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Our Mission is...
to work with families and communities to help youth stay
in home, in school, and out of trouble. We strive to provide
strength based, culturally appropriate, comprehensive community
based mental health services using flexible "whatever it
takes" approach to help families achieve their own positive
outcome.
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About Our Services
We serve eligible youth
who are at risk for out of home placement and are seriously
emotionally disturbed. The goals of service are to help families
achieve positive outcomes, reduce out of home placements, maintain
family and foster care stability, and decrease the return to
Juvenile Hall, psychiatric hospitalization, and out of home
placement. Services
include assessment, individual, family, and group therapy, school
based day treatment, family support, and evaluation for psychiatric
hospitalization. Services are located at multiple school and
community sites.
We Strive
To:
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Build on family's
and children's strength
-
Be culturally competent
-
Work in partnership with
youth and families
-
Focus on the major systems
in the family's life.
-
Build support systems.
-
Be action oriented,
practical.
-
Be developmentally
appropriate.
-
Be home and community
based.
-
Offer services at flexible
times.
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Value creativity to find
positive solutions.
-
Evaluate our
services and continually improve.
How to Get Help
To
receive mental health services the first step is to contact the Access
Team. This team provides information and referrals for mental
health services for all children who reside in Santa Cruz County who
have MediCal. If eligible you will be screened for
direct county mental health services or given outpatient or
community agency services based on your situation. Visit our Health
Benefits
page to find out about other financial benefit programs you might be
eligible for. If
your child is currently involved with probation, social services, or
special education talk to your probation worker, case worker, or
school psychologist. They can refer eligible youth directly to
Children's Mental Health. If You are Having a Crisis?
If
you, or someone you know, are in imminent danger and need immediate
help you should always call 911. If you are not in immanent
danger but need immediate crisis support call the Access
Team at (800) 952-2335. They are available 24 hours a day to all
Santa Cruz County children to assess for hospitalization in a
psychiatric crisis.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
Programs
Child and adolescent mental
health services are divided into two basic delivery structures based
on the needs and treatment goals for the individual receiving
services:
- System
of Care (SOC) services are provided by County Mental Health/
Substance Abuse Services as part of a comprehensive interagency network
serving children, youth & families involved with Juvenile Probation,
Social Services, Education, and other youth at risk of out of home
placement in the community.
- Early
& Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, & Treatment (EPSDT)
provides supportive mental health and dual diagnosis services to
Medi-Cal beneficiaries aged 0-21, and their families. Services are
targeted to help eligible children & youth meet developmental
milestones and function successfully at home, school, and in the
community. The EPSDT providers identified below serve as community gates
into Mental Health Medi-Cal services for eligible beneficiaries.
- New Mental Health
Services Act (MHSA) services begun in July
2006 provide an array of "system development" enhancements
to the four primary Gateways to services listed below. These new MHSA
services are described at the end of this section.
Targeted System of Care Services
The following County programs provide
targeted System of Care services in conjunction with interagency
partners, as described by the four Gateways into services. In addition, related Contractors who participate in providing
System of Care and/or EPSDT counseling services are also listed below.
Probation
Programs
- Family
Solutions (SB 163 Wraparound Program)
is a program which
seeks to strengthen families so that youth who are at imminent risk for
out of home placement may continue living at home, with their families
and in their communities. By using innovative and non-traditional
approaches to case planning and service delivery, families become
central to all decision-making and professional services support the
family's vision for success. Family Solutions is a partnership between
the Probation Department, Children's Mental Health/Substance Abuse, and
the Family Partnership Program. This is
a County SOC program.
- Family
Preservation Services
is an intensive out-patient and case management program for juvenile
probation youth at risk of out of home placement. Services are
provided as part of an interagency team with the Probation Department,
providing an alternate service modality that emphasizes individualized
care approaches, particularly for older youth on an emancipation
track, and for families unable to participate in an extensive
family-driven Wraparound planning process. This is
a County SOC program.
- Evening
Center program
is a collaborative between the Probation Department and Children's
Mental Health/Substance Abuse. The Evening Center is one of several
detention alternatives in probation's continuum of services designed
to serve as an immediate response for probation involved youth who are
struggling with mental health/substance abuse problems, failing to
comply with conditions of probation and/or as a response to new law
violations. The program operates from 4-8 pm Monday-Friday and
includes focused treatment programming. Each Saturday youth
participate in a community work project. Transportation is provided to
and from the program and meals are served each evening.
- Juvenile
Hall Mental Health/Substance Abuse Services
provides crisis, assessment, brief treatment and mental
health/substance abuse education for youth detained in Juvenile Hall. This is
a County SOC program.
- Probation
Programs and Initiatives
is a link to a
complete list of grants, projects and collaboratives for the Santa
Cruz County Probation Department.
Social
Service Programs
- Supportive
Intervention Services (SIS) for
children/youth 3-18 who have been placed into foster care or group
homes, or are at imminent risk of placement. Family reunification is
an important goal, as well as maintaining foster home placement
stability. This
is a County SOC program.
- Supportive
Adolescent Services (SAS) for
youth 14-19. The goal of this program is for youth to reconnect with
family, develop independent living skills, community supports, and
prepare for transition to adulthood. This
is a County SOC program.
- Conexiones
Familiares
provides supportive mental health services in the context of
court-ordered family visitation sessions, individual and family
counseling designed to promote family reunification. This program
also offers “The Incredible Years” a 12 week
collaborative parenting group which emphasizes strength based
methods of discipline. This
is a County SOC program.
- Transition-age
Services for Foster Youth (THPP/ILSP)
are provided by Community Support Services (part of the Santa Cruz
Community Counseling Center), which focuses on assisting with
housing and related support services for social service and
probation youth aging out of the system. This
is a County SOC program.
- Crossroads
is a short-term home for foster youth in crisis and/or transition.
- Parents
Center
provides counseling to children & families referred from social
services, as well as by the community. This is a Contract
SOC & EPSDT program.
- Santa
Cruz Community Counseling Center - Families Together is a
multi-agency, multi-disciplinary team of services providers helping
families at risk for child abuse and neglect in Santa Cruz County.
- Child
Welfare Services
The Human
Resources Agency provides child welfare services to children who
have been abused, neglected, or who are at risk of abuse or neglect.
School
Treatment Programs
- Intensive
& Regular Outpatient services
are provided through AB 3632 to eligible Special Education
students referred by local school districts. Services are provided
as part of several classrooms for emotionally disturbed (ED)
students operated by the County Office of Education, and the Pajaro
School District. Additional services are provided to eligible
students at their home schools. These
are County SOC program
offered in conjunction with the schools.
- Pajaro
Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) /Special Education Local Plan
Area (SELPA) PVUSD
SELPA oversees and facilitates educational services for students
with disabilities in the PVUSD. PVUSD is a single district SELPA.
- North
County SELPA
The
interdependent and diverse school districts in the North Santa Cruz
County SELPA are committed to serving special education students, by
providing equal access to resources and a comprehensive education.
Community
Programs
- Other
SED Program offers
intensive out-patient and wraparound services for youth with serious
emotional disturbances who are at risk of out of home placement. This
is a County SOC program.
- The
MERT Team offers
a 24 hour Mobile Emergency Response Team to assess youth in
psychiatric crisis for hospitalization. Crisis staff respond to the
Dominican Hospital emergency room for evaluation, as well as to
Watsonville Hospital and Juvenile Hall. This
is a County SOC program.
- The
Intensive Family Support Team
provides supplementary wraparound support to our clients during
periods of extreme stress, and escalating risk of out of home
placement. This
is a County SOC program.
- Family
Partnership Program
is a parent-run program (operated by the Volunteer Bureau) which
provides peer support, education, services and advocacy for families
within our system of care. This
is a Contract SOC program.
- Youth
Services
provides a variety of mental health and substance abuse outpatient
services, which function as early intervention and/or
"step-down" from more intensive system of care services.
These are Contract EPSDT programs. These include:
- Counseling
services at
the Youth Services offices, at school and in the community.
- YES
Recovery High School
helps students establish and maintain a clean and sober
lifestyle.
- Escuela
Quetzal
high school provides support services to help students make
positive changes in their lives.
- Tyler
House
provides residential substance abuse treatment for teens.
- Pajaro
Valley Prevention and Student Assistance (PVPSA)
provides counseling services to students in the Pajaro school
district, as well as probation-related services. This is a Contract
EPSDT program.
- Family
Service Agency (FSA) provides counseling services to north and south
county children, youth and families. This is a Contract EPSDT
program.
New
Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Services and
Supports (and related new services)
These
are System Development MHSA
services, to expand access for children, youth and families through each
"Gateway" into our Children's Mental Health System of Care.
The MHSA service focus across all areas will include an emphasis on
outreach to Latino children aged 0-11, per our community needs
assessment. This service expansion includes both MHSA and related
funding services.
Community
Gateway:
Increased
access for parents seeking help for their children…
- 1
new MHSA clinician for improved mental health screening, assessment, and
referral coordination for families seeking help for their children
- 1
new MHSA clinician for improved dual diagnosis mental health & substance
abuse treatment for families seeking help for their children.
- 1
new child psychiatrist for improved consultation with families and referring
physicians
- MHSA
community-based agency contracts (Family Services and Youth Services) for
improved bilingual dual diagnosis mental health & substance abuse
treatment for children/youth before deeper involvement with Probation
and Child Welfare.
Education
Gateway:
Children,
parents & teachers will have more supports at school…
- 2
new clinicians for improved school-linked outreach, consultation, and
assessment to all school districts
- 1
new MHSA clinician for improved dual diagnosis treatment for students
referred with serious emotional disturbances (does not have to be Special
Education eligible)
- 1
new clinician to link with the Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student
Assistance (PVPSA) TODOS grant.
- New
Youth Services and PVPSA contracts (with PVUSD matching funds) for improved
bilingual services to targeted PVUSD schools.
Child
Welfare Gateway:
Children
in foster care, and their parents, will receive more help in maintaining their
families; older foster youth will receive more help as they turn 18 to become
responsible adults…
- 2
new MHSA clinicians for improved dual diagnosis mental health &
substance abuse services, focusing on parents of foster children
(particularly aged 0-5)
- 2
new MHSA clinicians for improved therapeutic visitation services to help
children return home to their parents (particularly young children)
- 1
new MHSA Transition-age foster youth coordinator to help monitor and link
youth leaving services and moving into young adulthood
- 1
new Community Support Services contract for improved transition-age services
to youth, linked with transitional housing supports (leveraged with
Children's Network "Trust Fund")
- MHSA
community-based agency contract with the Parents Center for improved
bilingual services to foster children returning home to their families
Probation
Gate:
Youth
will get help earlier to prevent getting in trouble with the law…
- MHSA
community-based agency contracts with Youth Services and PVPSA to improve
bilingual dual diagnosis mental health & substance abuse services for
youth before deeper involvement with Probation
- Note:
Plans for additional SB 163 Wraparound slots, and funds for high-end
placement costs as alternative to extended Juvenile Hall stays, are included
with other funding sources.
Special
Focus:
Increase
roles for parents & youth in providing peer support and advocacy…
- MHSA
community-based agency contract to increase Family Partnership services
integrated with our System of Care, as well as a new Family Advocate
position to assist with outreach, advocacy, and coordination.
Mental
Health and Substance Abuse Home Page
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