtual booth to learn more, download the resources we have available, and contact us with your questions!
Much of the focus worldwide in the last year has been the global Coronavirus pandemic, including guidelines from staying healthy and avoiding contracting COVID-19 or passing the disease to others. And while this is obviously a critical topic, it should not be forgotten that our mental health, especially during the pandemic, is important, too.
May is Mental Health Month, and organizations around the world are sharing information about how to obtain and maintain good mental health.
Each year since 1949, Mental Health America and their affiliates have led observance of Mental Health Month. This includes release of an annual Mental Health Month toolkit, which you can download here. They also have a number of resources available on their Mental Health Month web page, this year focusing on Tools 2 Thrive — practical tools that everyone can use to improve their mental health and increase their resiliency regardless of their personal situation. Topics include:
Adapting after trauma and stress
Dealing with anger and frustration
Getting out of thinking traps
Processing big changes
Taking time for yourself
Radical acceptance
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is focusing on the power of connection and supporting one another, and promoting their core message of eliminating stigma, by sharing the message that those who many be having mental health difficulties or experiencing mental illness are not alone. Mental health conditions affect approximately 1 in 5 individuals during a given year.
The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) has a number of articles and resources available in recognition of Canada’s Mental Health Week (May 3-9) which are available here. CMHA calls attention to the fact that, when asked how they are, people and Canadians in particular often respond with, “I’m fine,” even if they are not. CMHA is promoting more social connection and “getting real about how you feel.”
We hope during this Mental Health Month, our blog readers will take the time to engage with these and other mental health leaders to learn more and promote better mental health for all people, especially in light of the daily stressors and crises we all continue to face due to COVID-19.
This Wednesday through Friday, members of our team will attend sessions at the American Association of Suicidology Conference, and we will also host a booth in the virtual exhibit hall.
The conference is a convergence of professionals working across the spectrum of the suicide prevention industry, from those operating crisis centers and other direct care services, to professionals working in academic settings conducting suicide prevention research, and advocates focused on prevention, education and awareness.
So we can continue to stay ahead of the topics that most impact iCarol’s customers, on Wednesday Dana will attend the Crisis Continuum pre-conference program, which concludes with a session on network updates and future directions for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Network.
Having supported crisis centers since the earliest days of the Lifeline network, and serving a large portion of the network that are iCarol customers, we have witnessed the Lifeline’s growth year after year, both in the number of participating centers and the volume of contacts the Lifeline receives through calls, chats, and other forms of communication. At this year’s update we’re anticipating the latest news from the 988 transition plan and how that will affect members of the Lifeline network. We’re also closely following the continuing conversations on how communities are changing their practices around responding to mental health emergencies and similar crises, with a shift towards crisis intervention teams and other professionals leading the response as opposed to law enforcement.
These discussions directly inform iCarol’s strategy and product development in the coming months and years, which ensures we will continue to meet the needs of suicide prevention and crisis centers everywhere, providing the tools they need to do their life-saving work.
If you plan to be at the AAS Conference, please stop by our virtual booth to download our new guides and materials, including a brand new ebook on choosing software for crisis intervention and suicide prevention services. We’ll also be available for virtual meetings at your convenience to answer your questions, or have conversations about your challenges or projects and explore how iCarol can be of assistance.
Around the nation there are conversations happening about public safety as it pertains to emergency response where it involves situations of mental health crisis. Who are the appropriate entities to respond to 911 calls for someone in a mental health crisis?
Legislation has been introduced in New York State, Daniel’s Law, that would establish both state and regional mental health response councils which would permit mental health professionals to respond to mental health and substance abuse emergencies.
This legislation is modeled after a program in Eugene, Oregon, CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets), developed in 1989, that takes an innovative, community-based public safety approach to provide mental health first response for crises involving mental illness, homelessness, and addiction.
We believe 211s and Crisis Lines are an integral part of this conversation.
We are planning to host a conversation on this topic and would like to hear from you regarding what actions your organizations are currently taking and what kind of additional support iCarol could provide to assist you in responding to 911 calls in these situations.
Please
email us if you are interested in sharing your ideas or plans related to this topic, or if you are simply interested in participating in these conversations.
With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), Data Across Sectors for Health (DASH) in partnership with the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS), is launching the Learning and Action in Policy and Partnerships (LAPP) program. LAPP will provide award opportunities to community organizations who are partnered with their state government to advance community-led programs focused on data-sharing efforts to improve health, equity and well-being.
Five awardees will receive $100,000 each to:
(a) engage partners to advance existing data-sharing or data-integration efforts;
(b) systematically share data across sectors (e.g., social services, public health, and health care); and (c) build relationships among community and state partners to inform decision-making and strengthen systems that support community goals for improved health, well-being and equity.
In the second year of the LAPP Program, additional funding and support may become available, based on successful completion of program objectives and deliverables.
Planning to apply? We can help!
If you plan to expand your data-integration or sharing efforts and are considering this award as a way to fund that project, please contact us. iCarol offers a number of ways to harness your data, with other iCarol users and with partners and with those who use different solutions. Let’s get together to discuss your potential project to see which of our many data sharing solutions might work for you in an effort to obtain this funding!
Click here for more information about the LAPP program
The Objective
Facilitate aligned efforts among multi-sector community and state partners that will build a foundation for sustainable policy and systems change. The purpose of LAPP is to offer awardees targeted funds and direct technical assistance to build the capacity of their community’s data ecosystem to initiate, strengthen, and leverage relationships with the state government to improve health, well-being, and equity outcomes. The award will provide access to funding and support to advance an existing, clearly defined project that aims to improve health, well-being, and equity with a policy or systems-change lens for sustainable impact.
To be eligible for the LAPP grant you must be a member of All In. If you’re new to All In, the first step to join is to sign up for the online community (www.allindata.org) and create an individual member profile.
Timeline
Informational webinar: October 26, 12:00 PM ET 2020
Application deadline: December 16th, 3:30 PM EDT 2020
Awardees notified: January 2021
Awards initiated: January-February 2021
Awards end: February 2022
Final reports and deliverables due: March 2022
President Donald Trump recently signed the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act into law in the United States, a move celebrated by mental health and suicide prevention advocates. The act assigns 9-8-8 as a national, three-digit number dedicated to suicide prevention and mental health crisis response. The number will become active and available in 2022.
This law signals a recognition that mental health crises are just as important and deserve the same emergency response as the medical emergencies which are reported to their own national three-digit number, 9-1-1.
The law does not create a new service, as the US already has a national number for suicide prevention. Instead, this new law creates a the pathway for a new, easier way for people to reach existing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services available through the existing Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), a service provided by a network of about 170 local crisis centers around the country.
Once three-digit dialing is activated in 2022, experts anticipate that call volume to the crisis centers will increase. The new law creates funding and resources for local crisis centers that will enable them to meet this demand. And, similar to nominal fees charged that support 9-1-1 services, the law will give states the authority to levy fees on wireless bills to support the 9-8-8 service.
The iCarol team applauds Congress and the President of the United States for making three-digit dialing for suicide prevention a reality after years of advocacy by mental health and suicide prevention experts. We have no doubt that the establishment of 9-8-8 will make it easier for people in crisis to reach assistance and receive help. As the software provider for many of the Lifeline crisis centers, iCarol pledges to monitor the progress of 9-8-8 activation, and provide assistance and support to our customers throughout this process.
The Government of Canada recently approved funding that will expand 211 services to the entire country.
With this investment, residents of Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador will now be able to call 211 and reach trained specialists that can direct them to critical government and community-based health and social services in their community. 211 has been available in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and most of Quebec.
The Canadian 211 service offers listening support, information and referral assistance on a variety of topics including mental health and addiction, employment, food insecurity, financial instability, disaster response, services for older adults and those with disabilities, and a number of other topics. With specialists able to listen, assess needs and eligibility, and then direct consumers to all appropriate services to meet those needs during a single interaction, 211 serves as a front door or “one stop shop” for those seeking services and mitigates the stress on individuals and families facing a crisis.
The funding expansion is related to the country’s COVID-19 response. During the first wave of Coronavirus infections in the country, 211 centres across Canada saw a dramatic increase in the number of people reaching out for assistance. Call volume increased by 31% and website visits increased by 45% in the March to August timeframe.
iCarol is proud to partner with 211 Canada by providing software solutions that 211 centres use to document interactions with help seekers, curate information about community services and share those resources with consumers, collaborate with community-based organizations, manage their staff and schedules, and more. iCarol applauds the Government of Canada for investing in these services that Canadians need now more than ever before.
