Once again it’s that time of year – October’s MST Network Partner Conference (NPC). My how time flies! It seems like only last week that the last conference brought 100 of MST’s leaders from around the world to compare notes and network with one another.
Perhaps those reading this blog might not know exactly what a “Network Partner” is, or why such organizations even exist. A bit of history here - MST Services started in 1996 as the only organization dedicated to bringing MST out of the realm of scientific study into the world of implementation. Original estimates of the “target market” were the roughly 100,000 youths currently incarcerated in the United States, and about twice that number either on the edge of placement or recently returned home from such placements (the original estimates focused only the known need in the USA). As the popularity of MST grew it became apparent that a single organization would have great difficulty managing all of the relationships at the national, state and local levels necessary for successful implementation. Some of the early adopters began asking when they could be “anointed” to do MST independently of MST Services and the Family Services Research Center – home to the ongoing research on MST.
So began another level of thinking. Was it possible to give up the central quality assurance responsibility granted to MST Services (MSTS) by the researchers? Evidence from the studies clearly indicated that ongoing QA was a necessary component of the model, but who actually needed to do the QA was not clearly defined. Long story shortened, MST Services made a bold move to create the Network Partner (NP) role where MSTS would train the MST Expert staff within the NP, and retain the responsibility for QA of the NP’s Experts while they, in turn, would QA the clinicians working under their guidance. With details worked out, the bold experiment began.
One element that made this all possible was the QA system itself. Under the MST Institute, an internet-based system was created that would collect and analyze data from all program sites to monitor fidelity and guide ongoing quality improvement. In this way, it no longer mattered if the clinician was guided directly by MSTS or by the NP.
So, here we are in 2013 supporting the implementation in well over 500 locations serving well over 20,000 youth and families annually through the efforts of MST Services and the now over 20 MST Network Partners from 14 countries around the world. As implementation lessons are learned across the MST “community”, the need for focused communication and exchange of information has become vital to the ongoing health and well being of the entire community. Hence, the annual Network Partner Conference was created.
At these conferences I interact with the incredibly talented people who have gravitated to this mission of serving troubled youth and their families, and I am always amazed and revitalized. Currently serving less that 5% of the entire population of youth and families that could benefit from MST, we know we have a very long way to go. But with this committed group as a foundation, I have hope that we really can AND WILL change the world for the better.
