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| Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #1060 |
| Diversion/Emergency Shelter Services - DeSoto County |
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| Requester: |
Dr. Christine Cauffield |
Organization: |
Coastal Behavioral Healthcare, Inc |
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| Project Title: |
Diversion/Emergency Shelter Services - DeSoto County |
Date Submitted |
1/11/2005 3:44:30 PM |
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| Sponsors: |
Alexander, Bennett |
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| Statewide Interest: |
| Expansion of diversion services and emergency shelter services in a child's home community meets several statewide interests including diverting families from the child welfare system, promoting permanency for children who enter the foster care system, reducing the length of stay for children placed in foster homes, reducing the trauma of separation from family for children placed in foster care, and reducing the expense of foster care to the state of Florida. |
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| Recipient: |
Coastal Behavioral Healthcare, Inc. |
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Contact: |
Colleen Thayer, APR |
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1565 State St |
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Contact Phone: |
(941) 927-8900 |
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Sarasota 34236 |
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Contact email: |
cthayer@coastalbh.org |
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| Counties: |
Charlotte, DeSoto, Hendry, Lee, Manatee, Sarasota |
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| Gov't Entity: |
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Private Organization (Profit/Not for Profit): |
Yes |
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| Project Description: |
| Behavioral Healthcare is a partner in the Coalition for Safe Children, providing mental health services to Desoto County children and families involved in the child welfare system, and has offered diversion services to Desoto County residents since July 2003. Program funding has limited expansion of this successful model and subsequently this project seeks to offer increased Diversion services that include Parenting Stress Index screening, assessment of child and family functioning, In-Home sessions, and post-services evaluation, and will expand to serve additional families as identified.
The proposal also seeks to establish an emergency shelter for children in DeSoto County who have been adjudicated to shelter status. Currently, children removed from a home in DeSoto County are placed in an emergency shelter in a neighboring county as there is no current shelter within DeSoto County. A shelter in Arcadia will offer placement, assessment, and family intervention services targeted to keep Desoto County children in their home community while strengthening the family unit in preparation for reunification. Children admitted will be placed for up to 90 days. Each child will receive a Comprehensive Behavioral Assessment that will define the child's placement needs, academic strengths and deficits, and psychosocial adjustment.
Additional services that will be offered include an in-home assessment with the child's family to determine vocational, housing, parenting, and life skills strengths and deficits. Interventions will also be provided to each family to meet the needs identified in the family functioning assessment. Interventions will facilitate family case plan completion within 90 days. |
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| Is this a project related to 2004 hurricane damage? |
No |
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| Measurable Outcome Anticipated: |
| It is anticipated that placement of children in an emergency shelter in Desoto County, combined with intensive family interventions, will reduce time in out of home placement from 9 months to 3 months or less. The program can accommodate five children at one time under the age of 10. The program will also reduce childhood trauma associated with placement in foster care
It is In FY 03-04, Coastal was only funded to provide services to six families and this fiscal year is funded for only 8.45 families, yet it is anticipated that approximately 176 families would benefit from Diversion services. Diversion services offer families intensive in- home services to strengthen the family and avoid the removal of the children to foster care. Additional funding will enable Coastal Behavioral Healthcare to accommodate an additional 55 families who are at risk for having children placed in the foster care system. Diversion services present a cost-savings to the state as it is an average of 50% less for these services in lieu of placement in the foster care system.
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| Amount requested from the State for this project this year: |
$247,500 |
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| Total cost of the project: |
$330,000 |
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| Request has been made to fund: |
Operations |
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| What type of match exists for this project? |
Local, Private |
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Cash Amount |
$43,500 |
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| Was this project previously funded by the state? |
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Yes |
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Fiscal Year: |
2004-2005 |
Amount: |
$10,731 |
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| Is future-year funding likely to be requested? |
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Yes |
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Amount: |
$247,500 |
To Fund: |
Operations |
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| Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request? |
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No |
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| Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget? |
No |
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| Is there a documented need for this project? |
Yes |
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Documentation: |
Community-Based Care Implementation Plan (CH 39, Fl Statutes) and the Adoption and Safe Families. |
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| Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)? |
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Yes |
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Hearing Body: |
Desoto County Delegation Meeting |
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Hearing Meeting Date: |
12/09/2004 |
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| Is this a water project as described in Section 403.885, Laws of Florida? |
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No |
