Crittenton Center MHAT for Children, Teens, and Families - Crittenton Center will implement Mental Health Awareness Training for Children, Teens, and Families in Sioux City and Woodbury, Sioux, and Plymouth Counties in western Iowa. The project will prepare child welfare and juvenile court personnel, school and early childhood staff, medical and behavioral health providers, first responders, and other community members to recognize signs and symptoms of mental illness, safely de-escalate crises, and connect children, teens, and families to screening, assessment, services, and other resources. Training will use Youth Mental Health First Aid, Teen Mental Health First Aid, Question, Persuade, Refer, and Awareness, Interaction, Direction, including recertification as appropriate. Community partnerships and outreach will strengthen awareness, reduce stigma, and improve referral linkages among youth- and family-serving systems. Over 3 years, the project will deliver 32 trainings—8 in Year 1 and 12 in each of Years 2 and 3—and train 320 individuals: 80 in Year 1 and 120 annually thereafter. It will refer at least 160 individuals to mental health or related services—40 in Year 1 and 60 in each subsequent year—and conduct 4 outreach events annually, reaching 180 people over the project period.
