“Mind the Gap”: Improving Access to Mental Health Services for Transition Age Youth

Background:

Studies estimate that between 50 and 85% of foster youth have behavioral, emotional or developmental disorders, frequently as a result of the trauma associated with the abuse and neglect that led to their subsequent removal from home. The stress associated with emancipation from the foster care system and termination of services places these youth at additional risk for negative outcomes, including incarceration, hospitalization, and homelessness. Youth frequently fall into a mental health “service gap” when they age out of care, resulting in termination of mental health and supportive services upon emancipation.

• Project Activities:
  
  To ensure that youth aging out of care with mental health needs under Alameda County’s jurisdiction have access to services necessary to support a successful transition, FYA will:
  
  • Conduct interviews and other forms of research to identify “promising practices” for emancipation preparation and services coordination for youth with mental health needs.
  
  • Lead a process to improve linkages and maximize existing resources to better serve this population.
  
  • Develop policy and practice recommendations to improve inter-department coordination, and work with the departments to implement these changes.
  
  • Develop technical assistance materials for providers to increase knowledge about improving emancipation preparation for youth who will age out of their care.
  
  • Publish practice recommendations for foster care providers serving transition age youth mental health needs and disseminate this information through training and consultation.
  
  
  Project Outcomes:
  
  • Improved access to existing mental health services.
  
  • Implementation of transition age youth mental health team in Alameda County.
  
  • Increased number of youth with mental health services in place prior to emancipation as a means of supporting youth through the transition process.
  
  • Improve caregiver/provider knowledge and practices pertaining to emancipation preparation for youth with mental health disorders.

Project Duration: July 2007 to December 2009

This project is generously funded by the Zellerbach Family Foundation.

Background:

As youth age out of the foster care system in California, there are legal safeguards in place to prevent discharge from the system without adequate supports. However, one of these safeguards, the emancipation hearing, which mandates that a juvenile court judge review an “emancipation checklist” to ensure that they youth will be discharged from the foster care system with minimum adequate support, does not always occur. The goal of this project is to increase the number of youth for whom pre-emancipation planning occurs in a structured and timely manner.

• Project Activities:
  
  To improve the quality and timeliness of pre-emancipation planning, FYA will:
  
  • Conduct interviews with Alameda County stakeholders (e.g. youth, child welfare workers, juvenile court officials, in-care providers, aftercare providers) to assess the current system.
  
  • Document current emancipation planning processes in other Bay Area counties, and assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of different models/formats.
  
  • Develop policy and practice recommendations regarding emancipation planning.
  
  • Advocate for implementation of these recommendations and the resources needed to ensure that emancipation planning in Alameda County is carried out in a robust and meaningful manner.
  
  
• Project Outcomes:
  
  • Implementation of improved county-wide emancipation planning policies.
  
  • Increased number of youth for whom a concrete plan, (including housing, education, employment and other required elements) is in place upon emancipation.
  
  • Provide training and technical assistance to county and providers that are part of the planning processes based on identified promising practices.
  
  • Improve provider knowledge about the importance of their involvement in assisting and advocating for youth during this process.
  
  • Increased knowledge among stakeholders regarding the legal rights of youth as they pertain to dependency dismissal.
  

Project Duration: October 2007 to March 2009

This project is generously funded by United Way of the Bay Area.

Aftercare Linkages Project

Background:

This project builds upon FYA’s previous project work in this area, which focused on improving networking amongst providers and the development of an inter-agency communication agreement. The aftercare case coordination project will now focus on improving the connection between: a) in-care providers and aftercare providers via emancipation planning, and b) implementing a case coordination model to provide a structured forum for inter-agency collaboration at the program level and individual case level.

• Project Activities:
  
  To improve the quality and timeliness of pre-emancipation planning, FYA will:
  
  • Create a comprehensive asset map of the current service system for transition age foster youth.
  
  • Conduct interviews with Alameda County stakeholders to understand the perceived needs for services coordination
  
  • Facilitate FYA members in developing recommendations for a case coordination forum.
  
  • Develop the structure and required elements for case coordination, and work with the county and providers to implement this forum.
  
  
• Project Outcomes:
  
  • Improved linkages between in-care and aftercare providers.
  
  • Increased involvement of aftercare providers in emancipation planning.
  
  • Development of case coordination forum to better serve youth who may become involved with multiple agencies.

Project Duration: October 2007 to September 2008

This project is generously funded by United Way of the Bay Area and Casey Family Programs.