The SEKMHC Services Expansion Project will serve two primary purposes. First it will create partnerships via Designated Collaborating Organizations that add Medication Assisted Treatment and primary care services, so that Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center meets requirements to become a Certified Community Behavioral Health Center. Secondly, this project will expand services to those age 5 and under, or age 65 and over. Currently, 90% of the expected mental health service need for children age 5 and under is being unmet in the service area, and 99.2% of the mental health service needs for those over 65 is unmet. That glaring gap in services will be addressed by adding 10 fulltime therapists and 10 full time case managers to existing staff. Additionally, by the conclusion of the grant period our center will have 10 therapists on staff with advanced practice licensure, which is a requirement of Medicare billing associated with those over the age of 65. This will allow the center to serve 150 individuals over the age of 65 in the first year, and 500 more in the second year for a total of 650 individuals over the age of 65 being served. These individuals will be provided with at least 2000 service appointments during the grant period. Additionally, 12 therapists will receive training/credentialing in Play Therapy, which is an evidenced based practice well suited for children age 5 and under. This will allow the center to serve 150 children under the age of 5 during the first year of the grant and additional 300 in the second year of the grant for a total of 450 children under the age of 5 being seen during this grant period. Children under the age of 5 will receive at least 1500 service appointments during the grant period. Finally, 10 therapists will receive advanced training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which is an evidenced based treatment for intervention with individuals age 65 or older. This significant expansion in number of providers and advanced training will allow our center to not only improve the quality of services delivered, but also reach far more individuals, especially those in the two age groups currently being significantly under served. This project will allow our center to serve over 4500 individuals the first year of the grant, and 5000 individuals the second year for a total of 9500 individuals served during the two-year grant period. We will provide services to 650 individuals age 65 or over during the two years of this grant, significantly expanding services compared to the 191 individuals in this age group served this past year. Similarly, during this grant period we will serve 450 children age 5 and under compared to the 100 children served last year.
