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Our Vision Youth who have suffered trauma can become our future leaders Our Mission

Our Vision Youth who have suffered trauma can become our future leaders Our Mission UCAN strives to build strong youth and families through compassionate healing, education and empowerment. UCAN profile and scope. Established in 1869 as a Civil War orphanage

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Our Vision Youth who have suffered trauma can become our future leaders Our Mission

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  1. Our Vision Youth who have suffered trauma can become our future leaders Our Mission UCAN strives to build strong youth and families through compassionate healing,education and empowerment

  2. UCAN profile and scope • Established in 1869 as a Civil War orphanage • Serve more than 10,000 youth, children and families annually • Service primarily the greater Chicagoland area, but offers services throughout Illinois • Fiscally responsible organization with solid business practices • FY’16 budget: $40.7 million • More than 575 staff at seven main sites • Diverse and progressive Governing Board • Accredited by the Council on Accreditation • Member of the Council of Health & Human Services Ministries • Member of the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities

  3. UCAN Programs at a Glance Healing Trauma Building Strong Families Preventing Violence Educating & Empowering Youth • Violence Prevention Services • Hands Without Guns • Phenomenal Woman • Project Visible Man • Therapeutic Youth Home • Professional Foster Parenting • Counseling and Youth Development Services • Transitional Teen Services • Alumni Services • Workforce Development • FamilyWorks • Foster Grandparents Program • High Risk Infant Program • Teen Parenting Service Network • Doula Services • 360º Model • Diermeier Future Leaders Now • UCAN Academy • UCAN Educational Mentoring • Volunteer and Mentor Program

  4. Counseling and Youth Development Services • Individual Counseling • Group Counseling • Family Counseling Counseling Services Youth Development Services • Individual Youth Coaching • Mentoring/Skills Development • Youth Coaching Groups • Gender Specific Character Development Groups • Project Visible Man (PVM) • Phenomenal Woman • Life Skills Classes • Financial Literacy Classes • Youth Leadership Institute • LGBTQ Support Group • Adventure Therapy

  5. School Based Services • Began with grant funded school services • Grants became more difficult to come by • Schools and parameters change with funder • Schools still needed services • Funding cuts at the district and school level • Less school Social Work resources • Less enrichment programming • DMH Medicaid Certification • We had always done Medicaid for Child Welfare • Opportunity to fund school based services with Medicaid • Large percentage of youth in our service area qualify • School based clinics made sense

  6. What we needed • Partnerships with schools • Partnership agreements that include what we will provide and what we require • Point person for referrals and on site support • Parental Consent • Plan for introducing the service to parents • Explaining to parents that the school referred the student, but they are in charge • Release of information • Plan for youth without Medicaid • Mostly worked out through the referral process

  7. What we needed (cont’d) • Staff time • Minimum of six referrals to dedicate someone 1 day/wk • Dedicated Space • Varies per school • Private space appropriate for sessions • Technology • Laptops for staff • Internet access • Cell phones

  8. Challenges and Solutions • Consent paperwork • Difficulty getting signatures from parents • School parental engagement • Legal paperwork looks and feels overwhelming • Solutions: • streamlined consent packet with one signature page • school responsible for parental consent prior to referral • School administrators wanting to control the service • Community based counseling not school funded counseling • Parent can choose not to release information to school • Clinicians have contact with guardians and offer more services when applicable • Solutions: • Clearly outlining parameters of agreement in writing • Regular meetings with school contact person

  9. Challenges and Solutions (cont’d) • Shorter sessions • Most schools want sessions to occur during lunchtime • 30-40 minute class periods • Solutions: • Expect to see twice as many students per day • Request hall pass privileges • No/show plan • When a student is not at school we lose billing • Students are often referred due to truancy or other instability issues • Solutions: • Home visits for youth not in school • Request attendance report in the morning and adjust schedule

  10. Challenges and Solutions (cont’d) • Data collection • New rule in CPS requires an approval process for data requests • Schools don’t have the resources to aggregate data • Solutions: • Ask student or parent to provide data • Staff use consent to request data for individual students • Non-billable costs • School engagement activities not billable • Solutions: • Ask schools if they have any funding to cover these expenses • Seek grants to cover deficit

  11. http://www.ucanchicago.org/

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