Wednesday, January 17, 2024: 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EST

Presented by VA’s Homeless Programs Office, National Center on Homelessness among Veterans, in collaboration with VHA’s Institute for Learning, Education and Development (ILEAD)

Audience: Participants may include but are not limited to physicians, nurses, dentists, psychologists, social workers, counselors, case managers, housing specialists, peer specialists, occupational therapy practitioners, team leaders, supervisors, Network Homeless Coordinators, staff working in VA’s homeless programs and all professionals supporting Veterans experiencing housing insecurity.

Modality:  Virtual conference (webinar)

Credit/hours:  1

Accreditations:  ACCME, ACCME-NP, ANCC, APA, ASWB, NBCC, ADA, NYSED, SW, AOTA, CRCC

 Overview:

The purpose of this live, virtual, knowledge-based session is to describe strategies that support the implementation of evidence-based practices in settings serving homeless Veterans, using the case example of a national initiative to implement Critical Time Intervention (CTI) in 32 VA Grant and Per Diem (GPD) case management sites. This project was funded by the VA Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI).

Ending Veteran homelessness is an urgent national priority. By investing in robust health and housing services for homeless-experienced Veterans (HEVs), the VA has made tremendous strides in addressing Veteran homelessness. Veterans who remain homeless despite these services are extraordinarily vulnerable; at present, 41% of HEVs are unsheltered, living on the streets, in abandoned buildings, or other places not intended for human habitation. To further VA’s goal of ending Veteran homelessness, there is a pressing need to identify effective practices that support the scale up, spread, and sustainment of evidence-based practices (EBPs) across the broad range of VA services and community-based organizations that serve HEVs.

One such service is VA’s GPD program, which is considered a cornerstone of VA’s strategic plan to end Veteran homelessness. Operated by VA’s community partners, this program provides long-term (up to 24 months) transitional housing and supportive services for HEVs. Many HEVs transition from GPD sites into independent housing, but GPD case management ceases at the transition out of GPD sites, leaving many HEVs without support. Several years ago, Congress required VA to address this quality gap; in March 2019, VA awarded $30 million to 128 GPD sites to provide 6 months of case management (known as the GPD case management program) for HEVs transitioning to independent living and not otherwise receiving case management.

At present, no specific case management paradigm is required in the GPD case management program, resulting in significant practice variation across sites. If implemented nationally, Critical Time Intervention—an evidence-based, structured, and time-limited case management model—would standardize and improve case management delivered in the GPD case management program. However, very few GPD case management staff have prior experience delivering EBPs or engaging in agency wide EBP implementation. Partnered with the GPD National Program Office, our team is implementing Critical Time Intervention in 32 GPD case management sites, supported by a robust training and technical assistance program. Half of these sites also receive “coaching,” or tailored support for providers and leaders in their efforts to adopt and incorporate EBPs into their routine care processes.

This session will share our experiences with implementing Critical Time Intervention, as a case example that describes potential supports for EBP implementation in settings that serve HEVs. We will highlight lessons learned from this implementation initiative and engage with the audience to discuss ways to support the implementation of other EBPs in VA and community-partnered contexts that work with HEVs.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this educational program, learners will be able to:

1. Describe challenges to evidence-based practice implementation in settings serving homeless Veterans.
2. Identify strategies used to support the implementation of Critical Time Intervention in VA Grant and Per Diem case management programs.
3. Apply lessons learned from the implementation of Critical Time Intervention to bolster other evidence-based practice implementation efforts in VA homeless programs.

Registration:  To receive credit for attending, VA employees need to register in TMS before the training begins: 

To find a course when logging into TMS:

Go to Learning, scroll down to My Learning,  type in Course # and Title 

VA 131011449 Supporting Evidence-Based Practice Implementation In Settings Serving Veterans Who Have Experienced Homelessness

Be sure to click Register Now rather than Assign to Me or Start Course

If you are external to the VA or Non VA staff you must have a registered TRAIN account AND register for this training in TRAIN PRIOR to commencing training, failure to do so will result in CEUs not being awarded.

If you do not have a TRAIN account please click the  link: https://vha.train.org.

VA staff register here

 Non-VA staff Register here

*Note The Non-VA staff registration link is currently unavailable. Non-VA staff will be able to register when the TRAIN registration link is active.

For questions with TMS and TRAIN registration, please contact clarice.lewis@va.gov or lee.furry@va.gov

For audio, please use computer and connect audio through the TEAMS speakers.

For more information on education opportunities, please email Derrick Crowley, Management Analyst, Derrick.crowley@va.gov

The National Center on Homelessness among Veterans promotes the development of policy and practice that targets ending and preventing Veteran homelessness through supporting the implementation of relevant research findings into clinical practice, providing education and training for VA and community partners, disseminating evidence-based and emerging best practices and developing new empirical knowledge.

To learn more, visit: http://www.va.gov/homeless/nchav/