Community Connections received a crisis intervention grant | News, Sports, Jobs

ALBANY — The state Office of Mental Health has awarded a five-year grant to provide in-home crisis intervention services to children/youth ages 5-20 and their families/caregivers in Clinton, Essex, Franklin and Hamilton, who are at risk. of out-of-home placement due to behavioral health symptoms.

Community Connections of Franklin County, Families First in Essex County, Inc., NAMI: Champlain Valley and Mountain Lake Services have formed a partnership to help families/youth.

“Families with children/youth who are having difficulty engaging with more traditional treatment for mental health or substance use problems, who are struggling to meet the needs of the child/youth and are considering or using hospital emergency departments, inpatient in the hospital or Involvement of law enforcement will now have another option” said Wyllie McGruder, HBCI Program Manager, Community Connections of Franklin County.

The HBCI program is designed to quickly address immediate safety issues, connect and help families engage with needed resources, and begin building communication, problem solving, and alternative coping strategies into the family system.

“Services will be provided at times and locations that work best for youth and families by interventionists who have the training and experience to guide the family in meeting their expressed needs.” said Clinton County Community Services Director Richelle Gregory. “We recognize the need in our area for a program like this to give families options to achieve better outcomes. We are so proud of these agencies that have stepped up and found a way to collaborate.”

JoAnne Caswell, executive director of Families First of Essex County, said: “The program will accept referrals from a wide variety of sources, such as schools, the Department of Social Services, hospitals, behavioral health providers, law enforcement, as well as caregivers.”

Referrals will be accepted via [email protected].

“The team will be distributed throughout the region to make travel and face-to-face contact convenient,” Caswell said. “The HBCI program will also provide 24/7 support and work to collaborate with all relevant service providers. We are excited about this opportunity and the impact it can have.”

The grant provides $500,000 per year for five years, which will hire a team leader, 4 interventionists and provide team time with a psychiatric nurse practitioner to provide guidance on health, medication and psychiatric concerns.

“We understand the urgency of the needs often faced with no good options, and we are committed to being effective stewards of this resource.” said Deceil Moore, LCSW, director of community development and wellness at Community Connections of Franklin County. “We will collect and monitor data to ensure that those who need it are connected to the service. In addition, we will be intentionally looking at how best to improve the effectiveness of our team and services for our families and communities.”