ValueOptions® Child and Family Team Program Restores Hope for Maricopa County Families Touched by Behavioral Health Problems
Teamwork System Engages Families in Treatment Planning Process
Phoenix, Arizona — June 20, 2006
Through its Child and Family Team (CFT) approach, ValueOptions, the Regional Behavioral Health Authority (RBHA) for Maricopa County, offers families of children with behavioral health challenges a more active role in their child's care and treatment. This collaboration with Maricopa County's child behavioral health system helps to make a positive difference in the lives of children with behavioral health challenges.
"The Child and Family Team program forges a bridge bringing together the clinical team and the family for the sake of the client," said Ed Irby, Chief Executive Officer of ValueOptions of Arizona. "This system makes individuals and families stronger by giving families the opportunity to collaborate with the children's behavioral health system."
In collaboration with children and their families as well as community-based service providers in the behavioral health system, ValueOptions provides accessible behavioral health services designed to help children with serious mental, emotional and behavioral health challenges achieve success in school; live with their families; avoid delinquency and substance abuse; and become stable and productive adults.
This teamwork approach is already providing successful outcomes, and has brought a renewed sense of hope and optimism for families who are dealing with behavioral health challenges through a child and family team planning process that actively engages and partners with clinicians and other stakeholder partners such as Child Protective Services and Juvenile Probation.
One such case, involves Diane M. and her son, who suffers from multiple disorders including bipolar disorder and reactive attachment disorder. Since teaming up with his family and the CFT, Diane has noticed a positive change in her son's life. Without their involvement, she says her son would be taking medications that managed his behaviors rather than allowing him to function as a child and learn to deal with his challenges.
- "The team allowed all the people involved in making decisions for my son to come together for discussion, instead of one authority choosing options for us," said Diane. "They recognize that as his mother, I know my child better than anyone and can offer valuable input into his treatment." In the beginning several years ago, their team consisted of about 15 people that met every two weeks or 30 days. Now the team includes his therapist, the CFT facilitator and Diane and they meet every two to three months.
"As the team helped increase services and my son became healthier, the need for professional experts to be involved decreased," said Diane. "Our ValueOptions case manager and facilitator are incredible and have been so knowledgeable and supportive of my family. They truly care and are willing to have meetings at my home when it's not convenient for anyone else.
The Comprehensive Service Providers' clinical teams consist of people and organizations that are knowledgeable and trained to deal with a variety of challenges and situations. When appropriate, a team can include:
- Children, parents, family members, friends who are their natural supports
- Mentors, community based organizations (i.e. Boys and Girls Club) and advocates
- Educators, juvenile courts/probation/parole officers
- Representatives from Arizona Department of Health Services/Division of Behavioral Health Services, ValueOptions and provider organizations
- Local businesses and or organizations
For Diane, the best thing about the Child and Family Team approach is that it assists parents to be their own advocates. "It has allowed my family to find the appropriate channels and resources to get the services that I just knew would work." Her son still has challenges, however, the Child and Family Team process has empowered him and his family by giving them the tools and strategies they needed to work through them in ways they previously did not have before. She says he is happier because he no longer bears the burden associated with the stigma that mental, emotional and behavioral health challenges carries.
Currently, Diane's son is working his way out of special education classes and into a regular classroom setting and is preparing to attend his first school dance. "He is elated that he can be happy in society as an appropriate young man."
