System of Care grant to focus efforts on LGBTQIA+, homeless, immigrant, refugee youth and youth ages 2 - 11 with SED/SMI - Grant for Expansion and Sustainability of the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children with Serious Emotional Disturbances Abstract The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) oversees the delivery of services to youth and their families. This grant will be used to sustain current services and expand the System of Care to youth in which data shows the highest disparities in mental health and emotional disturbances, including LGBTQIA+, refugee, immigrant, youth experiencing homelessness, and youth ages 2 -11.System delivery will include the following youth serving agencies: Office of Substance Use and Mental Health (OSUMH), Child and Family Services (DCFS), Juvenile Justice and Youth Services (DJJYS), Juvenile Probation, and Services for People with Disabilities (DSPD). With the money awarded from this grant, an additional 220 unduplicated youth will receive services. Grant requirements will be met by the four following goals: Goal 1: Outreach and engagement strategies effective for LGBTQIA+ , refugee, immigrant, and youth experiencing homelessness with Severe Emotional Disturbance/Severe Mental Illness (SED/SMI) and their families by increasing access strategies to evidence based practices. Goal 2: Focus efforts on youth ages 2 -11 with SED/SMI providing earlier interventions, increased access to assessment, diagnostic services , and evidence based practices for youth and their families. Goal 3: Increase access to diagnostic, clinical mental health assessment, and evidence based practices such as Parent Child Interactive Therapy (PCIT), Safecare, Motivational Interviewing (MI), Families First (FF), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Functional Family Therapy (FFT), and Trauma- Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TFCBT). Goal 4: Support other child/youth serving agencies by providing alternative options to keep youth with SED/SMI in their homes, school, and communities. Adherence to these goals and outcomes will be monitored by the DHHS Data, Systems and Evaluation team.
