FEDERAL
FUNDS BOOST DCF'S KIDCARE COLLABORATION WITH BRIDGEPORT
SCHOOLS PARK PROJECT TO ADVANCE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE FOR
CITY CHILDREN
Hartford
(October 18, 2002) - A $9.5 million federal grant obtained
by the Department of Children and Families in partnership
with the Bridgeport schools, the Bridgeport Child Advocacy
Coalition, the Child Guidance Center of Greater Bridgeport,
and the United Way of Eastern Fairfield County will improve
children's mental health services by integrating state,
school and community efforts.
The
funds, granted by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Administration over a six-year period, will accelerate
development of DCF's Connecticut Community KidCare children's
behavioral health system by placing specialized care coordinators
in five Bridgeport public schools.
The
effort, known as the Partnership for Kids Project (PARK
Project), reflects the work of families, DCF, the schools,
community mental health service providers, and local advocacy
groups to build upon KidCare in Bridgeport. The care coordinators
will integrate school and community services available under
KidCare so that children and their families obtain comprehensive
and individualized help to address emotional problems. Funds
also will be used to train and offer technical assistance
to school personnel on helping children and families cope
with these challenges by identifying and addressing needs.
DCF
Commissioner Kristine D. Ragaglia, J.D. said this project
is vital because the schools are an excellent way to involve
families in KidCare's community-based collaboration that
also includes clinicians and nontraditional service providers.
"KidCare
is based on the ideas that families must be at the center
of any plan to help their children and that we can do a
better job for children and families when we all combine
our resources," Commissioner Ragaglia said. "Families
have to be at the center of any effort to help their kids,
and that makes the schools a vital hub to bring all the
resources of KidCare together in one place," Commissioner
Ragaglia added.
Another
key component of the PARK Project, just as in KidCare overall,
will be to ensure that services meet the cultural and language
needs of the families that receive assistance.
Commissioner
Ragaglia noted that the federal grant came about through
close collaborative efforts between DCF, the Bridgeport
schools, the Bridgeport Child Advocacy Coalition, the Child
Guidance Center of Greater Bridgeport, and the United Way
of Eastern Fairfield County.
"This
success landing the grant shows how partnerships do work
for the kids we all care about," Commissioner Ragaglia
said.
The
federal grant comes on the heels of DCF's statewide rollout
of KidCare, which offers a variety of community-based mental
health services for children and their families, including:
- Emergency
response units to stabilize a child in a crisis;
- Care
coordinators, who work with children with more complex
needs and convene a team of community service providers
to work closely with family members;
- Extended
day treatment programs that offer therapeutic and other
recreational activities to children both before and after
school; and
- Other
support programs such as respite, in-home and mentoring
services as well as intensive in-home therapy.
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