Colusa CountyOur MHSA Adventure

Bonnie Rose, PHN, ACSW

Steffany Ritchie, Program Development Chief, MHSA

What We Did On Our Summer Vacation

• Community Planning Process

• Program Design

• Bringing Community Partners Together

• Challenges

• Innovations

• Nuts and Bolts

• Questions and Answers

Community Planning Process

• Going on “tour”• Hearing from the

community – children are our priority

• Waterfall• MDT already in place• How do we do this

with our limited resources

Program Design

• Provides strength-based family driven services. Services are based on a single individualized “services and supports plan” across systems and allows for organization, implementation and oversight of an interagency plan as well as taking on the critical tasks needed to support and serve the child/youth and family.

Program Design

• Staff for the program includes a Family Facilitator, a Parent Partner and four Family Specialists. We also fund a probation officer position to work with this target group. The staff developed policies and procedures while working closely with the Children’s System of Care Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) to build the infrastructure in preparation for accepting the first FSP.

Program Design

• The staff and partner agencies are working with these families to achieve their desired outcomes through the delivery of individualized family-driven mental health services and supports using the “whatever it takes” model to help them build resiliency and live successfully in the community.

Bringing Community Partners Together

• Challenges of Attitude internal and external – “that won’t work in Colusa”

• Listening is the key – hearing what partners needs are opens their ears to possibilities and cooperation

• Learning Circle

• Four letter word…FOOD

Challenges

• Partner Agencies – changing values and local politics• Must have success right out of the gate – ensuring positive

momentum• Limited resources for “team” coverage • Working within different sets of guidelines and policies

and procedures-who does the client/consumer “belong” to• Limited staff experience with Wraparound programs—

benefits of collaboration with counties that have been using Wraparound programs

Innovations

• Flexibility of clinical staff – whatever the team needs

• It’s O.K. to disagree

• Mental Health is not the gate keeper

• Direct Schools

• Funding Probation Officer position

Nuts and Bolts

• Children’s System of Care – MDT Meeting– Partners bring families to the table to discuss

• Child is chosen– Actual WRAP referral is made to team

• Screening Review by WRAP team– Accepted or Rejected

Nuts and Bolts

• Acceptance takes place– ACCESS team evaluates

– Approved as service through MH – Counselors, Psychiatrist, Therapists

• Assigned to WRAP Team– Family Facilitator/group

– Family Specialist/child (backup Family Specialist)

– Parent Partner/caregiver

• Meet family

Nuts and Bolts

• Weekly Team Meetings– Caregiver– Child– Child and Family

• Safety Plans, Client Plans, Family Plans and Goals

• Shift focus from single child planning to “family” planning and goal setting

Nuts and Bolts

What do we want to achieve?

Families that have “built in” resiliency, support systems, and safe environments that enable them to succeed on their own without our intervention.

What do we do to get them there?

WHATEVER IT TAKES!!!

Questions and Answers