When a child is diagnosed with cancer, family and friends are sympathetic, understanding and quick to offer support.
Not so when your child has an emotional or behavioral health issue, says Dennis Calcutt, project manager for the Monadnock System of Care planning grant.
“Families often don’t feel supported by the current system,” said Calcutt.
The System of Care group is dedicated to creating a community that respects and supports the emotional and behavioral health of children and youth in the region, he said.
The group submitted an application in April for an implementation grant that would allow it to expand its work in the Monadnock region. They will know in September if the grant is awarded.
Calcutt said it is important that the voice of youth and families come first, and that they have a say in how services are delivered.
Monadnock region parents say resources are few and far between for youth and families dealing with mental health issues.
“We are guided by the following values: youth-guided, family-driven, community-based, culturally and linguistically competent,” he said.
“People don’t take mental illness seriously until there is a crisis,” said Kathy Fowler of Antrim, whose child struggled with behavioral health issues. Fowler said the lack of services in the area forced her family to travel to Nashua and to Brattleboro, Vermont, to seek care for their child. “When we needed help, it was difficult to find,” she said.
Kim Kamineicki of Greenfield agreed. “When we were going through struggles when our son was in high school, the resources were limited,” she said. Kamieniecki’s son Jesse Snell said peer-to-peer groups would have been helpful to him.
“We hope for change,” Kamieniecki said, “and to educate our community and break down the stigma of mental illness.”
Both Kamieniecki and Fowler said oftentimes situations needed to reach crisis levels before resources would become available.
A system of care is a health-care model that involves organizing the delivery of services and supports for a defined population – in this case, children and youth with emotional and behavioral health issues – in a coordinated network. One of its goals is to create meaningful partnerships with families and youth.
“The vision for the Monadnock Region System of Care is to unite the region by creating a community of caring that respects and supports the emotional and behavioral health of all the children and youth in the region,” said Calcutt.
Health care costs of children or youth with a preponderance of their care focused on their mental health issues are 9.6 times greater than a child who does not have a mental health issue, he said. Care costs for the same population in the Monadnock Region are 2.5 times greater than the same population of children from across the state.
Currently social services are provider-driven, which means much mental health care needs a referral from a PCP, It is also severity-based – for example, one of the primary ways to obtain social services is following a child’s arrest or after they’ve become involved with the Division of Children, Youth and Families.
As part of its planning grant, the group conducted a community readiness assessment, asset mapping and gap analysis, and extensive outreach to increase awareness.
According to the needs assessment, our region is at a stage 3, which is “vague awareness” of readiness to provide high quality, coordinated services and supports for children and youth with significant emotional and behavioral health needs and their families. The needs assessment also found that the community was beginning to recognize the problem and need, but was unsure of how to take action – perfect conditions for an effective planning process.
The Monadnock Region System of Care grant serves the Greater Monadnock Public Health Region which includes all of Cheshire County, plus the 10 towns in western Hillsborough County. There are 13 public health regions in the state.
More than 30 organizations were involved in the planning and creation of the implementation grant, leaders from schools, hospitals, emergency services, and social services were interviewed about the strengths and weaknesses in the way children and youth access care for emotional and behavioral health in the region. The voice of families and youth always came first, said Calcutt.
Calcutt said that the goal is for work to continue whether or not the grant is awarded. “We will work to strengthen family networks and youth peer networks, and to make people more aware of the issue in the community.”
If you are interested in learning more about the Monadnock Region System of Care, call Dennis Calcutt at 357-1738.
Michele Nuttle can be reaches at 924-7172, ext. 234 or at mnuttle@ledgertranscript.com.