Our vision is foster care youth and caregivers well equipped to cope with any mental health issues while in or when leaving the foster care system in Central Florida.Our Mission is to improve the mental health care delivery system to foster care youth.

Definition: Mental Health Issues are episodic response to trauma and a Mental Health Illness is a chronic mental health condition. Mental disorders among children are serious deviations from expected cognitive, social, and emotional development.

We need a system of care that addresses both mental health illness and mental issues for our youth and properly diagnose each. The solution is based on a multifaceted approach that is integrated, forward looking, and nimble when needs arise. The standard offered in the Orange County Mayor’s report: Mental Health in childhood can be said to be characterized by the achievement of development and emotional milestones, health social development and effective coping skill, such that mentally healthy children have a positive quality of life and can function well at home, at school, and in their communities. Important note – we need to focus on strengthening the character and resiliency of children as opposed to solely intervening after something has happened.

Our overwhelming obstacle is Funding! From the Orange County Mayor’s report – Florida is 49th in the nation in funding. Our region has the fourth largest child population in the state and is the second lowest funded. In simple terms, we must do more with less making every dollar count with a focus consistent with the mayor’s report of leveraging as much of current community resources as we can.

Four Pillars:

Empower youth to participate in mental health decision making – Educate and Empower.

Support caregivers in their ability to access mental health services for foster youth – Better Support.

Provide better education on the distinction between mental health issues and mental illness – Mental Illness versus Mental Health.

Improve quality of mental health services for foster youth – Improve quality of care.

I. Goal: Empower youth to participate in mental health decision making

a. Objective – Educate youth on self-care

a. Task – Review every organizations material and incorporate the language of mental wellness rather than mental illness throughout our system of care.
Assigned: SAMH – Central Florida Cares

b. Task – Provide material on internet or through social media on self-care for mental wellness that is accessible to our youth. City of Life

c. Task – Provide regular, at least annually, training on maintaining healthy relationships and controlling the negative effects of unhealthy relationships
a. Assigned: City of Life

d. Task – Provide a method for youth to text or chat with mental health professionals about their care and questions they have about their care City of Life.

e. Task – Ensure training of the youth includes information on diagnosis, DSM-V and funding so the youth can understand the terms used – City of Life.

f. Task – Have single point of contact in child welfare system to ensure other participants in the process (including the youth) can be giving direction and not feel like they are shuffled around - Assigned: Community Based Care –

b. Objective – Educate foster youth on their rights and responsibilities in mental health issues

a. Task: Have youth participate in the selection of mental health providers in our system of care. Assigned: CBC Youth Services – Youth Advisory Board –

b. Task: Have surveys conducted about contracted mental health providers submitted by the youth and their caregivers. Assigned: CBC Network Supports

c. Task – At least annually, the youth advisory board conduct a training on mental health self-advocacy possibly in partnership with Youth Move - Assigned: CBC Youth Services – Youth Advisory Board

d. Task – Develop a webpage by and for youth (or link to an existing one) that teaches youth how to advocate for themselves regarding mental wellness and mental health issues - Assigned: City of Life

e. Task – Provide a forum on the internet (Facebook, webpage or other format) by and for youth (or link to an existing one) that explains the difference between mental illness and mental health issues and the types of treatment to which our youth are exposed - Assigned: City of Life -

f. Task – Distribute to all youth mental health handbooks (like the one created by University of Miami) at Youth Advisory Board meetings or other gatherings of youth - Assigned: CBC Youth Services – Youth Advisory Board

II. Goal: Support caregivers in their ability to access mental health services for foster youth

a. Objective – Reinforce trauma informed training and ongoing support of caregivers

a. Task – Develop a system of support and education regarding trauma informed for permanent placements including reunification - QPI - (Anna Brown- Licensing)

b. Objective – Ensure foster system caregivers understand the importance of engaging the youth in the mental health services and the importance of mental wellness (not just illness)

a. Task – Use internet or social media to educate caregivers on mental health issues and needs of our youth including mental wellness - City of Life

b. Task - Identify and publicize resource people to assist caregivers in addressing mental health issues – either professionals or peer advisors - Assigned: CBC Network Supports and foster parent liaisons

c. Task – Post on the internet the rights of foster youth to choose mental health treatment options as a tool for caregivers - City of Life

c. Objective – Provide resources to caregivers especially foster parents to ensure their own mental well being

a. Task – At least annually, provide vicarious traumatization training for foster parents and relative caregivers - CBC Licensing

b. Task – Provide grief counseling for a foster parent when a child is reunified or adopted - CBC Licensing

III. Goal: Provide better education on the distinction between mental health issues and mental illness

a. Objective – Improve the intake process to ensure mental wellness review not just mental illness review

a. Task: Review and see if modifications of mental health intake process (CBHA?) are necessary to make distinction about mental health issues versus mental health illness - Assigned: CBC – Utilization Management – ACHA - SAMH

b. Task: Have CBHA reviewed by therapist (or another professional) with older foster youth to help them understand the recommendations - CBC – UM

b. Objective – Change the public perception of youth who are having mental health issues

a. Task – Coordinate an image campaign within and outside our system of care to change the perception of youth with mental health issues - City of Life – NAMI – DCF Communications

b. Task - Develop website for youth and caregivers in the foster care system to help understand the perception of youth with mental illness - City of Life – NAMI – DCF Communications

c. Task – Build a social media campaign to change the image of youth with mental health issues - City of Life – NAMI – DCF Communications

IV. Goal: Improve quality of mental health services for foster youth

Objective: Eliminate transportation barriers for access to mental health services

a. Task - Survey mental health providers to evaluate whether providers bring services in home or have locations convenient to caregivers and youth - CBC Network Support

b. Task - Contract with mental health providers who will bring services to the youth with home therapy - Assigned: CBC Network Support

c. Task – Review the contracts with mental health providers to evaluate language to ensure better access by the caregivers and youth. - CBC Network Support

d. Task – Incentivize providers to locate offices in close proximity to the highest population of need - Assigned: CBC Network Support

e. Task – Evaluate telemedicine as a method to provide management of psychotropic medication or other treatment of our youth - City of Life – possibly Community Action Team conversation

b. Objective: Minimize youth dislike of mental health

a. Task – Organize regular wellness activities for youth in partnership with Wrap Around efforts - Assigned: CBC Youth Services – YAB

c. Objective – Minimize disruption in changes in mental health providers

a. Task – Modify contracts to ensure better continuation of mental health services when a child moves - Assigned: CBC Network Support

b. Task: Ensure access by the foster care system to mental health providers who will provide intensive community based care for youth who have been hospitalized for mental health treatment more than twice in a 9 month period- Aspire Community Action Team

d. Objective – Provide housing options for young adults with chronic mental health issues
a. Task - Review possible partnership with the Commission on homelessness to support former foster youth with chronic mental health issues - Assigned: CBC Youth Services – Housing Specialist

e. Objective – Coordinate better with schools before and after a youth turns 18 to ensure coordination of services

a. Task – Identify partners in each of school system who can help ensure coordination of services after a youth turns 18 in each district - CBC Education Liaison

b. Task – Provide cross training with the schools that covers trauma informed decision making and two system processes - CBC Education Liaison

c. Task – Explore private or charter schools that could partner to serve foster youth with mental health issues - Assigned: CBC Education Liaison

f. Objective – Reduce the prevalence of psychotropic medications

a. Task – provide information on the internet and through social media on alternatives to medications - Assigned: City of Life

g. Objective – As youth leave, either because permanency or decision to leave after 18, there is adequate support for their ongoing mental health needs

a. Task – Provide service linkage for permanent caregivers on mental health treatment options - Assigned: City of Life