1 / 23

Engaging, Inspiring and Empowering:

An Overview of Bucks County ’ s Transition Age Youth and Young Adult Initiatives. Engaging, Inspiring and Empowering:. Barbara Miller, MA, Children ’ s Services Director, Bucks County Dept. of MH/DP Lisa Alessandroni, MA, NCC, LPC, Assistant Director, TIP.

marvin-kirby
Download Presentation

Engaging, Inspiring and Empowering:

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. An Overview of Bucks County’s Transition Age Youth and Young Adult Initiatives Engaging, Inspiring and Empowering: Barbara Miller, MA, Children’s Services Director, Bucks County Dept. of MH/DP Lisa Alessandroni, MA, NCC, LPC, Assistant Director, TIP .

  2. Child & Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP) Principles • Child-centered • Family-focused • Community-based • Multi-system • Culturally-competent • Least-restrictive/least-intrusive

  3. Our roles: The Interagency Team Planning Process and CASSP • The team works to develop comprehensive recommendations and activities to support successful outcomes and well-being for the child and family (home, school and community). • Provides an opportunity to brainstorm and bring people together across systems, agencies and natural supports. • Looks at the individuals strengths, needs, hopes and opportunities for positive change. • CASSP seeks to understand how the children’s behavioral health system works in our County and can serve as a resource to family members, providers and others who need assistance with services. This includes providing information on resources and technical assistance.

  4. Learning Objectives • Outline the need for specialized supports and resources for Transition Age Youth • Describe the advantages of a multi-faceted approach to working with Transition Age Youth that includes: • Person-Centered planning • Individualized & encompassing services and support • Coordination of services and support • Ensuring a safety-net of support • Enhancing competencies • Involvement of young people, parents, and other community partners at the practice, program, and community levels • Highlight key accomplishments and outcomes from Bucks County’s TAY/YA initiatives in 2013 • Review lessons learned from transition aged youth leaders and system partners

  5. The Need for Supports and Resources for Transition Age Youth: National-Level Studies, Legislation, and TrendsComparison of Transition Domains Between the General Population and People with Emotional Disturbance Rusty Clarke (2007) shared with The National Center on Youth Transition

  6. The Need for Supports and Resources for Transition Age Youth: Notable System Barriers • Separate funding streams and criteria for adolescent and adult services • Lack of coordination, planning, and understanding between the adolescent and adult serving systems • Lack of expertise and focus on addressing the critical developmental needs of transition age youth in both the child and adult serving systems • Lack of quality trauma treatment • Lack of co-occurring mental health and substance abuse services • Lack of affordable housing

  7. The Need for Supports and Resources for Transition Age Youth: Local Needs and TrendsBucks County Community Needs Assessment Findings • The power of peer support/social network/grouping young adults • The strength that youth and young adults have found through personal connections (with staff/peers) • The need for supportive and encouraging people in their life • The need for transition age youth to have “normal teenage” experiences and test things out in a safe environment   • The importance of meeting youth and young adults “where they are” The desire to combat stigma surrounding mental illness • The need for greater system flexibility • The desire for increased mentoring/leadership development opportunities • Practical skills training to help better manage one’s life/education and to get ahead • Young people expect to be responsible citizens and to be held accountable but they also want their personal rights to be respected and safeguarded

  8. The Transition to Independence Process (TIP) Model • System best practice for working with Transition Age Youth • Developed by Hewitt B. “Rusty” Clark, Ph.D., BCBAUniversity of South Florida • Key elements: • Case Study Protocol for Continuing System Improvement - used to assist stakeholders in establishing a profile of the system’s areas of strength and weaknesses. • TIP System Guidelines - built on the underlying transition values that are critical for clinical programming or support provision

  9. Engage young people through relationship development, person-centered planning, and a focus on their futures. Tailor services and supports to be accessible, coordinated, appealing, non-stigmatizing, and developmentally appropriate - building on strengths to enable the young people to pursue their goals across relevant transition domains. Acknowledge and develop personal choice and social responsibility with young people. TIP System Guidelines National Network on Youth Transition http://nnyt.fmhi.usf.edu

  10. Ensure a safety-net of support by involving a young person’s parents, family members, and other informal and formal key players. Enhance young persons’ competencies to assist them in achieving greater self-sufficiency and confidence. Involve young people, parents, and other community partners in the TIP system at the practice, program, and community levels. TIP System Guidelines National Network on Youth Transition http://nnyt.fmhi.usf.edu

  11. TIP System Focus National Network on Youth Transition http://nnyt.fmhi.usf.edu

  12. TIP Values in Action: Person-Centered Planning • Utilizes a set of tools and a way of supporting an individual to take charge of his/her life by developing a plan • This type of planning is beneficial for individuals facing transition and contemplating their future • Meetings typically occur in a casual atmosphere and are scheduled based on personal preferences • Through a defined process, a person has the opportunity to identify their personal interests, capacities and preferences in all domains ( e.g., employment, friends, housing and school) • Participants are invited by the person to help craft a flexible, creative working plan • Intent is develop a “circle of support” and create natural relationships

  13. Person-Centered Planning Outcomes • TAY-YA Work Group participated in multi-year training initiative with Networks for Training and Development, Inc. from 2007-2009 • Developed the Personal Empowerment and Leadership for Youth “Train the Trainer” series and 9 individuals were successfully trained • Person-Centered Planning was offered to individuals in various Residential Services and through Peer to Peer Engagement • The Bucks County LIFE Program has offered Person-Centered Planning to TAY • Family and Youth Connections has rolled out a Person-Centered Planning Pilot, called “The HAND”- it provides youth with Team delivered, peer supported planning • TAY-YA Work Group members have participated in a 6 session “Train the Trainer” series through Networks from 2/12-5/12- seeking to share this

  14. TIP Contact and Referral Information • Currently accepting referrals for 16-26 year olds • Contact Lisa Alessandroni • 1-888-442-1590 x 32 • lalessandroni@accessServices.org

  15. If you have any questions regarding NNYT or the TIP model, please contact: http://nnyt.fmhi.usf.edu/ Hewitt B. “Rusty” Clark, Ph.D., BCBA, clark@fmhi.usf.edu Nicole Deschênes, RN, M.Ed., deschenes@fmhi.usf.edu New Transition Handbook Transition of Youth and Young Adults with Emotional or Behavioral Difficulties: An Evidence-Supported Handbook by Hewitt "Rusty" Clark, Ph.D., and Deanne K. Unruh, Ph.D.

  16. TIP Values in Action:2013 Bucks County TAY/YA Initiatives! • MY LIFE • Youth Connections • Networking, Resource Sharing and Information Exchange • Person-Centered Planning • Peer Support for TAY/YA • Youth Involvement in Systems Transformation • Development of Shared Living-Shared Housing for TAY-YA • Implemented TIP in the County through ACCESS Services in January, 2013. Hired 3 FT TIP Facilitators and a FT Certified Peer Support Specialist (currently accepting referrals ages 16-26).

  17. MY LIFE is made up of youth between the ages of 13 and 23, who have experience with mental health, substance abuse and/or foster care related issues. “I see these people helping and it makes me think I could help too.” ~ Youth

  18. The Issues MY LIFE is Addressing • There is a lack of youth voice to develop and inform systems, programs, and services for youth and young adults • Youth lack opportunities to develop leadership skills, social skills, and positive social supports • There is stigma for youth who have experience with mental health, substance abuse, and/or foster care issues • Youth are needed to share their experiences to help reduce the stigma and provide inspiration to youth, family members, professionals, and stakeholders My Fest PA 2011 September 17, 2011

  19. MY LIFE Meetings • The meetings are designed to provide an opportunity for the youth to come together to create a community of youth support, plan activities and initiatives, practice social skills, learn about a variety of topics from presenters, and provide informal peer-to-peer mentoring. Youth from residential facilities regularly attend MY LIFE meetings providing opportunities to help smooth their transition back into the community when the are released from treatment. • Meetings occur on the 2nd Thursday of every month at Abington Hospital, Warminster Campus – open to all! • We started MY LIFE 2! For families and caregivers at the same time, recognizing support for TAY is complex. “It opened my eyes at how many people suffer from illness and makes me want to be involved.” ~ Youth

  20. MY LIFE Outcomes Bucks County MY LIFE youth identified challenges that face youth and have come up suggestions and actions for change. Key issues the groups would like to address include: • Expansion of Youth Involvement • Education and Employment Opportunities • Bullying • Stigma Reduction • Have fun in a safe place • Involve TIP teams at meetings • Planning MY Fest Bucks

  21. Peer Support for TAY/YA • 2011 and 2012 Certified Peer Specialist training (trained young adults as CPS ) • Support from Magellan’s CPS ( Brooke glen project ) • Bucks County LIFE program • Hi- Fi Family Teams • MY LIFE • Youth Connections • Voice and Vision “The HAND” Model for Peer Person-Centered Planning • TIP has a Certified Peer Specialist

  22. Youth Involvement in Systems Transformation • Voice and Vision • Youth Leadership Council • TAY/YA Workgroup • Resiliency Conference and other trainings/conferences • State-level Presentations • OMHSAS Youth Advisory Subcommittee • Meetings to advise provider agencies • MY LIFE • TCC “It makes me more interested in different issues people have and helping out” ~ Youth

  23. Next Steps • Career Portfolio Series (TBA) • Accessing Services for Transition Age Youth and Young Adults (3/27/13) • Other ideas/information?

More Related