Children's CRC

Peer Support Project

PIN is Growing

3rd Annual Conference

Coping Skills Workshop

Web sites

Contact PIN

Philadelphia Sharing

December 2000 Vol. 1 No. 2

OMH and Children's Services

There are several new and exciting changes in the organization of services for children and adolescents in Philadelphia. Our organizational changes are designed to improve our ability to offer better services for young people and their families. As many readers know, Philadelphia now has a three part organization for behavioral health services.

The new organization is called the Behavioral Health System (BHS). It is composed of three agencies - the Philadelphia Office of Mental Health (OMH), the Coordinating Office of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Programs (CODAAP) and Community Behavioral Health (CBH). OMH and CODAAP are the city agencies with responsibility to plan and oversee mental health and substance abuse services respectively; CBH is our behavioral managed care organization for persons with Medical Assistance health coverage.

The new structure, the BHS, has been created to assist our transition to a system which offers coordinated services and supports to children and adults with emotional or behavioral disturbances, mental illness or substance abuse issues. We believe this is important because young people need services which are responsive both to emotional/behavioral disturbances and substance abuse issues. As a result, we now refer to our services as "behavioral health services" rather than either mental health or substance abuse treatment.

We are working to improve services for children and adolescents through the BHS. Because of the new structure, we are able to work more effectively to offer services which meet both mental health and substance abuse needs. This is an issue of great importance to families of children with emotional/behavioral disturbances, since, unfortunately, children are exposed to drugs and alcohol in the city. As we make progress, we hope that there will be a growing number of available services for children and adolescents which offer both mental health and substance abuse treatment.

At the same time that our organizational structure is changing, we are also changing and augmenting our relationship with PIN. We are delighted with PIN's growth and with their many contributions to the service systems for young people and their families. As an example of our new work with PIN, I would like to highlight the project at the Albert Einstein Medical Center's children's psychiatric emergency center.

Einstein's psychiatric emergency center is funded by the BHS to provide 24-hour emergency psychiatric evaluations and treatment for children and adolescents. Einstein's children's service has grown over the years and has been used by thousands of Philadelphia families. Families often bring their children to this facility when they need immediate crisis related services. These families truly need support and assistance in dealing with the daunting issues they are facing in raising children with severe emotional and/or behavioral disturbances. Einstein has also just initiated a program which offers short-term treatment for a limited number of children whose families bring them to the facility for emergency evaluations.

The PIN advocates work closely with both of Einstein's services. After a great deal of planning between Einstein and PIN, the PIN advocates perform several critical functions. They are based full-time at the facility and offer critical support and assistance to families, and they are helping Einstein staff improve their work with families.

Overall, the BHS is delighted to continue its work with PIN and looks forward to increasing collaborative efforts to improve services available to families of children with behavioral health needs.

Children's Crisis Response Center

Children and adolescents in imminent danger of hurting themselves or others through violence or inability to function who live in Philadelphia County may need the services of the Children's Crisis Response Center (CRC) at Albert Einstein Medical Center, 5501 Old York Road. Einstein is the only site designated by the Philadelphia Office of Mental Health to evaluate, treat and refer children and adolescents in behavioral health crises.

As family advocates we strongly endorse using every possible service and aid in the community to prevent crises. However, in the event of a crisis, the CRC provides service. The CRC is like a medical ER: children and their families are seen in order of the severity of the crisis. Then they are medically and psychiatrically evaluated before treatment or referrals. This process alone can take 6, 8, 10 or more hours.

The Office of Mental Health (OMH) recognizes that a family's experience with crisis services is often traumatic and may be the result of inaccessible or inappropriate services. OMH has contracted with Parents Involved Network (PIN) to provide family advocates to "assist in coping with the child's crisis; access follow up services; provide both immediate and ongoing support to the family in learning and negotiating the behavioral health system. [The goal is] to reduce the need for readmission into emergency or inpatient services by obtaining community based services."

The PIN CRC Project began providing onsite Family Advocacy services at Einstein in June 2000. Free, confidential and voluntary services range from an understanding listener, to directly connecting families to services.

Two family advocates are onsite weekdays covering the day and evening. Regina Hamilton (formerly Elliott) and Kim Jackson apply their wealth of personal experience while working with parents and caregivers in the CRC. They listen, provide information, suggest options and allow parents to vent. They may offer a beverage, a meal or a shoulder to cry on. Kim and Regina coordinate with hospital staff to make the long process at the CRC more productive, human and bearable for families. They connect families to services in the community from base service units and Medical Assistance to peer support and parenting classes, special education evaluations, and free disability, health, education and legal resources.

Regina and Kim work closely with the CRC dedicated clinical staff. The Project serves over 200 families in crisis each month. Printed resources are mailed to each family. Follow up phone calls are made and families are linked to the network of PIN Family Advocates outside the CRC. Families also learn about the annual PIN conference, workshops and other available resources.

Our aim is to support families and advocate alongside them while promoting Child and Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP) principles:

• Child centered
• Family focused
• Community based
• Multi-system
• Culturally competent
• Least restrictive
• Least intrusive.

Since the CRC project has been on site, Einstein Hospital has tapped PIN in another capacity. The Children and Adolescent Rapid Assessment and Treatment (CARAT) Program is a six week, intensive outpatient program with full caregiver involvement. It is designed to prevent the need for inpatient services while connecting a family to appropriate community services. The program is internal. It is only available to children and adolescents who have been admitted to the CRC in crisis and are referred by Einstein staff.

PIN provides on site special education advocacy and coordination through our family advocate, Lourdes Feliciano. In addition to her role as the full - time PIN managed care advocate, Lourdes spends 1/2 day per week at CARAT linking Special Education services for families in the program.

Peer Support Project

The Peer Support Project offers peer support to children and adolescents with behavioral health needs.

We believe that recognizing mental health needs is essential to a young person's overall growth and development. We also believe that children and adolescents with behavioral health issues need the opportunity to speak freely about their concerns, talk to peers with similar issues and receive information on accessing services.

Across the country, as many as one in five young people have a mental health disorder. Unfortunately, children and adolescents often fail to receive essential services because they are unable or unwilling to recognize their own needs or access services that could address these needs. As a result, many young people end up in the hospital or in the criminal justice system.

Now in Philadelphia, children and adolescents between the ages of 8 and 17 with behavioral health issues can get the support they need through a valuable resource --- the Peer Support Project.

As part of the Peer Support Project, Peer Support Groups meet twice a month in supportive environments facilitated by an experienced mental health professional with several years of experience working with children and adolescents with behavioral health needs.

The Peer Support Project:

• Provides a forum for children and adolescents to speak freely about their concerns and to talk with peers with similar issues;
• Helps children and adolescents recognize their own needs;
• Fosters participation in activities to promote peer collaboration;
• Teaches children and adolescents how to advocate for changes; and
• Offers life skills education and workshops in areas that suit the particular needs of children and adolescents.

The Peer Support Project is part of the Division of Child and Adolescent Services of the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

The Peer Support Project offers services free of charge to Philadelphia children and adolescents who are in need of or are currently receiving behavioral health services, and any information gathered remains confidential.

PIN is Growing by Leaps and Bounds

During the summer we added several new staff members. Regina Elliott Hamilton became the children's advocate at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in the Crisis Response Center. (CRC) Kim Jackson has joined Regina in the CRC as an advocate. Francesca Vassalluzzo is the coordinator for the Children's Crisis Response Center Project.

Lourdes Feliciano and Maria Young are family advocates working with families of children and adolescents who are accessing mental health and related services in Philadelphia.

PIN 3rd Annual Conference a Big Success

More than 200 families and professionals attended the 3rd annual Philadelphia Advocacy and Information Conference on October 7, 2000 sponsored by PIN of PA. Keynote speakers were Director of Children's Services for the Philadelphia Office of Mental Health Harriet Williams and Glenn Taylor, CEO for Community Behavioral Health. Twelve workshops were offered. Topics included Special Education, Medication and Advocacy. All presenters volunteered their time.

Many local sponsors donated door prizes. Evaluation forms gave the conference very high ratings. The conference met its goal of connecting families with similar experiences raising children with emotional and behavioral disorders. Candi Parenti, coordinator for the conference, notes that planning a successful conference involves organization, attention to detail, immediate responses to phone calls, and early promotion and registration. "Above all," she says, "have a good working team and try to keep your sense of humor."

PIN Coping Skills 10-week Workshop Series

The PIN Coping Skills Workshop Series for parents/caretakers of children 12 - 18 years old with emotional and behavioral disorders was facilitated by Dwane Dykes, coordinator of Philadelphia PIN and John Noon, a well-known Philadelphia mental health professional. The series began in September and ended November 16, 2000. Comments from attendees stressed the importance of the Coping Skills Workshop and how each session helped them acquire coping and communication skills so necessary to ensure positive interaction with their children.

Another series may be presented in spring 2001. For further information please contact Dwane Dykes, 215-751-1800 ext. 234; ddykes@mhasp.org

Recommended Web sites

www.pinofpa.org - The PIN Web site continues to be a state-of-the-art site for information, education and advocacy. We receive email asking for information about children's mental health and related services from counties across Pennsylvania. Inquiries from other states are also responded to or referred to state chapters of Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health.

The site includes issues of Sharing, the statewide PIN newsletter from January, 1995 to our most current issue, our new Philadelphia Sharing newsletter, PIN Fact Sheets, relevant county, regional and state information including new policies, legislation, and program development, and links to other state and national organizations.

www.phila.k12.pa.us - The School District of Philadelphia has a newly designed Web site. The site is divided into 8 categories:

1. Students - pertinent student information, external links and resources.
2. Teachers - District instructional resources and external links.
3. Parents - District resources for parents and external links.
4. Cluster/Schools - District information on individual schools and clusters.
5. Administration - District executive offices, offices with web pages and policies.
6. The Board - Information concerning board members and duties.
7. Newsroom - District press releases and current events.
8. Employment - Current district employment.

The site map contains all School District of Philadelphia offices and links to the offices with web pages. Frequently you can email administrative staff directly from an office web page. Located on the front page and all departmental web pages is a search button. Once you click on the search button you can choose a category; type a word or phrase and click "find it."

From the home page of the site you can click to press releases about the new contract. You can also view the entire contract on line. If you decide to print the contract, please note that it is 181 pages. However, it is possible to select specific pages of the contract and print just those pages.

At the bottom of the home page you can click "safe water" to learn about lead in the water of district sites and schools. You can learn what the district is doing to correct the problem. There is also a link to the Philadelphia Department of Health to learn more about lead and how to correct a problem you may find in your home.

Finally on the School District of Philadelphia's home page you can select the Educational Empowerment act Plan. The draft plan is 20 pages and has been created in accordance with the requirements of Act 16 of 2000, the Education Empowerment Act (the "Act").

Information regarding special education can be found by selecting the Family Resource Network. Click the section "Supports for Students with Disabilities." Forms relative to the special education process (IEP, NORA, etc.) are included in this section.

Information concerning disciplinary actions can be found by going to section titled "Executive Offices; Chief of Staff; Central Disciplinary Hearing Office."

All board policies can be found by clicking on the Administrative Site Map and selecting "Board Policies Manual on Line."

"The Principals' Manual" can be found by starting on the School District Home page. Click "Administration;" scroll down to "Principal's Policies and Procedures Manual on Line."

Members of the Web content team are eager for feedback.

PIN, a project of the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania, provides support, advocacy, information and referral resources for families of children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders. PIN is the Pennsylvania State Organization of the Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health.

Parents Involved Network
Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania
1211 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
philly@pinofpa.org
215-751-1800