The Kalamazoo Wraps System of Care Expansion and Sustainability project enhances the infrastructure and service array in our geographic catchment area for abused and neglected youth that are involved in the child welfare system. Population of Focus: Youth /young adults in Kalamazoo County, age 0-21, with Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED), and/or co-occurring substance use disorder (COD), involved in the child welfare system.
Goal 1: Enhance coordination and integration of local community mental health efforts with those of the Department of Health and Human Services Child Welfare division at risk of out of home placement or that have been removed from their biological homes. Objective 1a: Increase the identification of youth with behavioral health needs through implementation of mental health screening practices. Objective 1b: Increase the number of appropriate physical, mental, and social determinant of health service referrals. Objective 1c: Increase youth and family engagement and support of youth through provision of support services delivered to child welfare involved youth and families by certified peer support partners. Objective 1d: Increase trauma and crisis mental health supports available to child welfare families via participation by behavioral health clinical staff in 100% of home removal events by the end of the grant. Objective 1e: Increase behavioral supports to caregivers for youth at risk of out of home placement via supports to behavior management planning and training from behavioral professionals. Goal 2: Develop the system infrastructure and workforce capacity to deliver targeted behavioral supports in the home and evidence-based practices that are designed to meet the needs of youth with child welfare involvement in order to keep 75% of youth in community, home based settings while in services. Objective 2a: Delivery logistics across population specific array of evidence-based service modalities Objective 2b: Train 10+ additional staff in specific EBPs to serve the Child Welfare Populations over the course of the grant. Objective 2c: Train 80% of all direct service staff from child welfare and mental health in Motivational Interviewing by Year 2 of the grant. Objective 2d: Provide 80 families/caregivers with Mental Health First Aid training, 100 caregivers Caregiver Trauma Education Training, and 150 foster, kinship, and biological families professional support in home based behavioral management strategies; Objective 2e: Develop and deliver ongoing fidelity monitoring and coaching infrastructure in accordance with guidelines of all EBPs implemented. Goal 3: Achieve quality outcomes for a total of 250 new youth involved with child welfare system. Objective 3a: Expand the number of child welfare involved youth that receive evidence-based services to 250 by year 4 of the grant. Objective 3b: Assure 75% of youth in foster/kinship care remain in one, stable, foster/ kinship temporary placement (versus bouncing across different homes) while in services. Objective 3c: Reduce psychological distress for at least 65% of youth over the life of the grant. A total unduplicated count of 250 youth involved in the child welfare system will be enrolled in the project over 4 years; Year 1 = 40, Year 2 = 65 Year 3 = 70, and Year 4 = 75.
Our main project partners will be the Department of Health and Human Services Child Welfare Division, ASK Family Services (Family Resource Center), Western Michigan University and the Psychological Treatment and Assessment Services Team (graduate level behavior management specialists), 9th Circuit Court Family Division, Kalamazoo Public Schools, and the State of Michigan. These organizations have a 30-year history of quality service provision in our community, and System of Care support. They work to assure that our workforce is diverse, emphasize and value cultural competency, and help to ensure that language needs are addressed.