West Haven Interagency Network for Children

LOCAL SYSTEM OF CARE
Funded by
Department of Children & Families
and
City of West Haven’s
Community Development
Administration

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What Is The Local System of Care?

The System of Care’s goal is to provide support services to West Haven’s Children, adolescents and their families through collaboration and intensive case management. Working with local service providers and the Department of Children and Families, the W.H.I.N.C. team works with: Children age birth to eighteen who live in West Haven Children with serious emotional and behavioral disturbances who require Level III case management Children at risk for out of home placement or children returning to the community from such placements.

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How Does The Local System of Care Work?

Cases are referred to the W.H.I.N.C. Team by DCF, Juvenile Probation, Board of Education and/or any West Haven agency. Referrals are made directly to the Care Coordinator. . Individual cases are reviewed to determine W.H.I.N.C.’s ability to provide services. The care coordinator than meets with the family to complete a Strengths and Needs Assessment, organizes a Child Specific Team. and begins the process of getting the family’s cooperation. The family must agree to work with the care coordinator and team. Various forms of support are available: financial assistance, recreational social activities, therapeutic intervention, school issues, housing and health needs are some of the examples of the type of issues that are addressed.

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*Fiduciary agent for grant

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Connecticut Community KIDCARE

The Department of Children and Families (DCF) and the Department of Social Services (DSS) are reorganizing and refinancing the public children’s behavioral health service system in Connecticut. This initiative called Connecticut Community KidCare. KidCare is designed to give children with complex behavioral health service needs access to coordinated integrated care, based on individualized service plans. These service plans will combine traditional clinical services (e.g., outpatient therapy, partial hospitalization, medication management) with non-traditional services (e.g., respite, mentoring, behavioral assistance, family-to-family support). CCKC is based on a local service delivery model driven by the needs and preferences of the child and family.

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Collaborative Meetings

The Local System of Care Adhoc Committee meets the 1st & 3rd Wednesday of every month, the Resource Committee meets the 3rd Wednesday of every month, West Haven City Hall, 2nd floor, 355 Main Street (for times, call Care Coordinator).

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System of Care Definitions

System of Care - A comprehensive spectrum of mental health and other related necessary services. These services are organized into a coordinated network to meet the multiple and changing needs of children and adolescents and their families with serious emotional disturbances. The family will decide the type & mix of services provided.

Resource Committee- identifies gaps in service; provides program planning; identifies new resources; reviews functioning - performance of System of Care.

Adhoc Committee - reviews new referrals to determine team's ability to provide services to family; reviews open cases to assess team's and families progress; provides administrative -clinical - financial support to child specific team.

Child Specific Team - provides direct service to family, implements services and advocates for child and family.

System of Care Coordinator - hired by the local system of care to work one-on-one with families; to advocate, provide support and coordinate multiple services.

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Level of Case Management

For the purposes of referral, the definition or criteria for cases to be accepted by the collaborative, the child must need intensive case management or level III case management. The definition provided by the Department of Children & Families is outlined below:

Level 3: case management for a child involved in multi-agencies and identified as being emotional disturbed and needing an array of services that address the child's physical, emotional, social and educational needs. Case management is performed by the System of Care Coordinator.

Only those cases which clearly require level III case management will be accepted by the Local System of Care.