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| SOC Training 2012 |
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
Establish, expand, train family support groups - www.icareguam.com
PDN Article – Mar ch
9, 2013
This is
the second of five in a series of articles for public awareness on the five
major strategies of the Guam System of Care Expansion, a four-year plan. The
second strategy is on the development and support of home- and community-based
systems of care that are family-driven services.
A main
sub-strategy under this is the training and support of families and youths so
they can organize as support groups and work in collaboration and partnership
with other parent and youth groups with similar goals throughout our island.
Establishing
and expanding family support groups will enhance parent involvement, facilitate
family engagement, expand peer-to-peer parent services, build family and youth
leadership and foster individual self-advocacy.
The
system of care and wraparound model advocates for serving the child and his or
her family in the least restrictive setting possible -- in the home and in the
community. The system of care philosophy strives to equip families to care for
their children as independently as possible.
An action
step in this sub-strategy is to obtain input from families and youths in
identifying their training needs. Some of the identified training needs are in
the areas of system of care and wraparound processes, self advocacy, public
speaking, personal and workforce development, life skills, group facilitation
skills, cultural competence, mental health first aid, trauma-informed care and
transition services.
Family and
youth involvement in program planning and development on standards of care, and
agency protocols and policies are additional training components.
The
ultimate goal of family training and involvement is to support families to
eventually be able to establish themselves as a 501(C)3 family organization to
contract as service providers in the system of care's array of services, such
as respite care providers, therapeutic foster care, wraparound meeting
facilitators and 24-hour crisis services, to name a few.
Recognizing
the importance of cultural traditions and practices of families, such as
"natural healing" with suruhanus (local healers) and faith-based
practices, is an important inclusion in the child- and family-care plan, when
requested by the families.
Partnerships
and linkages with various ethnic community youth groups for afterschool
cultural enrichment activities are other action items to be explored and
developed, as well as the "grandparents adoption program" at the
village community centers, linking senior citizens and youths for enrichment
and cultural activities.
Another
action item is the development of Youth Peer Specialist positions. These
specialists, with shared experiences, would serve as group leaders, support
group facilitators and mentors, facilitate greater youths engagement and reach
out to more youth in the community.
Another
main sub-strategy is the partnership with the Department of Education in the
provision of school-based behavioral health services, integrating mental health
services into the school-based health clinics/centers, a core service access
strategy. This would allow a greater number of youths needing mental health
interventions to access the service on site.
An action
item in this sub-strategy is the ongoing training of school personnel in system
of care, wraparound and the referral process.
Tune in
next week for the third strategy. Call 477-5338 if you're interested in
learning more about the plan or how you can help.
Annie
F.B.Unpingco, LCSW, is administrator of I Famagu'on-ta, Child Adolescent
Services Division at the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Action items aim to improve services - www.icareguam.com
PDN Article- Mar ch
2, 2013
This is
the first of a series of public awareness articles on the Guam System of Care
four-year Expansion Plan. This article will focus on the first of five
strategies of the plan which is the implementation of regulatory changes and
systemwide care standards and protocols.
Institutionalizing
care standards and protocols that are based on system of care core values,
principles and best practices across child-serving systems would build a strong
foundation that would lead to positive policies and regulatory changes. These
care standards and protocols then can be upheld through contracts, memoranda of
agreements, policies, licensing codes and continuous quality management.
One of
the sub-strategies is the development of an Executive Committee on System of
Care which Gov. Eddie Calvo has established and whose members are senior-level
management of the government agencies that service children and youths. This
committee, which meets quarterly, would be receiving input from the Guam System
of Care Council and the Expansion Planning Team and would be the focal point of
accountability for regulatory and system changes.
At the
initial meeting of the committee last week, each member signed a commitment for
system of care and the agencies they represent to adopt a system of care for
children and families that is: child-centered, youth guided, and family-driven;
based on individual strengths and needs; utilizes best practices; and provides
services in the least restrictive setting possible.
Other
action items in this sub-strategy are the exploration of blending and braiding
funds across agencies in the service of multi-system involved youths, and the
development of confidentiality agreements, data sharing and the development of
a unified care plan across child-serving agencies.
The
Executive Committee on System of Care can assist in streamlining and
integrating government programs, services and data systems with the intent of
improving efficiency and creating better outcomes for children and youths.
The other
sub-strategy is the development of core competencies for the implementation of
the system of care framework for Guam . This
involves a review of the standards and protocols for wraparound, documenting
the process and establishing guidelines for wrap team membership, roles and
responsibilities and wraparound caseload size.
It
includes the development of minimum licensure standards based on the core
competencies for contracted service providers, and creates a monitoring tool to
audit providers based on these licensure requirements.
Action
items in this sub-strategy are the development of minimum training standards
based on the core competencies for clinical staff, service providers,
child-serving agencies, youth and family peer specialists, including hours of
training, supervision and creating a monitoring tool to record and audit
compliance to training standards.
Another
action item is the establishment of a continuous quality management review and
audit schedule to review compliance with the standards prior to re-contracting
and/or bidding of services, and to bring the standard of care in the form of
memoranda of agreement to other child-serving agency partners to seek their
support and commitment to the expansion of the system of care within their
service area.
Annie
F.B.Unpingco, LCSW, is administrator of I Famagu'on-ta, Child Adolescent
Services Division at the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse.
