Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic - Planning, Development, and Implementation (CCBHC-PDI)

SAMHSA's CCBHC-PDI grant supports the planning, development, and implementation of certified community behavioral health clinics (a model for sustainable, evidence-informed community mental health) at Capital Area Human Services District. LSU SREC serves as the evaluator team to support CAHSD's implementation team. The evaluator performs several evaluation functions for the project: facilitating the use of data to improve client outcomes through clinical practice and operational processes, assessing the implementation progress for the CCBHC nine core service, and tracking client outcomes, specifically among traditionally underserved populations.

The Chances Innovation Gun Violence Intervention Program

Chances is a gun violence intervention program in the 19th Judicial District's Office of the District Attorney. The program offers treatment, therapy, and mentorship to prevent future gun violence. This pretrial diversion program could be offered as an alternative to young people who have a gun charge rather than the traditional criminal justice process.

SREC will create a logic model to assist in the planning and implementation of the Chances program. SREC will also create a process evaluation and analyze program data to inform program implementation and create a system to ensure the program is working as intended.

Climate Resilient Innovations for Sustainable Production of Rice (CRISP-Rice) 

Climate Resilient Innovations for Sustainable Production of Rice (CRISP-Rice) is an LSU-led, multi-state project funded by the USDA. Other partner institutions are Mississippi State University, Clemson University, Texas A&M University, and the University of Arkansas. The primary goal of CRISP-Rice is to enhance the profitability and sustainability of rice production in the Southern U.S. within the context of global food insecurity and climate change. This project involves research, training, and outreach. LSU SREC is evaluating program and process effectiveness and providing feedback to the implementation team.

Future Use of Energy in Louisiana (FUEL) Partnership

The NSF Louisiana Energy Transition Engine, a transformative statewide project in the areas of carbon capture, hydrogen as an alternative fuel, carbon dioxide as a feedstock, and sustainable water and manufacturing for clean energy advances research and commercialization efforts to enable a clean energy transition for Louisiana.  This NSF Engine will catalyze an innovative ecosystem of researchers and tech companies in Louisiana to support the nation's transition to clean energy while driving economic growth through workforce development opportunities. The LSU-led project involves over 50 partners and SREC serves as the internal evaluation team and member of the FUEL Partnership leadership team for the $160 million, 10-year project.

The Louisiana 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

The Louisiana 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is part of a nationwide initiative funded by SAMHSA to provide mental health support through a network of over 200 local crises centers, including two in Louisiana. The Lifeline offers free and confidential support 24/7 via call, chat, or text to individuals facing mental-health related distress or suicide crises. In support of this effort, the Louisiana Office of Behavioral Health (OBH) is collaborating with SREC to collect and report data, facilitating program improvement and fostering communication among OBH, the funder, and other stakeholders in the community.

Louisiana Biomedical Research Network (LBRN)

The Louisiana Biomedical Research Network (LBRN) is a project funded by the National Institutes of Health using funding from the Biomedical Research Infrastructure Networks, with support from the Louisiana Board of Regents. The core of this effort is a network of colleges and universities across the state, with a focus on primarily undergraduate institutions that historically have not had the resources, training, and support necessary to compete for nationally competitive scientific awards. Through research funding, training opportunities, and capacity building efforts, the LBRN aims to enhance the competitiveness of Louisiana researchers in terms of access to external funding, research output, and scientific career pathways.

SREC serves as the internal evaluator for LBRN. The SREC evaluation aims to facilitate program improvement, and to inform key stakeholders regarding programmatic progress and success.

Louisiana Children’s Trust Fund (LCTF) – SREC Program Evaluation and Online Application Development Partnership

The mission of the Louisiana Children's Trust Fund (LCTF) is to prevent child abuse and neglect among Louisiana’s children and families through building strong cross-sector partnerships and through increased child safety public awareness.

In partnership with LCTF, LSU SREC conducted a data-driven program evaluation with the goals of summarizing grantees’ implementation and outcome results, identifying ways to enhance grantees’ capacity for data collection and reporting, and, more specifically, strengthening the evaluation of LCTF funded programs. The SREC team has also developed and implemented the current online grant application system and data collection tools used by the LCTF community partners. 

The Louisiana Graduate Network in Applied Evolution (LAGNiAppE)

The Louisiana Graduate Network in Applied Evolution (LAGNiAppE) to strengthen regional connections and broaden the STEM workforce project is a 4-year, NSF-funded effort awarded to LSU researchers in the Department of Biological Sciences. This project is part of NSF’s Research and Mentoring for Postbaccalaureates in Biological Sciences (RaMP) program. Its purpose is to provide mentorship, training, and network-building supports to post-baccalaureate students (LAGNiAppE Scholars) from groups underrepresented in STEM, who are first generation college students, and who come from under-resourced institutions. Three cohorts of ten LANGNiAppE Scholars would receive one year of support as part of this project. Much of this work is undertaken by mentors and research collaborators based out of LSU and other institutions of higher learning across the state. LSU SREC is the evaluator for this project.

Louisiana-Mississippi Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (LAMS GWEP) 

Louisiana-Mississippi Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (LAMS GWEP), funded by the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), is an initiative between the LSU and University of Southern Mississippi Schools of Social Work, Ochsner Health System, Chamberlain Nursing, and Alzheimer's Services. LAMS-GWEP trains and educates primary care and geriatrics workforces and other specialties to provide age-friendly and dementia-friendly care for older adults in integrated geriatrics and primary care sites with a particular focus on rural areas.  

SREC works with our partners to collect, manage, analyze, and track data related to training and certifications for physicians, nurses, and social workers, increasing the readiness of medical, nursing, and social work students to engage in dementia-friendly care in Louisiana and Mississippi. Over the 5-year project, SREC will conduct a comprehensive and data-driven evaluation plan to ensure program outcomes and develop a health workforce that maximizes family and patient engagement. 

Louisiana Partnerships for Success III (LaPFS III)

The 2024 Louisiana Partnerships for Success III (LaPFS III) is funded by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and implemented by the Louisiana Office of Behavioral Health. The project addresses substance misuse among Louisianans aged 12-25, particularly in racially, culturally, and economically diverse communities. Its primary goals are to prevent underage drinking and polysubstance use, reduce associated consequences, eliminate health disparities, and strengthen prevention infrastructure at the state and community levels. The initiative also promotes mental health services and encourages greater use of available resources. LaPFS III focuses on five underserved communities, using the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) to develop data-driven strategies and foster sustainable, long-term improvements in the well-being of community members. 

The LSU Social Research and Evaluation Center (SREC) supports LaPFS III by developing data collection tools to facilitate timely and accurate reporting to the grantor and evaluating program effectiveness and community engagement.

Louisiana School Social Work Expansion Project (LaSSWx)

The purpose of LaSSWx is to expand and strengthen the school-based mental health workforce to support multi-tier systems of support (MTSS) in high-need K – 12 schools in 12 Local Education Authorities (LEA) in Southeast and Central Louisiana through a partnership between the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) and Louisiana State University School of Social Work.

SREC is the lead evaluator on this project and collects all data related to state-level professional development and Social Emotional Learning and Behavioral Health training sequences of all social workers in Louisiana schools including interns. SREC also conducts a statewide school social work needs assessment to inform workforce development.  SREC manages the student mental health screening and daily data management in all of the districts served by SSWx along with distributing, managing data and providing technical assistance to school districts related to school climate surveys that will be distributed yearly in all SSWx districts.

Louisiana State Opioid Response (LASOR)

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has provided the Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Behavioral Health with State Opioid Response (SOR) grants since 2018. Through a network of partners, SOR provides statewide prevention, treatment, and recovery support services for individuals with or at risk for opioid use disorder (OUD). SREC facilitates data collection and reporting efforts for SOR, and previously undertook an opioid use-related needs assessment for a selection of state-recognized tribal sites.

Louisiana Youth For Excellence (LYFE)

The Louisiana Youth for Excellence (LYFE) is a sexual risk avoidance education (SRAE) program housed in the Office of the Governor. LYFE was created to promote positive youth development and to build awareness of consequences for at-risk behaviors for today’s vulnerable youth such as children in foster care, children in poverty, and children in juvenile detention centers. Prioritizing most at-risk youth first, the goal of the program is to expand statewide and provide a positive message to all students throughout Louisiana.  

LYFE works with schools, non-profit and faith-based organizations, parents, and the community to teach goals setting, leadership development, character building, and integrity. LYFE funds subgrantees around the state who implement these SRAE activities. LYFE contracts with LSU SREC to provide data collection support and technical assistance to its staff and subgrantees. LSU SREC collected data using paper forms and electronic surveys during two data collection periods--Winter and Summer.

MOSES

This Department of Defense (DoD) project examines how open source intelligence can be used to advance the capabilities of our military and improve national defense.  Project foci shift as national defense priorities change.  Past projects have focused on developing a theory-grounded linguistic threat assessment tool for the detection of dangerous speech online.  Descriptions of some of this work can be seen in recent features on The Conversation:  Incitement to Violence is Rarely Explicit - Here are Some Techniques People Use to Breed Hate and 5 Types of Threat - How Those Who Want to Divide Us Use Language to Stoke Violence. This work involves an interdisciplinary collaboration between Dr. Sinclair at SREC, colleagues at Mississippi State University, industry partners, and Fort Elgin.

Pay for Success Initiative

SREC is contracted with The Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections (DPSC) and the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Second Chance Act, Pay for Success Initiative to implement an outcomes-based contract to serve formerly incarcerated individuals with substance use disorders through recovery housing and other wraparound supports over three years.

LSU Social Research and Evaluation Center (SREC) will plan and complete a process and outcome evaluation to identify factors impacting who chooses to enroll in the housing program and factors impacting success in the level III recovery housing program. SREC will examine factors which might discourage enrollment in post-incarceration supportive housing and issues which influence racial disparities in enrollment and treatment success.

Project AWARE

The Louisiana Department of Education was awarded the 5-year SAMHSA Project AWARE grant to create trauma sensitive schools in the City of Monroe, Jefferson Parish, and St. Bernard Parish school systems. The school districts are tasked with increasing access to mental health services in schools. Project AWARE partners include the LA Office of Behavioral Health, local behavioral health providers including the Local Governmental Entities, and the LSU Social Service and Research Center (SREC).

SREC facilitates the collection of project data in order to inform the K-12 schools and their respective districts about new and expanded behavioral health services in schools. SREC leads the LSU team and works with other partners to create professional development and instruction in multitier trauma-informed care for school staff. The LSU team also develops the behavioral health screening procedures and referral to treatment for students. The LSU team includes members from SREC, Department of Psychology, and the School of Social Work.

Providing Screening Incentives to Inform Clinical Improvement and Client Outcomes (PSIICIC)

Providing Screening Incentives to Inform Clinical Improvement and Client Outcomes (PSIICIC) is a workforce development grant aimed and increasing behavioral health providers’ ability to answer the most important question in healthcare: “is my client getting better?”

During two years, we will train approximately 200 providers (social workers, licensed professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, psychologists) on the implementation and application of measurement-based care (MBC). MBC is the use of standardized screenings and assessments that track symptom severity over time to guide treatment planning and evaluation. We will take lessons from these providers’ successes and challenges to develop a training and implementation toolkit for Louisiana providers. Additionally, we will explore providers’ perceptions on outcome-based incentive programs to inform policymakers on alternative and supplementary incentives to increase the number of Medicaid providers and improve their clients' outcomes.

R + D for Math Equity

The LSU Social Research & Evaluation Center is serving as the research partner, along with DreamBox Learning as the technology solutions partner, with the East Baton Rouge Parish School System to co-construct a research agenda to focus on math equity for Black, Latino, and students experiencing poverty in grades K-8. The research study will examine student motivation, engagement, and persistence. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant addresses the challenge of preparing students to graduate from high school with the math skills needed to be successful in higher education, the workforce, and life. The initiative aims to support the development of an efficient, effective, and equitable research infrastructure in math education and achievement.

Zero Suicide in Health Systems

The goal of the Louisiana Zero Suicide Initiative is to decrease suicide deaths and attempts of adults aged 25 or older within 6 locations in Louisiana. Project objectives include training of individuals in the behavioral healthcare workforce as well as screening, treatment, and referral of individuals at risk for suicide.

SREC collects, analyzes, and reports on data related to Zero Suicide Prevention for federal reporting purposes, and to facilitate program improvement and oversight at the state and local levels. These data include National Outcome Measures surveys, and Infrastructure Development, Prevention, and Mental Health Promotion indicators.