Child Guidance Resource Centers (CGRC)

Family first (family based services) is a comprehensive clinical and case management program designed to work with at-risk children and their families in their own home and community setting. Family first program components include family therapy, individual counseling, parent education, intensive case management, interagency team leadership, family support services, 32 week course of treatment, 24 hour on-call other support, and services provided by the family first team of two masters level therapists. (narrative continued on page 1 of schedule o) (continuation from part iii - line 4a of 990) - the philosophy of family first is that a Child's family is their strongest and most important life domain. Therefore, the most effective way of helping troubled children and adolescents is a family-focused, home-based model designed to recognize and build on family strengths. In this way, the natural supports of the Child's life can be nurtured so that gains made can be maintained after family first services have ended. Additionally, the flexibility of the family first approach allows the team to learn about and incorporate all of the important elements of the Child's life into the treatment experience. Family first services are recommended to a Child or adolescent who is considered to be at-risk, that is, who is struggling with any of the following issues: severe emotional disorders or mental illness (such as childhood depression or adhd), intense parent/child conflict, difficulty adjusting to family and life changes, school problems (including poor performance, behavioral problems, or truancy), oppositional or defiant behavior, pdd in combination with family problems, or drug and alcohol use in combination with family problems. For some, family first may be the last intervention attempt before out of home placement. For others, family first acts as a bridge between residential care and living at home with family. The program serves approximately 200 families a year. At any one time, the active caseload is approximately 125 families. One highly successful initiative undertaken this past year was weekend parent and client training retreats. This was done in cooperation with another non-profit agency. The trainings were very well received. They also resulted in parent training groups being established for the parents who attended the weekend sessions.

Third accomplishment school program - Child Guidance provides full range of services to school districts. These include: 1. A licensed private school serving children who need full time emotional support services that are more than their school district can provide, and those children who have a diagnosis on the autism spectrum who need specialized classrooms. Approximately 20 children a year attend theis school. The school offers kindergarten through eighth grade. The school, located in havertown, was licensed on july 24, 1998. Child Guidance's private school program is committed to providing complete academic programming for children requiring emotional/behavioral/autistic support that will be cost-effective and outcome-oriented. Our primary goal is to provide each of our students with the tools necessary to help them function in a less restrictive environment within their own school district. Our program is an academic environment, much like a school district's emotional support classroom, with a strong emphasis on social, emotional, and behavioral development. Our children receive a quarterly report card, ieps, access to individual academic charts, the opportunity to consult regarding emotionally challenged children, transition help, and our commitment to follow the same academic standards established by the state of Pennsylvania. A comprehensive testing program to measure reading, math, spelling, and comprehension was instituted. 100% of the students made significant progress. Client satisfaction studies showed an overall high degree of satisfaction, but indicated the need to strengthen the homework assignments. 2.school based contracted services that provide districts with an array of services that cover all three tiers of the positive behavioral support model. Staff are placed directly in schools with the goal of maintaining students in the least restrictive environment. Nine school districts in three southeastern Pennsylvania counties contracted for these services. Services were provided to over 1,300 children and adolescents. School-based services are individualized and include participation in instructional support teams, individual therapy, groups, specialized interventions in regular classroom settings and emotional support classes. Services are governed by each student's treatment plan, which is developed in conjunction with the individual education plan and in cooperation with parents and families. A school based mental health worker provides one-on-one and group interventions to a Child or adolescent in school when the Child or adolescent's behavior without this intervention would require a more restrictive treatment or educational setting. School based workers provide specific therapeutic support services including but not limited to crisis intervention techniques, immediate behavioral reinforcements, emotional support, time-structuring activities, time-out strategies, and psychosocial rehabilitative activities. School based mental health workers work as part of a treatment team. School based mental health workers work in elementary, middle, and high schools. Child Guidance's vision has always involved the concept of providing the necessary tools to children to enable them to function in the least restrictive environment. 3.training and consultation services - since 1960, cgrc has provided consultation to a variety of school systems in the form of training and education. We are certified to grant continuing education credits that meet the requirement of Pennsylvania law governing teacher recertification. We have a trainer certified in the olweus bullying prevention model.

Outpatient services program - Child Guidance Resource Centers outpatient services helps children and adolescents with mental health difficulties, and their families, reduce behavioral symptoms and improve emotional well- being. To achieve this goal, cgrc offers an array of diagnostic and therapeutic services including individual, group, and family therapy, psychological evaluation and testing, psychiatric evaluation, and prescription of medication with psychiatric consultation and monitoring. Cgrc is licensed as an outpatient psychiatric clinic by the Pennsylvania department of public welfare. It is a free-standing, private, non-profit community-based mental health center. Child Guidance Resource Centers believes that these individuals have basic competencies that they can utilize to work toward and achieve treatment goals. The efforts focus on helping clients identify their strengths and assets in addition to their problems, because available coping skills are essential elements in the treatment process. We collaborate with clients to help them efficiently improve their functioning and ability to manage current social demands. This philosophy results in the use of short term, practical treatment methods that focus on symptom reduction and improving both psychological and social functioning. Cgrc is committed to providing high quality mental health services without regard to age, sex, race, religion, ethnic background, handicap, or sexual orientation. Services are provided by experienced therapists who have a graduate level training (masters or doctoral degrees) and clinical experience working with children, adults and their families. Prospective clients who need case management services, either primarily or in addition to therapy, are provided with options for this service, either at cgrc or other providers if cgrc is at capacity. Cgrc is committed to maintaining close relationships with the other Child serving systems in Delaware county in order to promote optimal collaboration and service. Cgrc maintains regular communication with the county offices and other mental health providers through attendance at a number of ongoing county meetings including the monthly children's coalition meeting. Coordination with school districts is promoted through regular calls and mailings to the various school districts. Any client who is identified as requiring emergency crisis service are referred to the nearest hospital for immediate evaluation and intervention because cgrc does not have a crisis center.

Adult residential services cgrc has three 24 hours a day full care community residential rehabilitation facilities for clients with mental health disabilities. The primary goal of these residences is to help consumers to develop everyday living and coping skills, to maintain socialization skills through a variety of strategies, to develop independence through setting realistic goals and ambitions, and to build self-assessment skills so they can handle stressors to prevent crisis situations and unnecessary hospitalizations. The staff will work cooperatively and creatively with all supportive services that our mutually shared consumer has. The list includes, but is not limited to: mast, intensive case managers, Resource coordinators, administrators, case managers, partial hospital/misa programs, club house program, consumer satisfaction team, Delaware county office of behavioral health, otc work program, and families. The consumer must possess basic living skills with the potential to develop them further. Depending on the particular residence, the consumers cook for himself/herself, or the staff may prepare common meals. Consumers maintain his or her apartment. We serve clients 18 years old and above who are Delaware county residents. The program capacity is 23. The average number of residents is 22. A special tract for transition age (18-25) is offered within this program. Additionally, provisions are made for older adults who have co-occurring chronic medical conditions. A dsm-iv mental health diagnosis, the ability for self-preservations, and the ability to maintain him/her in an apartment setting with one or two roommates are all admission criteria. Over the past years, the program has focused on implementing the wrap protocol. This is the wellness recovery action plan. Each client now has one.