Child and Youth Services

Written By Kristen Ruth Smith

Mental Health Services for children and adolescents are focused on youth who are experiencing significant emotional difficulties. Services may include individual, family, group psychotherapy, medication support and/or case management. The children’s mental health project emphasizes linkage and close collaboration with the child’s and family’s support system. This may include schools, the Los Angeles County Regional Centers, Department of Mental Health and Department of Children and Family Services. In addition Alma has a central role in the Integrated School Health Center project in Roosevelt High School.

Prevention & Early Intervention

Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) focus on evidence-based services, education, support and outreach to help inform and identify those who may be affected by some level of mental health issue. Mental Health services offered under the PEI plan are deeply rooted in the vrious Evidence Based Practice treatment models, and are provided with a strong emphasis on fidelity to the model, which requires participation in many weeks/months of consultation calls with the developers or their identified representatives. The focus of early intervention services is to avoid the need for more extensive mental health treatment, or prevent the mental health problem from becoming worse. Various Evidence Based Services focus on specific age groups covering the life span from young children to older adults.Under Alma Family Services’ Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) programs, efforts are made to increase prevention efforts and response to early signs of emotional and behavioral health problems among at-risk individuals. Providing mental health education, outreach and early identification (prior to diagnosis) can mitigate costly negative long-term outcomes for mental health clients and their families.Evidence Based Practices Offered at Alma Family Services:

  • Parent Child Interactive Therapy (PCIT)

  • Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS)

  • Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)

  • Managing and Adapting Practice (MAP)

  • Seeking Safety

  • Problem Solving Therapy (PST)

  • Mental Health Integration Program (MHIP)

  • Crisis Oriented Recovery Services (CORS)

  • Program to Encourage Active, Rewarding Lives for Seniors (PEARLS)

  • Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)

School-Based & School-Linked Services

Services are provided at several designated school sites in various school districts within Los Angeles County.

Therapeutic Behavioral Services

This intensive individual service is designed to assist a child or adolescent in maintaining his/her least restrictive residential placement. The service provides intensive individualized treatment targeted at specific behaviors which are identified as barriers to the child/adolescent’s successful and continued residential placement.

Wraparound Services

Services are provided in collaboration with the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services; Department of Probation; and the Department of Mental Health. Services are provided by a specially trained team providing services that are family-driven and family-strengths focused with the goal of wrapping supportive services around the client and family to ensure the successful return to home from higher level of service placements.

Full Service Partnership Program

This service is targeted to Seriously Emotionally Disturbed (SED) children and families, providing a broad base of collaborative services utilizing culturally competent staff, in a variety of community-based settings. The FSP program is for children 0-15 years of age, and their families, who would benefit from, and are interested in participating in, a program designed to address the total needs of a family whose child is experiencing significant emotional, psychological or behavioral problems negatively impacting their well-being. Children’s FSP services specialize in meeting the mental health needs of children and their families by providing family centered services with staff that are available 24 hours per day/7 days per week.

Transitional Age Youth (16-25 Year Olds)

Transitional age youth (TAY) are defined as those youth and young adults who are between the ages of 16 to 25 years old. The transitional youth population is nearing a physical and emotional developmental stage where they may be confronted with increased obstacles as they prepare for social, environmental, and vocational challenges. This mental health service is designed to assist and prepare youth who are experiencing significant difficulty in effectively coping with this transitional period.  Full Service Partnership Program: The Full Service Partnership Program is for transition age youth who would benefit from, and are interested in participating in, a program that can help address emotional, housing, physical health, transportation, and other needs that will help them function independently in the community. Therefore the program provides a broad base of collaborative services utilizing culturally competent staff, in a variety of community-based settings.

Juvenile Justice & Prevention Services

This service provides mental health services to children/adolescents who have been served or are currently receiving services from the L.A. County Probation Department. Services may be provided in juvenile detention facilities, residential placement, other probation facilities, or through Alma’s outpatient program. Mental health services may include case management, individual, group and family psychotherapy, crises intervention and medication support.

 

Please reach out to learn more about this program or other Alma services.

Call us at (323) 881-3799, or email info@almafamilyservices.org

Kristen Ruth Smith https://www.kruthconsulting.com
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