Saturday, December 21, 2024
12/21/2024
South Carolina Department of Mental Health (SCDMH), in partnership with the Joint Council on Children and Adolescents and Pee Dee Community Mental Health Center (PD-CMHC), will implement ROADS project, partnerships to support youth and young adults as they travel on multiple roads to successful adulthood. In ROADS, we will improve and expand access to services and supports specifically tailored to youth and young adults aged 16-25 (YYA) who have, or are at risk for developing, serious mental health conditions. YYA with specific challenges include those with justice involvement, homelessness, unemployment, low educational attainment and living in communities with overlapping inequities. The geographic area consists of Florence, Marion, and Darlington counties in SC's Pee Dee region. These counties are part of the Corridor of Shame, a strip of SC counties with historically low educational achievement, few job opportunities, and scant hope for the future of young people. ROADS will establish the infrastructure needed for sustainable collaborative partnerships aimed at providing a seamless array of YYA-related services and supports. Direct service staff will identify and engage YYA in need, prioritizing those at high risk for suicide and/or presenting with mental health emergencies. As a result of project participation, YYA functioning in a variety of life domains will improve. Through this funding, we will provide clinical and/or recovery support services to fifty emerging adults in Year One, with the annual number served gradually increasing (Y2-100, Y3-125, Y4-150, Y5-150). Over the five years, a total of 575 YYA will receive direct services and at least 825 will engage in individual outreach and/or screening. Demographics will reflect our region: 50.8% Black, 47.3% White, <2% Other Races, and 3.3% Hispanic. Males and females will be equally represented, with about 5% identifying as gender non-conforming. Sexual orientation includes 80% straight, 10% bi-sexual, 5% gay/lesbian, and 5% other, mostly non-binary. Evidence-based practices/programs to be used include: 1) training for providers in the Zero Suicide approach, as well as in transition planning models such as Transition to Independence and Achieve My Plan; 2) using validated screening tools and YYA-friendly screening practices; 3) providing a wide array of direct services (motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), trauma-focused (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy, and peer recovery support/young adult mentoring); and 4) supporting independence through access to appropriate resources such as SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access and Recovery (SOAR) and Individual Placement and Support (IPS). Each of these interventions has been implemented with emerging adults who have, or at risk for, serious mental health conditions. We expect that each of these interventions will encourage adaptive functioning and result in successful pathways to adulthood. Our objectives are many. Through ongoing needs assessment, provider training in developmentally and culturally appropriate YYA outreach, engagement, and support techniques, and intentional alignment of the child and adult behavioral health care systems, we will increase the capacity of providers in mental health and related systems to identify, screen, engage, and connect YYA to services and supports designed to foster emotional well-being. Involvement in ROADS will result in clients experiencing reduced behavioral health symptoms, decreased behavioral health related hospitalizations and emergency room visits, and lower justice system involvement. Instead, clients will experience improved social and family connections, more positive education/employment involvement, and greater degrees of housing satisfaction. Their individual and varied roads to adulthood will be filled with supportive connections and hope.
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).