Coal Grove - The Lawrence County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities has been awarded a $6,000 grant to facilitate trainings on issues related to dual diagnosis (developmental disabilities and mental illness).

The MRDD Board received the grant from the Ohio Coordinating Center of Excellence in dual diagnosis, an initiative aimed at increasing treatment capacity at the local level.

The training is designed to increase collaboration among providers in the MRDD and mental health systems in Lawrence, Adams and Scioto counties.

"The need for collaboration and joint training was identified during the assessment for our MRDD strategic plan," said Paul B. Mollett, superintendent of the Lawrence County MRDD Board. "These local agencies coming together to learn more about the systemic and clinical treatment needs of individuals with dual diagnosis shows a true commitment to improving our local service delivery system."

Partners on the local joint committee include:

the Lawrence County MRDD Board; Shawnee Mental Health Center, Inc.; CAO Family Guidance Center; Southern Ohio Behavioral Health; Integrated Services for Youth; The Counseling Center; and the MRDD Boards of Adams and Scioto counties.

The series of monthly training sessions will kick off on Sept. 28

with a session entitled, "Dual Diagnosis in MRDD/MH- an Overview."

Other training topics include:

Family Dynamics, Mental Health 101, Accessing the MRDD System and MRDD Service Coordination, Adult Chronic Mental Illness, Understanding Autism and Behavior Supports for Individuals with MRDD.

The training sessions will be conducted at Shawnee Mental Health Center's Lane Street, Coal Grove site.

Participants in Adams and Scioto counties will access the training via videoconferencing at SMHC's sites in West Union and Portsmouth.

For more information, contact the Lawrence County MRDD Board at (740) 532-7401 or 800-231-MRDD.