ADOPTED - OCTOBER 24, 2006

ADOPTED - OCTOBER 24, 2006

Agenda Item No. 16

Introduced by the Judiciary Committee of the:

INGHAM COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING INGHAM COUNTY TO ENTER INTO THE INGHAM COUNTY SYSTEM OF CARE INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT

RESOLUTION #06-287

WHEREAS, the IMPACT Partnership has received a SAMHSA (Substance Abuse – Mental Health Services Administration) grant from the Department of Health and Human Services; and

WHEREAS, local community-based treatment of youth whenever possible is a desired outcome; and

WHEREAS, the IMPACT Partnership (made up of representatives of the Ingham County Department of Human Services, Ingham County Family Court, Lansing School District, Ingham Intermediate School District, Association for Children’s Mental Health, St. Vincent Catholic Charities, Child & Family Services – Capital Area, parents, and youth) desires to establish policy that will coordinate cross-system funding and create a locus of accountability to shift from residential and inpatient services to home and community-based services; and

WHEREAS, the Ingham County Board of Commissioners has passed a resolution in support of the IMPACT Partnership and a Community Based System of Care; and

WHEREAS, the IMPACT Partnership is requesting Ingham County to enter into an interagency agreement bringing together service providers to better partner with families and to create an integrated, effective, efficient, and transformed system of care for youth with SED that will reduce the need for out-of-home placements and psychiatric hospitalizations.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Ingham County Board of Commissioners authorizes entering into an interagency agreement to create a coordinated network of services and system of care which partners families and youth, is comprehensive, culturally and linguistically sensitive, strength-based, and accessible to multi-system children/youth and their families/care givers.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that as a partner in this interagency agreement, Ingham County agrees to make the commitments listed in Section V of the attached agreement.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Board Chairperson is authorized to sign this agreement after approval as to form by the County Attorney.

JUDICIARY: Yeas: Weatherwax-Grant, Holman, Nolan, Bahar-Cook, Schafer, Dougan

Nays: None Absent: None Approved 10/12/06

Impact

Ingham County System of Care

Interagency Agreement

GENERAL PROVISIONS

I. THE PURPOSE

To better serve youth with severe emotional disturbance (SED) and their families in Ingham County, the creation of Impact seeks to bring together service providers to better partner with families and to create an integrated, effective, efficient, and transformed system of care for youth with SED that will reduce the need for out-of-home placements and psychiatric hospitalizations, and assist youths and families to achieve the highest possible level of functioning by providing coordinated, individualized, strength-based, family-driven, youth guided, and culturally and linguistically competent care. Impact proposes to build on current strengths; provide a unified structure for community-wide collaboration and system reform; and establish a common assessment and outcomes measure for children and families entering mental health, juvenile justice, and child welfare systems. Impact’s objective is to ensure that every youth who has issues sufficient for multi-system involvement, and is at high risk for out-of-home placement or is returning from an out-of-home placement, receives the benefit of integrated, interagency, individualized service planning and an assigned family advocate, coordinated services delivery, and an array of effective community-based interventions. Intensive home-based services and a wraparound approach will be the cornerstones of services. Critical additions to available services will be the development of a 24-hour crisis and assessment center, with mobile response capabilities; professionalized foster care; a therapeutic group home; and expanded day treatment, crisis residential, home-based, wraparound, psychiatry, and respite services.

The Partners enter into this Agreement in order to create a coordinated network of services and system of care which partners with families and youth, is comprehensive, culturally and linguistically sensitive, strength based and accessible to multi-system children/youth and their families/care givers. As embodied in the Values and Principles that follow, the Partners intend to create a common service system culture which is collaborative, flexible and responsive to the individualized needs of children/families/significant adults. The purpose of this Agreement is to identify the roles, individual and shared responsibilities and service expectations of the Partners, and to develop mechanisms that support shared delivery and funding of services to families, children, and youth with SED in Ingham County.

II. HISTORY OF SYSTEM OF CARE EFFORTS IN INGHAM COUNTY

In Ingham County there has been steady evolution toward the development of a comprehensive system of care to meet the needs of children with SED. Representatives of Ingham County’s mental health (CMH), juvenile justice (Family Court), and child welfare (DHS) systems noticed the common placement of children in long-term residential settings which were often poorly justified and unproductive, the multiple foster placements of children with challenging behaviors, and the psychiatric hospitalizations of children with SED because of limited community alternatives. These circumstances stimulated the development of the Ingham Interagency Family Preservation Initiative (IIFPI) in 1992. Composed of various public and Private agencies involved with children with SED, IIFPI utilizes a wraparound philosophy in working with children and families, including foster families, to maintain children in the community. IIFPI established Single Door, a collaborative composed of youth-serving agencies, as a community problem-solving and service planning group for youth who are without placement or whose current placement is in jeopardy. In 2004, CMH, Family Court, and the County of Ingham pioneered a collaborative and innovative funding mechanism (utilizing the County Child Care Fund) to establish and fund the Ingham Family and Youth Intervention Partnership Program. In this program, CMH therapists collaborate with Family Court juvenile court officers to provide a comprehensive array of home-based treatment services to youth with SED who are under Family Court jurisdiction and their families. Utilizing a similar funding mechanism in 2005, CMH, DHS, Lansing School District, and the County of Ingham are funding and collaborating on Helping Kids Achieve. Under this project, CMH provides coordinated home-based mental health services to “at risk” youth with SED in the Lansing School District, and their families, who are also involved in the DHS child welfare system.

III. VALUES AND PRINCIPLES

The Partners strive to implement a common set of values and principles. These values and principles have been articulated in Ingham County’s Theory of Change through the Impact stakeholder group, and are as follows:

A. Family-Driven/Family Partnership: The family voice is heard and implemented throughout policy, program development, and service delivery. Services have moved from family as client, to family as partner and advisor. Services are “done with” the family, rather than “done to” the family. The family is seen as the constant in children’s and youth’s lives, and professionals are seen as most effective when supporting the family.

B. Youth-Guided: Youth are supported in becoming advocates for themselves and have a voice that is heard. Youth’s perspective is solicited, valued, and incorporated into their care.

C. Community Based: Services are provided in the home and in the community as a first choice, realizing, however, that for some children this will neither be possible nor safe for their care.

D. Culturally and Linguistically Competent: The services provided shall accept, respect and give attention to cultural differences; and will seek to understand the knowledge, values, beliefs and customs that belong to particular cultural communities. Services are provided within the context of cultural and linguistic competency.

E. Collaborative/Coordinated Services: The services from one agency are planned in concert with another agency. Care plans reflect similar goals and interventions for the same client. Care plans are complementary between agencies, not in opposition. Professionals and family members communicate regularly to ensure the care plans are coordinated.

F. Natural Supports: Examples of natural supports are family, friends, neighbors, church members, and coaches. Long before there were systems of care, families relied on natural supports to get them through crisis. Natural supports still exist within family structures and in their communities. Natural supports must be enlisted to participate with the family, to advocate for them, to provide informal resources, and to strengthen the community. Natural supports will exist long after the professional working with the family has discontinued work with the family. Natural supports are explored first when determining ways of meeting the families’ needs.

G. Individualized Care: Services shall be tailored to the particular strengths, resources, and needs of the youth and family. With a broad perspective of strengths and needs, youth and families and providers together create and adapt the care plan according to the changing needs of the family. Services are not provided just because they are what the provider offers. The provider creates and accesses services that match the family’s need.

IV. THE YOUTH AND FAMILY SYSTEM OF CARE PARTNERSHIP WILL:

a. Adopt and implement policies that require interagency collaboration. Actively respond to the need for improved services or to create additional services if either the nature or capacity of existing service structures is inadequate to meet the needs of children, youth, and families.

b. Implement practices that value partnering with youth and families to enhance outcomes at the family, system, and community levels.

c. Create structures to ensure ongoing evaluation of utilization and quality, responsiveness to the adopted Values and Principles, and accountability to the community for overall performance.

d. Assure community involvement in policy development and service delivery that reflects the diversity of the community.

e. Provide education to insure community awareness, support and appropriate use of the system.

V. EACH PARTNER MAKES THE FOLLOWING COMMITMENTS:

a. To encourage a collaborative model service delivery.

b. To advocate for mutually agreed upon changes in the child and youth serving system of care partnership.

c. To provide outcome-driven services, and engage in continuous quality improvement based on evaluation of results.

d. To work for policy change in one’s own organization as recommended by the system of care partnership. Ensure staff are fulfilling suggested practices by utilizing evaluation findings.

e. To commit individual time and resources to collaborative efforts at all levels.

f. To empower staff to make flexible resource decisions on behalf of multi-system children/youth and their families.

g. To empower staff to enter collaborative case management relationships which are in partnership with children, youth, families, and care givers.

h. To provide training about the System of Care Principles, Values, and Commitments to the community.

i. To participate in regional cross-system training efforts.

j. To create a system of mutual accountability, wherein system partners share the responsibility to meet the needs of youth and families within Ingham County.

VI. THE PARTNERS

This Agreement is developed and entered into by the following Partners: