|
Children Services at Suncoast Center
Suncoast Center for Community Mental Health
provides a broad range of community based programs for children and
families designed to develop and enhance family support resources, and to
resolve emotional and behavioral problems arising from mental health,
substance abuse, child abuse and neglect and domestic violence. These
Programs are integrated across levels of care to insure provision of
appropriated assessment and treatment resources, with youth and family
development, and social support venues essential to addressing needed
changes within the family. Services improve the behavior and functioning
of its members, while creating positive social empowerment experiences
that promote healthy, long term family ties with their neighborhoods and
community.
(Click on an item to view
details)
Click Here to Print or Download Children Services Information
Click Here to
view the TFS Monthly Newsletter with Calendar of Events.
Assessment
(back to top)
Comprehensive Behavioral Health Assessment Program
The Comprehensive Behavioral Health Assessment Program serves children
under 18 removed from their parents/caretaker by the Pinellas County
Sheriff’s Protective Investigations Unit because of abuse and neglect and
placed into shelter care. CBHAs are also available to children in state
foster care whose behavior/mental health condition are barriers to
achieving a permanent placement. Program Assessments are reimbursed by
Medicaid. Provider staff are state licensed mental health clinicians, or
are very experienced master’s degree therapists who meet Medicaid provider
qualifications. Program staff must provide a minimum of seven
complete Assessments per month with each Assessment Report due to the Lead
Agency for Child Welfare within 24 days of receiving the referral. The
CBHA is an exhaustive in-depth study of the target child, the family and
its history, and the environment in which the child and family live. Also
included in the Assessment is a summary of past and current medical,
mental health, educational, and child welfare evaluations completed in
regard to the child. Medicaid stipulates minimum Assessment activities and
information to be included in the Report. Upon submission to the lead
child welfare agency, CBHA Reports are to be included in the child welfare
Case Plan that carries the weight of a court order through the Judicial
Review process. The CBHA, therefore, is the primary vehicle for addressing
mental health and substance abuse needs of the child and family through
the recommendations that are forthcoming from Report findings. At present,
2 FTE staff provide Assessments to children whose families reside within
the DCF Suncoast Region.
Prevention and Early Intervention
Programs
(back to top)
Family Social Support Program (FSSP)
Two FSSP master’s degree staff provide neighborhood and family
development programs, and clinical assessment and counseling services to
families who have elementary school age children attending Walsingham,
Kings Highway, Lealman Avenue, Campbell Park, Sandy Lane, Bellaire, and
Maximo Elementary Schools. Program staff partner with the Suncoast Center
Total Family Strategy Program to facilitate family initiated and led
neighborhood social support and recreational events that build mutual
support and self-help among participant families. Individual and family
counseling is offered in-home and at times convenient to the family.
Consultation is provided to educational staff to promote parent-teacher
partnerships and uniform
behavior intervention strategies with the child. Cell phones enhance staff
accessibility and responsiveness. The Program is funded by the Juvenile
Welfare Board.
Total Family Strategy (TFS)
The Total Family Strategy Program provides in-home family-centered
counseling, and family group development/empowerment activities to
families with children under 12 (6th grade), that are at risk for
dependency upon public funded economic, mental health, substance abuse,
juvenile and criminal justice, and public education SED This com systems.
The TFS program is funded by the Juvenile Welfare Board. Staff provide
multi-family group recreational and social support activities, family
group development activities and in-home family counseling. A specialized
TFS component dedicates one full time master’s degree staff in partnership
with the Greater Ridgecrest Area Youth Development Initiative to provide
standard TFS services to the eleven neighborhoods that make up the Greater
Ridgecrest area of Pinellas County. This component serves older teens as
well. A second specialty TFS component addresses the broad scope of basic
needs presented by low income families living throughout Pinellas County
who are waiting for Coordinated Child Care subsidized child day care. This
TFS service component applies the same service methodology as the core TFS
program. Additionally, client parents and program staff, together with
those in the FSSP program described above, combine to identify, plan and
implement a broad array of youth and family development activates
following their active involvement in treatment services that are the
signature approach of the TFS program in the community.
Click Here to
view the TFS Monthly Newsletter with Calendar of Events.
Community Support Program
The Community Support Program component of TFS, a recent cloning of the
TFS model, has been implemented to serve longer term needs (6 months) of
families whose children have been diverted from out-of-home foster care by
the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Child Protective Investigations Unit.
Following a four to six week period of intensive in-home intervention and
stabilization by the Emergency Response Team multi-agency collaborative,
families continuing to need extended in-home treatment, 24/7 on-call
support, linkages with community resources, and involvement in
youth/family development activities to build social support networks are
transitioned in a seamless manner to the Community Support Program. During
their stay in the program,, the families are integrated into the larger
network of TFS family development activities The benefit of large numbers
of participating families rests in the diversity of parent backgrounds,
interests, needs and opportunities available to them for joining with
others and assuming a variety of roles that generate sharing relationships
and enhance social skill. Similarly, larger numbers of staff can more
readily support more of these activities throughout Pinellas County. TFS
and its specialized components operate throughout Pinellas County and are
funded exclusively by the Juvenile Welfare Board.
Parenting Wisely
The Parenting Wisely program is a research collaborative with the Pinellas
County School Board, which engages families with middle school age
children to operate a CD ROM program and accompanying workbook that
presents substance abuse related problems/scenarios/issues which elicit
timely ideas and solutions. Family pre-and-post test scores are forwarded
to the University of Miami, which is conducting the research on the
program. Eligible children/families live in the South St. Petersburg
extended Front Porch area. The Program is offered in-home and at times
convenient to the family. Funding from the program comes from DC&F ADM.
Children’s Substance Abuse Prevention
Children ages 5-17 residing in the Front Porch area of St. Petersburg are
the target population for this substance abuse prevention program. Youth
involved with the Program are not currently using drugs but have
significant risk factors for delinquent behavior or ATOD use. Parent and
peer favorable attitudes toward ATOD use are challenged by involving youth
in activities that support avoidance of ATOD and promote healthy and
positive lifestyles. Program staff focus on children who have not begun to
experiment with the use of alcohol, tobacco or other drugs. Staff provide
presentations to church groups, civic organizations and others requesting
information about ATOD prevention. Educational classes are provided that
present coping skills addressing ATOD risk situations, while promoting
positive and supportive relationships and social skills that bolster self
esteem. Factual information about ATOD and resources for intervention and
treatment are also provided. Program activities are provided at times and
locations convenient to the participants.
Case Management
(back to top)
Children's Targeted Case Management
Children’s Targeted Case Management provides Case Management services to
Medicaid eligible children under 18 (and their families) who reside in
Pinellas County. Services are provided in-home and are community-based,
including activities which assess, plan, monitor, advocate, link and
coordinate the full array of community based resources and services needed
by severely emotionally disturbed youth with a mental health diagnosis who
require two or more mental health services to maintain their current
residence/placement. When appropriate, case managers are assigned to
Suncoast Center treatment programs as core members of the treatment teams.
Case Managers develop and maintain relationships with essential agency and
community organizations which promote the positive interests of the
children and their families. Flexible staff hours are available to
families The Program is funded entirely by Medicaid.
Outpatient Programs
(back to top)
Children’s Outpatient Programs (Medical and Non-Medical)
The Children’s Outpatient Program provides mental health assessment,
counseling and psychiatric evaluation and medication services to children
under 18 and their families residing in south and mid-Pinellas County.
Services are office-based on Central Avenue, St. Petersburg and are
provided by State licensed Master’s degree level therapists,
psychiatrists, and /ARNP staff. Regular office hours are 8-5 pm Mondays
and Fridays, and Tuesday-Thursday 8-8:00 p.m. Clinical counseling services
are short-term, family-centered, and solution focused. When indicated,
Outpatient psychotherapy is provided concurrently with medication therapy
and Children’s Targeted Case Management. Medical Outpatient serves
children in all Suncoast Center programs that require this treatment. COP
is funded by the Juvenile Welfare Board, client fees and insurance,
including Medicaid.
Children’s Substance Abuse Outpatient and Intervention Services
Children’s Substance Abuse Outpatient and Intervention Services provide
screenings, assessments, individual and family counseling, educational
groups and psychiatric services to children under 18 having a substance
abuse problem, including those having a family member with a substance
abuse problem. Services are provided to families living throughout
Pinellas County and are provided in offices located on Central Avenue in
St. Petersburg. Outpatient and intervention services are provided by
experienced master’s degree level therapists, psychiatrists, and ARNP
staff. Evening office hours are available Tuesday-Thursday. Clinical
services are family-centered and short-term. The Children’s Substance
Abuse Outpatient and Intervention Programs are funded by DC&F ADM, fees
and insurance (Medicaid).
In-Home On Site Programs
(back to top)
Therapeutic Pre-School (TPS)
A TPS master’s degree level clinician provides specialized early childhood
mental health assessment and treatment services to families with children
attending nine therapeutic pre-school classrooms in nine public elementary
schools located throughout Pinellas County. Mental health and family case
management services address barriers to the child successfully entering
the regular education kindergarten classroom. Clinical services are
in-home and family centered, with follow-up monitoring and intervention to
ensure successful regular education placement. Children served are ages
3-5. Specialized early childhood assessment and treatment services are
offered through parent and teacher consultation and coordination of
behavior intervention activities. Flexible day/evening hours and cell
phone accessibility meets family scheduling and communication needs. TPS
is funded by the Juvenile Welfare Board.
(TANF) Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
The Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Program (TANF) provides
flexible clinical in-home community-based services to TANF eligible
families when their progress toward stable and positive family functioning
and self-sufficiency is impeded by mental health/substance abuse barriers.
In addition to TANF eligibility, families served reside in Pinellas County
and have a child under 18. Clinical staff provide in-home assessment,
family centered counseling related to issues of self-sufficiency,
community human service linkage, and access to Suncoast Center psychiatric
and Children’s Targeted Case Management services. Eligible families are
also encouraged to participate with Total Family Strategy family group
activities. TANF staff have a MSW degree or equivalent, and work flexible
hours to accommodate the families served. Cell phone access increases
staff responsiveness to family needs when a timely reply is needed. The
Program is funded by the Department of Children and Families Alcohol Drug
Abuse and Mental Health Program Office and Medicaid.
Oak Park and Hamilton Disston Schools
Suncoast Center provides mental health assessment and treatment services
to students attending Oak Park School and Hamilton Disston SED Center. The
schools identify and refer students who are persistently disruptive in the
classroom, and for those attending Hamilton Disston, are also classified
as Severely Emotionally Disturbed by the school board’s department of
Exceptional Student Education. Each program provides on-site mental health
individual and group therapy services at the schools, as well as Targeted
Case Management support services for the child and family in their homes
and other community locations. The primary treatment modality employed
with the students is group therapy. Both programs are funded by Medicaid
reimbursements.
Intensive In-Home Intervention
(back to top)
Alternatives for Children in Crisis "A Team"
A-Team is a short-term, in-home and school based rapid response program
funded by the Juvenile Welfare Board, and under subcontract with Personal
Enrichment through Mental Health Services, to provide in-home,
family-focused crisis response and risk management counseling, family case
management and resource development services to elementary school age
children at risk for in an out of school suspension/referral to the
Pinellas Juvenile Assessment Center, because of disruptive classroom
behaviors. Families with children attending elementary schools designated
to be high risk by the Pinellas County Juvenile Welfare Board receive
in-home assessment, and intensive family therapy and case management
service are eligible for this service. In addition, program clinicians
provide school approved training modules addressing the different types of
severe behaviors seen in the classroom and general strategies for
intervention. Families served are provided with cell phone accessibility
and on-call response available 24/7 by master’s and bachelor’s degree
level staff.
Intensive Family Services Program (IFS)
The Intensive Family Services Program provides intensive, in home and
community based family preservation services to youth at risk for out of
home placement because of disruptive behaviors arising from their mental
health disorders. A second program component addresses the mental health
needs of children under six years old whose parents are experiencing
stress induced by mental health, substance abuse, family violence or
environmental crises.
The Early Intervention component offers help for families with infants or
preschoolers at risk for problematic early development and mental health
conditions leading to poor school adjustment. EI serves families with
children ages 0-6 residing in Pinellas County. Services include
specialized mental health assessment and developmental screening,
referrals for full developmental evaluation, home based counseling,
psychiatric services, case management, and family social support and
development activities at community locations that are familiar to the
family. Participating parents have significant mental health/substance
abuse challenges or other major stressors impeding their daily functioning
and their ability to effectively parent their children. Master’s and
bachelor’s degree clinical staff are readily accessible through 24/7
on-call availability and cell phone communication with the families.
The Home Based Intensive Family Services component provides intensive
in-home, family-centered counseling, case management and family support
services to children under 18 whose acute behaviors place them at imminent
risk for more intensive, out-of-home mental health placement and services. HBIFS is a family preservation program adapted to meet the needs of a
severe children’s mental health population over a short duration of time,
usually for 3-5 month. Referrals, if necessary, are then made to less
intensive outpatient treatment resources. Staff caseloads are capped at
five families. Cell phone accessibility and on-call response is available
from master’s degree level staff 24/7. HBIFS is the only program of its
kind in Pinellas County that serves families outside the child welfare
system. Funding is provided by the Juvenile Welfare Board and Medicaid.
Residential
(back to top)
Suncoast Therapeutic Foster Care Program
STFC is a specialized therapeutic foster care program serving SED children
5-17 in Suncoast Center foster homes with specially trained foster parents
located throughout Pinellas County. The Program provides longer term
foster care placement and mental health treatment for 1-2 children
concurrently per home. The usual length of stay in the program is 12-18
months. STFC is a community-based alternative to facility-based
residential treatment programs. The foster parents are recruited and
trained by the Program and are supervised by master’s degree level
clinical staff through 1-2 home visits per week, with 24/7 on-call
response available to the families. Staff caseload size is 6-8 children.
SSPP is funded by Medicaid (as authorized by DCF ADM) and the Lead
Agencies for child welfare in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.
Click Here to Print or Download Children Services Information
For more information on
any of our programs please call 727-327-7656
|
