Purpose:
To provide short-term care for youth who are placed in a home environment, such as kinship or foster home, and are displaying behavior difficulties that require immediate intervention outside of the home, or are experiencing a crisis within the home that needs to be alleviated prior to the youth returning. The Crisis Stabilization service is generally utilized by placing agencies in order to reduce the chance of the youth disrupting their home placement and having to be placed in a more restrictive setting. The average length of stay for a child placed in Crisis Stabilization service is 7-10 days.
Treatment Procedure:
Each youth placed for Crisis Stabilization services receives a mental status exam, a behavioral needs assessment, and a strength-based assessment. These assessments and exams are completed at SHCCS through work with the treatment team, including but not limited to the mental health counselor, direct care workers, SHCCS Case Manager, and SHCCS Facility Nurse. The youth is provided a minimum of 3 individual and/or family counseling sessions within the first 5 to 7 days after admittance to the program. The Crisis Stabilization service emphasizes identifying areas of strength and immediate needs of the youth and his/her family, which are utilized in order for the youth to successfully transition back into the home. The placement resources of the youth are encouraged to actively participate in assessments, development of a behavioral contract for the child, and implementation of recommendations for services per the behavioral contract.
Within two days of admission, the Case Manager arranges a meeting including the placing agency representative, the child’s discharge resource, and the child’s parent/guardian if possible/allowed. The purpose of the meeting is to start the development of a behavioral contract and identify behavioral needs to be addressed in order for the youth to return home. During this meeting, the treatment team also makes recommendations for community resource agencies that can provide ongoing services to the family in order to provide support and help ensure a successful transition home for the child.