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Foundation Awards Grant to Evaluate Project to Reduce Use
of Seclusion and Restraint in Texas

The use of seclusion and restraint to manage the behavior of people at risk of harming themselves or others is a complex, controversial issue that touches many agencies in Texas, including juvenile justice facilities, psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment centers and schools.

Since 2004 the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health has conducted a statewide project to reduce the use of seclusion and restraint in Texas. The foundation issued a request for proposals on May 30, 2008 to evaluate the project, and proposals were due June 30.

A group of organizations submitted the winning proposal and will work together to perform the evaluation. The foundation awarded a one-time grant of $127,666 to Mental Health America of Texas, which is partnering with Susan Stone & Associates, the Human Services Research Institute, and the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors Research Institute.

The project grant period runs from October 2008 to September 2009. The evaluation specifically will:

• Analyze the effectiveness of seclusion and restraint reduction training provided by the foundation to a variety of agencies and organizations in Texas.
• Identify and evaluate the effectiveness of specific administrative, operational and policy changes made by entities that participated in the training.
• Document compelling examples and stories that demonstrate the importance of reducing seclusion and restraint and the effectiveness of alternative strategies.

The evaluation’s findings may be shared with state and local agencies, policy makers, consumers, advocates and other stakeholders to spark a dialogue on administrative, operational and policy changes needed to reduce the use of seclusion and restraint in Texas.

For more information about the foundation’s seclusion and restraint reduction project or the evaluation project, contact Associate Director Lynda Frost (lynda.frost@austin.utexas.edu; 512-471-9150).