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Welcome from The MayaTech Corporation

By Kelly Wagner, MFPCC Project Director
The MayaTech Corporation


The Minority Fellowship Program Coordinating Center (MFPCC) would like to extend a warm welcome to the newest cohort of MFP fellows and any new readers of the MFP E-Newsletter from the six MFP grantee organizations: the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy; the American Nurses Association; the American Psychiatric Association; the American Psychological Association; the Council on Social Work Education; and the National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc. We would also like to welcome fellows and readers from the new Interdisciplinary Minority Fellowship Program (IMFP). The MFPCC supports the MFP program through training, technical assistance, and resource dissemination designed to increase the substance abuse and mental health workforce in underserved communities. The MFPCC maintains the MFPCC website, publishes the Fellow of the Month series, develops, and disseminates the MFPCC E-Newsletter, and conducts webinars for MFP current and alumni fellows. More information on our planned activities for this year is below.

Fellow of the Month
The Fellow of the Month (FoM) series profiles individual MFP current and alumni fellows, who are self-nominated or recommended by one of the MFP grantee organizations or other MFP-related professionals, and shines a light on their backgrounds, goals, and accomplishments. View previous FoM profiles. The profile is disseminated through the MFPCC listserv and posted to the MFPCC website. If you are interested in recommending a Fellow of the Month, please send their name and contact information to mfpcc@mayatech.com . If you are interested in nominating yourself, you may use one of the following links to complete the profile: Current Fellows or Alumni Fellows.

Newsletters
The MFPCC E-Newsletter is an online quarterly publication that features articles written by local and national experts in their fields. Each issue includes several feature stories on issues of concern to substance use and mental health practitioners serving ethnic minority populations and/or describe current SAMHSA initiatives. Access previous E-Newsletters. If you are an MFP grantee conducting mental health and/or substance abuse research that you would like to share, we are happy to invite you, as well as current and alumni MFP fellows, to serve as contributing authors. If you are interested in writing an article, please contact us.

In addition to articles, the E-Newsletter includes highlights of the MFP grantee organizations and fellows. Are you conducting innovative research? Have you presented or published? Have you or your organization been recognized for your achievements? Let us highlight you in the MFPCC E-newsletter! Submit your MFP highlights and accomplishments.

Webinars
From February to July, the MFPCC has an exciting webinar series that will provide grantees and fellows with insight on emerging trends as well as promising, best, and evidence-based practices that support the resilience and emotional health of underserved minority communities. Webinars are typically scheduled for 2:00–3:30pm Eastern. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us for these informative sessions. The tentative webinar schedule follows.

  • Using Clinical/Cultural Assessment Tools with Diverse Clients – February 24, 2021
    This webinar will provide participants with the opportunity to look at the use of clinical/cultural assessments tools that focus on both cultural strengths and trauma.
  • Reducing the Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences during COVID-19 – March 24, 2021
    This webinar will provide participants with the opportunity to examine strategies to reduce the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) during COVID-19.
  • Supporting the Mental Disorder Needs of Older Racial/Ethnic Minorities – April 28, 2021
    This webinar will provide participants with the opportunity to understand the mental disorder needs of older racial/ethnic minorities and explore effective ways to support them.
  • Co-occurring Disorders: Best Practices on Supporting At-Risk Populations – May 26, 2021
    This webinar will discuss themes, best practices, and current research on the intersection of addiction and mental health.
  • Addressing Health Disparities through Culturally Informed Research and Evaluation Design – June 23, 2021
    This webinar will provide participants with the opportunity to examine current models for collecting and coding race, ethnicity, and language data and explore the cultural humility, knowledge, and adaptation skills required to conduct culturally competent research.
  • MFP Community Connections (Fellow-Presented Webinar) – July 21, 2021
    This interactive webinar discussion will provide participants with the opportunity to learn about current MFP community connections. If you are interested in highlighting your community engagement efforts and/or lessons learned during this webinar, please sign up by May 31, 2021.

We welcome your ideas on how to enhance the existing resources and activities that the MFPCC supports, as well as new ideas on how to improve communications across the MFP and meet the evolving professional development needs of the MFP fellow community related to strengthening their skills as behavioral health professionals. You can reach us via email. To learn more about the MFPCC, please visit the SAMHSA MFP page. MFP fellows and alumni can access the Coordinating Center’s website.

Welcome to the MFP community!