FAMILY SUPPORT PROGRAM

Treatment of Children and Adolescent Mental Illness Partnerships and Providers

Effective treatment of children and adolescents with mental illness requires a partnership between the families of these children and the various service providers. Service providers include, but are not limited to, the Department of Human Services, the mental health agencies, residential facilities, school districts, park districts, professionals and other private providers. This partnership is based on a value of collaboration and cooperation among all those concerned with the welfare of our children and who provide for them in one or more areas of their lives.

Will County Health Department Family Support Program Services

The Will County Health Department Family Support Program provides the following services:

• Provide families with information that will help in the decision of applying for the Family Support Program
• Assist families with the documentation compilation necessary to apply for the FSP and assist families in submitting a completed FSP application
• Assist families with education in the decision of placing client within community based services or residential services
• Integrated Assessment and Treatment Plan, Case Management (Residential and community based clients)
  Individual, Family, and Group Therapy (Community based client)
• Coordinate and interface with the multiple providers involved with each FSP client so that the client receives comprehensive community based services (Community based client)
• Family therapy, Staffings, Residential team meetings, Psychiatric planning, Discharge Planning, Educational and Vocational Planning, Transitional Service Quarterly and Annual Reviews (Residential)
• Visits by Family Support Services staff twice yearly to residential in-state sites or surrounding states. Visits by Family Support Services staff yearly to out of state sites (Residential)

Eligibility for Family Support Services

• Parent/guardian must be a resident of the State of Illinois
• The child is required to be diagnosed with severe mental illness. (A severe mental illness is defined as a mental or emotional disorder which substantially impairs thought, perception of reality, emotional process, judgment, behavior or ability to cope with the ordinary demands of several life domains.)
• Symptoms are required to include severely impaired reality testing
• There has been an appropriate trial of inpatient, outpatient and/or community based treatment efforts, and subsequently residential services are required
• The child cannot be under the guardianship of a STATE agency or in the legal custody of a State agency
• The child is required to be enrolled in an approved educational program at the elementary/high school level
• A completed application package must be submitted before the child attains the age of 17 years and 6 months