Enhanced Services and Training for Atlanta-Area Children with SED - CHRIS 180 proposes to build capacity to identify, refer, and serve infants and children with serious emotional disturbances (SED). It will provide training and technical assistance to partners throughout the Atlanta area to help them identify and refer children with SED and their families. It will add two treatment teams trained in evidence-based practices to provide intensive, individualized services and treatment to eligible children and their families/caregivers.
Project Name: Enhanced Services and Training for Atlanta-Area Children with SED
Population to Be Served: The project will target children who are 0-12 years old, who are at risk for, show early signs of, or have been diagnosed with a mental illness including SED. CHRIS 180’s project will specifically focus on infants and children with signs of SED who 1) have a suspected or confirmed addiction, 2) are exposed to violence, 3) have a suspected or confirmed attachment disorder, and/or 4) have an open child protective services case. CHRIS 180 will also provide wraparound services and treatment to the children’s parents, caregivers, and foster families. The project will target children in Fulton, DeKalb, and Gwinnett counties in the Atlanta, Georgia area. CHRIS 180’s clientele is 57% male, 42% female, and 1% transgender or gender non-conforming. Nearly 75% are Black/African-American, 19% are white, 3.5% are bi/multi-racial, and 2.6% are Hispanic/Latino. Nearly all (91%) of clients are low-income.
Strategies/Interventions: CHRIS 180 will hire two treatment teams to provide comprehensive services to children and their caregivers. It will use Matrix Model, trauma-informed/responsive services, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, High-fidelity Wraparound, and Systematic Training for Effective Parenting, and train its clinical and direct service staff in two new evidence-based practices, Child Parent Psychotherapy and Circle of Security. Staff will provide services at CHRIS 180, partner sites, schools, and through home visits. It will seek to develop community capacity to identify, refer, and respond to children with SED by providing intensive training and ongoing technical assistance to area service providers.
Project Goals and Measurable Objectives: CHRIS 180’s goals are to: Build capacity to serve 600 youth 0-12 and their family members annually; Provide and ensure access to culturally- and developmentally-appropriate mental health promotion, prevention, early intervention, and treatment services for 600 youth 0-12 and their family members; Increase participants’ access, engagement, and retention in treatment such that 100% of participants will have access to services and 80% of the participants will be engaged in/complete at least one treatment goal; and 85% of the engaged families will show improvement in family functioning and parenting skills.
Number of People to Be Served: CHRIS 180 will train 1,450 people (1,000 year 1, 300 year 2, and 50/year thereafter) and provide assessments, treatment, and services to 600 unduplicated children (50 year 1, 100 year 2, and 150 in years 3-5) and their parents/caregivers during the project period.
