PART V OF A SERIES
CHILDREN'S MENTAL HEALTH: A NATIONAL FAMILY GUIDE
SUBMITTED BY SPAN ADVOCACY NETWORK
Editors Note: The SPAN Parent Advocacy Network has recently updated its National Children's Mental Health Family Guide and have provided it to EP Magazine for publication in a multi-part series. SPAN is here to support you in making the important decisions needed to ensure that your child with mental health challenges receives the services and supports needed for the best life possible. Connect with SPAN at 800-654-7726, online at spanadvocacy.org , on Facebook at @parentadvocacynetwork, and on Twitter at @SPANadvocacy
STATE AGENCIES ON CHILDREN'S MENTAL HEALTH
Many states have a Department of Children and Families which can offer assistance. Some states have a “Children’s System of Care” which covers behavioral health. There may also be “mobile response” available for crisis intervention which means they would go to where the child is, including home, to try and deescalate the crisis and stabilize the situation. By way of illustration, NJ was the first state to implement a statewide children’s system of care for child behavior health. The structure of NJ’s system of care includes:
- Mobile Response & Stabilization Services (MRSS): Used for crisis and stabilization. Mobile response will go to the family’s home, school, or other setting to de-escalate the situation and help the family decide next steps. Please note: this is a difference service than Mobile Outreach.
- Unified Case Management (UCM): Provides two levels of care: 1) “care management” for children with more intensive needs and 2) “youth case management” (YCM) for children with less intensive needs. Services are coordinated by county Care Management Organizations (CMOs).
- Family Support Organizations (FSO): The FSO’s provide peer support for parents. Staffed by family leaders, parents can get additional support and information by calling or attending workshops. In New Jersey, the Family Support Organizations in each county have information and support for parents at http://njfamilyalliance.org
WHERE TO FIND HELP IN YOUR COMMUNITY
Besides Family Support Organizations under the Children's System of Care, there are several other organizations nationally that support families of children with challenging behaviors.
- Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health: FFCMH is a national family-run organization linking more than 120 chapters and state organizations focused on the issues of children and youth with emotional, behavioral, or mental health needs and their families." The FFCMH chapters can be found at ffcmh.org/our-affiliates.
The New Jersey Alliance of Family Support Organizations is the FFCMH’s State Organization; SPAN is a member of the Alliance and serves on its Board. The SPAN Parent Advocacy Network is also a chapter of the FFCMH. As the federally designated Parent Training and Information Center, SPAN can help families of children with mental health concerns deal with school issues. SPAN is also the home of Family Voices/Family-toFamily Health Information Center which can help families get information on diagnosis, insurance coverage, etc.
Lastly, SPAN houses NJ Parent-to-Parent which matches trained volunteer parents to families of children with the same diagnosis to provide emotional support.