Keetoowah Healing Circle: Children's System of Care Initiative - The Keetoowah Healing Circle Children’s System of Care Initiative is a 3-year Circles of Care planning and infrastructure-development project led by the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma to establish a sustainable, family-driven, youth-guided, community-based, culturally grounded system of care for Keetoowah and other American Indian and Alaska Native children, youth, and young adults from birth through age 25 and their families in Cherokee, Adair, Delaware, Mayes, and Sequoyah Counties. This planning project will not fund direct clinical treatment. A Tribal Community Board of at least 8 members will meet at least 12 times annually to guide planning. Within 6 months, the project will complete a Tribal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis, and by the end of Year 1 it will engage at least 100 community members through a Gathering of Native Americans. Activities include culturally grounded mental health outreach and literacy education, youth and caregiver engagement, and development of coordinated screening, referral, information-sharing, and sustainability procedures. By the end of Year 2, the project will secure at least 3 formal partnership or data-sharing agreements and will conduct at least 12 culturally grounded outreach activities annually. By September 29, 2029, the Tribe will adopt a written system-of-care blueprint defining governance, partner roles, outreach, screening and referral pathways, and sustainability.
