Saturday, December 21, 2024
12/21/2024
San Ysidro Health (SYHealth) requests funding to support its Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) Program in the South Region of San Diego County. As a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), SYHealth specializes in providing care to uninsured and Medi-Cal (California’s Medicaid) populations. SYHealth’s proposed IECMH Program specifically addresses the need for expanded capacity and increased access to culturally proficient mental health services for the health center’s pediatric patients and their families. Specifically, SYHealth’s program directly addresses service gaps and systemic barriers, including: (1) extensive and long wait times for psychoeducational assessments and neuropsychological evaluations in children up to age 12, (2) limited community and safety-net resources in San Diego County’s South Region, and (3) lack of appropriate payment models within a FQHC setting to adequately sustain services. The IECMH Program is designed to serve the predominately Latinx pediatric patient population and their Spanish-speaking families of San Diego County’s South Region, with an emphasis on the impoverished border community of San Ysidro. The South Region is the only region of the county in which Latinx comprises the majority of the overall population; 61% of the South Region population is Latinx compared to 34% of the overall county population. The community of San Ysidro is federally designated as a Medically Underserved Area (MUA; ID 00346), Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) in primary care (ID 10699906J3), dental health (ID 606999066K), and mental health (7069990687). Health disparities are most commonly found among low-income families with histories of drug/alcohol/sexual abuse, domestic violence, food/shelter insecurities, premature births, etc., all of which are not uncommon in border region communities like San Ysidro. SYHealth’s proposed IECMH Program aims to achieve the following goals over the five year project period: Goal 1: Expand capacity to conduct psychoeducational assessments, neuropsychological evaluations, and increase capacity for therapy and psychiatric services for children up to age 12, resulting in a significant decrease in current service gaps and wait times. Goal 2: Increase access and linkages to culturally proficient pediatric behavioral health services for a predominately Latinx patient population. Goal 3: Educate and support parents and caregivers of children engaged in behavioral health services. Goal 4: Increase knowledge of awareness of school personnel, parents, and community members to recognize and appropriately respond to signs and symptoms of behavioral health difficulties. The proposed IECMH Program is designed to serve a minimum of 75 unduplicated pediatric patients each year, and train a minimum of 100 clinicians and community members each year.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).