Safe Horizon LIFT UP Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Program - A Continuum of Multidisciplinary Mental Health Promotion, Prevention and Intervention, and Workforce Development in NYC - Safe Horizon's LIFT UP Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Program in New York City will transform the emergency and crisis response system for child survivors of abuse. Through mental health consultation, learning opportunities, clinical training, and a continuum of evidence-based practices, LIFT UP will nurture a thriving workforce of professionals through 1,515 training participants to provide mental health promotion, prevention and intervention for 11,300 children and caregivers.
Project name: Safe Horizon LIFT UP Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Program - A Continuum of Multidisciplinary Mental Health Promotion, Prevention and Intervention and Workforce Development in New York City
Population(s) to be served: The population of focus will be infants and children up to age 12 in New York City who face exponentially greater rates of serious emotional disturbance after experiencing physical and/or sexual abuse. The specific target population will be the 5,500 children survivors of the most severe cases of abuse who have been triaged for intensive care in the city's emergency and crisis response system, the Child Advocacy Centers. Demographics vary by borough, but citywide, clients are 40% black; 35% Latinx; 8% white; 4% Asian; 5% multi-racial; and 8% unknown/other. 59% are female and 41% male.
Strategies/interventions: LIFT UP will:
> Leverage established yet unharnessed expertise at the Child Advocacy Centers through cross-systems mental health consultation based on the Vanderbilt Model of Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation with co-located partners, including the Administration for Children's Services, New York Police Department, District Attorney's Offices and local hospital and health care systems;
> Infuse awareness and deepen applied knowledge of children's developmental and mental health through specialized learning opportunities across diverse professional teams;
> Fortify the workforce of skilled mental health professionals through clinical training in evidence-based practices, including four well-established and innovative treatments (Child-Parent Psychotherapy; Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention; Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; and Attachment, Regulation and Competency); and
> Transcend outcomes for thousands of infants and children by strengthening pathways for families to access an age-appropriate, culturally-responsive continuum of mental health promotion, prevention and treatment.
Goals and objectives: LIFT UP is guided by four goals matching the above strategies and a total of 18 objectives. The total number of individuals to be reached through direct services and workforce development is 2,563 per year and a total of 12,815 over the five-year grant period.
