MINDSOURCE – Brain Injury Network (MINDSOURCE), in partnership with the Colorado Brain Injury Advisory Board, has released its Brain Injury State Plan to state agency partners, stakeholders and the general public. The State Plan resulted from 18 months of planning by a 20-member board. Membership included people with lived experience of brain injury, family members, state agencies as well as community partners.
The Advisory Board evaluated past needs assessments in Colorado focused on brain injury, the most recent being the 2017 Koné Study (PDF). Information gleaned from the various reports informed initial goals and strategies which received public input through a variety of methods in the summer of 2019. Four town halls, three phone conferences and an on-line survey were made available for people with brain injuries, family members and caregivers, service providers, and other interested parties.
The State Plan is three and a half years in duration and has three primary areas of focus:
- Improving brain injury infrastructure (including funding for brain injury services and initiatives)
- Assuring supports for individuals with brain injury across the lifespan (including broadening the practice of brain screening within systems)
- Improving Access to Services (with an emphasis on improving self-advocacy skills among individuals with brain injury)
The State Plan goals and strategies require cross-agency partnership and collaboration, and MINDSOURCE is charged with coordinating the efforts. A dashboard with five key metrics is in development and updates will be communicated quarterly. The Brain Injury Advisory Board will continue to meet quarterly to monitor progress.
MINDSOURCE serves as the umbrella entity for three distinct programs/functions: (1) MINDSOURCE manages the Colorado Brain Injury Trust Fund, which supports Client Services, Brain Injury Research and Education; (2) provides training and technical assistance regarding brain injury for public and private entities; and (3) manages local, state, and federal grants on special initiatives related to brain injury. MINDSOURCE is housed within the Office of Adult, Aging and Disability (OAAD) at the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS).
Funding for State Plan development activities was made possible by a grant awarded to Colorado by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living (ACL) Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) State Partnership Program.