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.
