Kerr County’s Rapid Mental Health Needs Assessment
SUMMARY – In the devastating aftermath of the July 4, 2025, floods, Kerr County and other affected Hill County communities faced urgent and emerging mental health needs. Neighbors, first responders, faith leaders, schools, clinicians,...
Family Mental Health Care Fund: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Provider Reimbursement
To serve the families who lost loved ones during the devastating floods in the Hill Country on July 4, 2025, the Meadows Institute is partnering with the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country to…
November 14, 2025 – The Meadows Institute was recently featured on Building Pathways to Healthy Minds, a ChildBuilders podcast. In the episode, Dr. Julie Kaplow, the executive director of the Meadows Institute’s Trauma and Grief Center,…
October 21, 2025 – The Meadows Institute’s trauma and grief expert, Julie Kaplow, PhD, was interviewed by Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health, the magazine of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, about the impact of adverse…
Family Mental Health Care Fund: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
To serve the families who lost loved ones during the devastating floods in the Hill Country on July 4, 2025, the Meadows Institute is partnering with the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country to…
SUMMARY - With funding from the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities (TCDD), the Meadows Institute conducted research and facilitated three focus groups with young adults with developmental disabilities (DD) and mental health concerns. The...
The purpose of the meetings was to collaborate to identify mental health resources for young people with DD and jointly identify solutions to create a more trauma-informed system of mental health care. Drawing from their research and information gathered at the focus groups, the Meadows Institute drafted a Community Action Guide, which summarizes key insights from this work and provides guidance for communities interested in replicating this work to improve mental health care for youth and young adults with DD.
People with developmental disabilities experience trauma and stressful events at higher rates than people without DD. Despite this, mental health treatment for people with DD is often inaccessible due to system divides in mental health and DD services, mental health concerns in this population being frequently overlooked or attributed to their DD, and a lack of mental health service providers who feel confident working with people with DD. Youth and young adults (ages 14–24) with DD are particularly vulnerable as many of the resources and supports that were available to them as children end between the ages of 18-22. Improving how we identify and treat the mental health needs of youth with DD is something that requires community-wide action and is critical to ensuring these young people have every opportunity to live happy and healthy lives.
Engaging the Community to Reduce Barriers to Access
Mental Healthcare for Youth and Young Adults with Developmental Disabilities
With funding from the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities (TCDD), the Meadows Institute conducted research to better understand the relationship between trauma, mental health, and DD for youth and young adults. Through this grant, the Meadows Institute facilitated focus groups with young adults with DD and mental health concerns and hosted three community convenings in Austin, Texas. The convenings included a cross-section of individuals working with and on behalf of young people with DD, family members of young people with DD, and individuals with DD and lived experience seeking mental health support. The purpose of the convenings was to collaborate to identify mental health resources for young people with DD and jointly identify solutions to create a more trauma-informed system of mental health care. Drawing from their research and information gathered at the convenings, the Meadows Institute drafted a Community Action Guide, which summarizes key insights from this work and provides guidance for communities interested in replicating this work to improve mental health care for youth and young adults with DD.
