The New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH or “Office” herein after) announces the availability of funds for the expansion of a Youth Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team in the Western New York OMH region.
Donor Name: New York State Office of Mental Health
State: New York
County: Ontario County (NY), Seneca County (NY), and Wayne County (NY)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 12/14/2022
Grant Duration: 5 years
Details:
The Youth ACT team serve children/youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED), who are returning home from inpatient settings or residential services, at risk of entering such settings, or have not adequately engaged or responded to treatment in more traditional community-based services.
Youth ACT ensures the child and their family have the level of support services and access to clinical professionals they require to sustain any gains made in crisis response or high-end services. Youth ACT teams deliver intensive, highly coordinated, individualized services and skilled therapeutic interventions through an integrated, multidisciplinary team approach to better achieve success and maintain the child in the home, school, and community. The majority of services are provided by Youth ACT staff directly (not brokered) and are delivered in the home or other community-based settings.
Target Population/Eligibility Criteria
Youth ACT is designed to address the significant needs of children up to age 21 with Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED), who are at risk of entering, or returning home from inpatient settings or residential services or have not adequately engaged or responded to treatment in more traditional community-based settings.
- Children eligible for Youth ACT must meet the following admission criteria:
- Child must be at least 10 at the time of enrollment and may be served up to age 21.
- A determination of Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) defined as:
- A child or adolescent having a designated mental illness diagnosis according to the most current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder AND has experienced functional limitations due to emotional disturbance over the past 12 months on a continuous or intermittent basis. The function limitations must bemoderate in at least two of the following areas or severe in at least one of the following areas:
- Ability to care for self (e.g., personal hygiene; obtaining and eating food; dressing; avoiding injuries); or
- Family life (e.g., capacity to live in a family or family-like environment; relationships with parents or substitute parents, siblings and other relatives; behavior in family setting); or
- Social relationships (e.g., establishing and maintaining friendships; interpersonal interactions with peers, neighbors and other adults; social skills; compliance with social norms; play and appropriate use of leisure time); or
- Self-direction/self-control (e.g., ability to sustain focused attention for long enough to permit completion of age-appropriate tasks; behavioral selfcontrol; appropriate judgment and value systems; decision-making ability); or
- Ability to learn (e.g., school achievement and attendance; receptive and expressive language; relationships with teachers; behavior in school).
- Have continuous high service needs that are not being met in more traditional service settings demonstrated by two or more of the following conditions:
- Persistent severe major symptoms (e.g., affective, psychotic, suicidal or significant impulse control issues).
- Child and/or family has not adequately engaged or responded to treatment in more traditional settings.
- Home environment and/or community unable to provide necessary support for developmentally appropriate growth required to adequately address mental health needs.
- High use of acute psychiatric hospitals (e.g., two hospitalizations within one year, or one hospitalization of 60 days or more within one year).
- High use of psychiatric emergency or crisis services (e.g., two or more uses of mobile crisis intervention or other community crisis services, two ED1 visits or one crisis respite/residence admission within last 6 months.
- Residing or being discharged from in an inpatient bed, residential treatment facility or in a supervised community residence, or being deemed eligible for RTF, but clinically assessed to be able to live in a more independent setting if intensive community services are provided. This may also include current or recent involvement (within the last six months) in another child-serving system such as juvenile justice, child welfare, foster care etc. wherein mental health services were provided.
- Clinically assessed to be at immediate risk of requiring a more restrictive living situation (e.g., community residence, psychiatric hospital, or RTF) without intensive community services.Child’s County of Residence is within program catchment area (counties) licensed to served.
Grant Period
The contract awarded in response to this RFP will be for a five-year term.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible applicants are not-for-profit agencies with 501(c) (3) incorporation that have experience providing mental health services to persons with serious emotional disturbance. Agencies with OMH Licensed Residential Treatment Facilities, in good standing, may be given preference by receiving additional points in the evaluation process.
For more information, visit NYSOMH.
