Service Quality and System Development –
Child and Family Services
Providing Innovative Solutions in Human Services Delivery
Leaders within the behavioral health and human services fields are increasingly looking for ways to improve services for children and families - and to take best advantage of scarce resources to support this goal.
Some common questions include:
- How can services for children and families be structured to improve outcomes and reduce costs in key areas - such as reducing out-of-home placements?
- What models have been proven effective elsewhere and how can they be adapted for local use?
- How can I support the collaboration and integration needed to improve efficiency, quality and outcomes for families receiving services across multiple systems?
CCSI's Child and Family Services team leverages its unique combination of clinical expertise, practical experience in program design and implementation, and access to specialized resources to help local government, provider agencies, and other customers assess service quality and effectiveness and to design and deliver innovative and integrated services for children and families. Working closely with leadership within the Monroe County Office of Mental Health and customers across New York State and beyond, CCSI has supported the development and implementation of a number of innovative program models.
Examples of Our Work
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The Youth and Family Partnership Program (YFP)
The Youth and Family Partnership Program (YFP)
Since 2002, CCSI has supported the Monroe County Department of Human Services-Division of Child and Family Services, the Office of Mental Health and the Monroe County Office of Probation-Community Corrections in the development and ongoing management of the YFP. YFP is an innovative approach to meeting the needs of families and youth who have a mental health diagnosis and have been involved with the juvenile justice system with a likely disposition of out-of-home placement. The program employs a cross-system approach to service planning and delivery, with Care Coordinators providing the essential mental health case management and child welfare case worker functions. Probation staff members are part of the YFP Team and are integrally involved in the process, ensuring coordination and improving efficiency for youth and their families.
YFP staff members develop and implement individualized plans of care using a strengths-based, wraparound approach. Staff members receive ongoing training and support in the principles and practices of Care Coordination and Wraparound, an approach that empowers children and families to achieve success in their homes and communities and reduce dependence and reliance on the formalized system.
Key components of this approach include:
- Formation of a child and family team that includes informal/community supports and formal service providers;
- Engaging families as decision-making partners in the entire process; and
- Creating individualized service plans that mobilize available strengths to meet identified needs.
CCSI supports to this innovative program have included: planning and implementation, ongoing management, training in cultural and linguistic competence and independent evaluation through the Evaluation and Services Research team. Outcomes to date have been positive, including significant reductions in out-of-home placement among participating youth, improvement in key areas of functioning, and positive perceptions among youth and families about the program's ability to make a difference.
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Wyoming SAGE Initiative
Wyoming SAGE Initiative
In 2007, CCSI began work to support the Wyoming SAGE Initiative, a SAMHSA-funded system of care community in the state of Wyoming. CCSI staff and consultants have supported the efforts of the State Policy Team, State Administrative Grant Team and the SAGE West and East pilot sites in launching this initiative.
Work to date has focused on:
- Developing the effective infrastructure needed to support system transformation;
- Roll-out of systems of care and wraparound statewide; and
- Discussion of continuous quality improvement processes to support SAGE in assessing progress towards transformation goals
Related Reports and Publications
