We will be starting a new series in which we highlight past TCOM award winners (TCOM Champions) for their work in the TCOM community. At the 2020 TCOM Conference, De Lacy Davis, EdD, won the TCOM Family Advocate Champion Award for his inspiring leadership in ensuring parents receive the help they need. Dr. Davis was also a keynote for the virtual 2021 TCOM Conference. He is the Director for the Family Support Organization of Union County and the Executive Director for the New Jersey Alliance of Family Support Organizations. He is also the founder and still leading the organization, Black Cops Against Police Brutality.
Just like physical health, mental health in childhood focuses on reaching developmental and emotional milestones, learning healthy social skills as well as how to cope when there are difficult situations. An important goal for all children is for them to be both physically and mentally healthy, so that they can have a positive quality of life-functioning well at home, in school, and in their communities. It is important that we remember that physical health is not just the absence of illness & disease and mental health is not simply the absence of a mental disorder.
Ken McGill shares his thoughts on utilizing data to drive care. Using the phrase, “Data is not a 4-letter word”, he hopes that this will spark meaningful conversation explaining TCOM to not only those in the behavioral and mental health field, but in all systems of care in which we connect with people.