Family CARE

By Pat Stoiber, YSB Director of Marketing and Fund Development

Where do you go when your 4 year old is dismissed from day care for hitting another child...or you think your 14 year old with bipolar disorder is using drugs? Who do you turn to if  you are having difficulty finding counseling for your family because of a language barrier...or your 18 year old has behavioral or emotional problems and can’t figure out what is next in his life?

Family CARE steps in, and steps up, to help empower the family to find solutions to these and other problems. Family CARE is about building bridges over gaps and providing safety nets. It is about transforming a system of care with a vision. The vision is a system of care that is family driven and youth guided and culturally competent. Family driven and youth guided means involving families and youth in decision making related to treatment, goal setting, designing and implementing programs, monitoring outcomes and determining the effectiveness of efforts that promote the mental well-being of children and youth.  Culturally competent means we will meet the needs of each persons cultural and linguistic needs.

Family CARE stands for Child/Adolescent Recovery Experience and is a $9 million federal grant that was issued to the McHenry County Mental Health Board. It came from the Substance Abuse Mental Health and Services Administration (SAMSHA), a division of the U.S. Health and Human Services Administration. This grant will be carried out for six years and will revolutionize the way mental health services are accessed in McHenry County.

The grant will improve access to services to the following underserved populations: preschoolers with serious social/emotional problems, youth with a serious emotional disorder/mental illness and a co-occurring substance abuse problem, youth 18-21 years of age with a mental illness and Latino children.

All over McHenry County committees are meeting to involve agencies, psychologists, therapists, social workers, school administration, families and youth in designing mental health services that are effective and build on the strengths of individuals, as well as address each person’s cultural and linguistic needs. The committees include the Youth Council, the Family Council, the Early Childhood Council, the Transitional Youth Council, a Resource Committee and Latino Council. These councils, as described below,   are all working towards the development of an organized, collaborative system of care.

The Youth Council consists of 9 to 12 kids that meet regularly. According to Eric Cowgill, Youth Council Coordinator, they are a strong committed group of kids that work on projects like reducing the stigma of mental illness. They provide input on how to best reach youth and meet their needs.

YSB has a link on its home page for youth to provide input on what programming they would like to see at YSB. Go to www.ysb4kids.org to participate.

The Family Council is comprised of family members who have experience with children who have serious emotional or behavioral problems, or are just interested in helping the community. They too meet regularly and as many as 80 family members have attended in past meetings.

The Early Childhood sub-committee focuses on the needs of preschoolers and their families who have emotional and behavioral problems and how to get them the help they need.

The Transitional Youth sub-committee exists to help 16 to 24 year olds who are transitioning from school to adult life. They may be having problems in areas of job skill competency, transportation, behavioral or emotional problems, and what does the county, parents or providers need to do to support and help them.

The Resource sub-committee works to develop work shops and training parents need to help their children. Leadership meetings involve families who want to volunteer to make things better and help the system and they are being taught how to communicate with the providers.

The Latino sub-committee is working with the Latino Council and is being formed.

Family CARE in schools include five school sector coordinators that help identify youth who are having problems and may not have been identified. They are distributed McHenry County.

As part of the grant, YSB now employs 2 Family Resource Developers and will be hiring a third. The Resource Developers are parents who have first hand experience in successfully working within the local mental health care system with their own child. This makes them specially equipped for working with families in the same situation. A Resource Developer will visit and work with families aiding them in locating the resources they need.  Other agencies employ Resource Developers as well.

The Resource Developers will also participate in a governing board called the Family CARE Governance Council. The council will help shape policies to improve the mental health care system. They will also attend seminars sponsored by SAMHSA on how to strategize the development of a comprehensive system of care for our county,  The council includes professionals, family members and youth and will ensure the project is family driven, youth guided and culturally competent.

The new system of care will help children, youth and families function better at home, in school, in the community and throughout life. It will give them the tools they need to overcome obstacles and live healthier lives. Family CARE creates caring partners in mental health care to provide hope and healing to people who may not have been reached before. It will improve the system of care in the county and improve the lives of many people while we all work together to build bridges and create safety nets to those in need.

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