This three-part series helps behavioral health leaders strengthen implementation practices that truly reflect the people and communities they serve. Each 1.5-hour session focuses on practical approaches to understanding community context, turning insight into intentional action, and partnering with leaders to build sustainable systems of care. Participants will leave with tools from the NIATx Model for Advanced Performance Strategies (MAPS) framework that connect improvement strategies to meaningful community impact and person-centered outcomes.

Series Schedule

• Session 1: Jan 21, 2026 @ 11:00-12:30 PM CT
• Session 2: Jan 28, 2026 @ 11:00-12:30 PM CT
• Session 3: Feb 4, 2026 @ 11:00-12:30 PM CT

Note: You only need to register once to attend all sessions in this series.

 

Session 1: Knowing Your Community and Customer – Applying NIATx Principle #1

Presenters: Mat Roosa and Alfredo Cerrato

Time: 11:00 AM–12:30 PM CT

Date: 1-14-2026

Effective implementation begins with understanding who you serve. This session guides behavioral health leaders through NIATx Principle #1, Understand and Involve the Customer, and applies it to both individual and community contexts. Participants will explore how shared values, expectations, and decision-making patterns shape service engagement. Using NIATx MAPS dimensions, this session helps leaders identify what motivates participation, how trust is built, and where barriers arise, laying the groundwork for lasting system improvement.

Learning Objectives:

1. Explain how NIATx Principle #1 informs person and community-centered implementation in behavioral health.
2. Identify key community dimensions such as Power Distance, Achievement vs. Collaboration, and Community vs. Individual Orientation that influence engagement and access.
3. Use NIATx MAPS tools to describe the behavioral and relational patterns of the communities they serve to strengthen alignment between services and needs.

Tool: The NIATx Cultural Dimensions Tool

 

Session 2: From Intuition to Intention – Building Community-Responsive Systems

Presenters: Mark Sanders and Alfredo Cerrato

Time: 11:00 AM–12:30 PM CT

Date: 1-21-2026

Many organizations already respond naturally to their community’s needs, but their success often depends on intuition rather than a defined process. This session helps leaders translate those intuitive practices into intentional, data-informed strategies. Through examples of proven programs from across the country, participants will see how community-responsive systems can increase engagement, retention, and outcomes. Leaders will leave with practical tools to turn existing strengths into structured improvement strategies grounded in NIATx MAPS principles.

Objectives:

1. Recognize how current organizational practices already reflect community alignment and person-centered engagement.
2. Examine successful national examples that demonstrate how systematic community responsiveness improves behavioral health outcomes.
3. Develop an actionable plan to transform intuitive approaches into intentional, repeatable processes using NIATx MAPS.

Tool: The NIATx Charter and the NIATx eLearning Course

 

Session 3: Partnering with Community Leadership for Sustainable Implementation

Presenters: Yengyee Lor and Alfredo Cerrato

Time: 11:00 AM–12:30 PM CT

Date: 1-28-2026

Sustainable change in behavioral health systems depends on trusted partnerships with community leaders, both formal and informal. This session teaches participants how to identify leadership dynamics within different communities and how to engage those leaders to support mental health implementation efforts. Using NIATx MAPS, participants will learn how to align leadership engagement with person and community-centered principles to foster shared ownership and long-term impact.

Objectives:

1. Identify leadership patterns that influence decision-making, trust, and collaboration within communities served.
2. Apply engagement techniques that build authentic partnerships and support mutual accountability for mental health goals.
3. Learn to design messaging specific to multiple audiences, recognizing that the leader of each audience is often the first to respond, and tailor outreach to support effective, lasting engagement.

Tool: Community Dimensions and Language Charting Template

 

CERTIFICATES:

Registrants who fully attend this event or training will receive a certificate of attendance via email within two weeks after the event or training.