Rural Justice Collaborative Innovation Site
OBT was selected as one of the country's innovative rural justice programs serving as a model for other communities.
Read the recognition →News & Recognition
A rural collaboration gaining national attention.
Operation Better Together has been recognized for innovation, research partnership, and community-centered service coordination.
Academic-Community Research Partnership Award
The collaboration was recognized through the CCTST Community Health Transformation Awards.
Visit CCTST news →2025 Innovative Court Programs and Practices Award
Operation Better Together at the Adams County Court of Common Pleas received statewide recognition for innovation.
Read the announcement →Featured story
A partnership expanding access to youth mental health care
The University of Cincinnati (UC) Department of Psychiatry and the Adams County Health Department (ACHD) have built a transformative partnership dedicated to providing mental health services to the youth, adults, and families of Adams County. This collaboration has achieved resounding success in expanding the youth behavioral health program and improving access to mental health care in a region with a significant shortage of providers.
The program now includes three school-based social-emotional counselors from Adams County and two UC graduate students-in-training, significantly broadening the scope of services available. For many children, this expansion is a lifeline — the first time they have received mental health care at all.
217Visits with 103 distinct patients in the program's first year, 2021
851Visits with 261 distinct patients in 2022, as the program grew
Dr. Kaitlyn Bruns (UC), with support from Dr. Hablitzel (ACHD), has led numerous research initiatives that enhance the partnership's effectiveness and improve overall community wellness. Standardized mental health assessments are collected before and after treatment, and youth and caregivers complete satisfaction surveys to identify successes and areas for improvement.
What began with a goal of stabilizing at-risk youth and referring them to local providers evolved as it became clear that many referred youth were experiencing significant, untreated mental health needs requiring longer-term care. In response, UC developed semi-structured treatment manuals offering evidence-based interventions for trauma, grief, depression, anger, ADHD, social skills, and interpersonal relationships.
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