This article will provide an overview of the accomplishments of the Rendell administration in regards to mental health care for children. The overview covers the following areas:

  • Managing Funding and Quality for Mental Health
  • Creating an Evidence-based System of Services for Children, Youth, and their Families

Managing Funding and Quality for Mental Health

Governor Rendell’s administration built on the innovative funding structure of public mental health services begun under Governor Tom Ridge. By 2009, all 67 counties were served by HealthChoices Managed Care programs. HealthChoices moved the public Medical Assistance funding from a “fee for service” to a managed care model. HealthChoices includes a behavioral health “carve out” or separate managed care structure for mental health and substance abuse services. Advocates supported this “carve out” as a way to ensure that behavioral health did not get lost under the physical health service system. As a separately operated system, we are able to develop many planning and monitoring approaches uniquely responsive to behavioral health issues.

These include:

  • Consumer and Family Satisfaction Teams- Consumers and families using services are part of the evaluation of their services, and satisfaction is valued as an outcome. The teams are the vehicle for the consumer and family voice in the Commonwealth. Find your county team’s contact information here.
  • Quality Assurance and Improvement Oversight – Use and outcomes are tracked, including which services work for children and their families and which do not.
  • Community Reinvestment Funding – Counties in partnership with families and consumers use any remaining funds from the annual Behavioral Health Managed Care (BHMC) capitation to create new and needed services, such as an Autism “Hub” in Lehigh County.

Creating an Evidence-based System of Quality, Effective Services for Children, Youth and their Families

Note: If you need help accessing quality mental health care please follow the Roadmap to Help .

Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) and the Bureau of Children’s Services has worked to establish an accessible array of behavioral health services that better lives and promote wellness. To accomplish this goal, OMHSAS has emphasized the need to use research-based approaches and collect and analyze data on outcomes.

To do so, OMHSAS has provided leadership for the following:

A Nationally Recognized Advisory Structure

OMHSAS partnered with advocacy leaders and other stakeholders to redesign the stakeholder advisory structure. Now Pennsylvania has the most active and representative mental health stakeholder advisory structure in the United States, with full committees for children, adult, and senior issues. Members participate in many other state and local advisory groups, ensuring that there is coordinated planning and consumer and family voice. OMHSAS planning is directly linked to the work of the Children’s Advisory Committee, and addressed priorities including school-based services, family advocacy, and youth transition needs.

More information here

A Commitment to Trauma Informed Care

Pennsylvania is a national leader in eliminating restraints, seclusion, and other coercive approaches to both children and adults with mental health problems. By supporting positive, strength-based approaches, PA is improving treatment outcomes for children and youth. To ensure that these approaches occur, OMHSAS has supported the implementation of evidence-based practices including the Sanctuary Model in many children’s psychiatric residential treatment facilities, and made trauma informed care training available to providers and stakeholders.

More information:

Aligning PA’s Children’s Wraparound Services with National Research

Pennsylvania was one of the original places where wrapping services around a child and family in their home and community was created. But paying for this innovative practice was difficult, because Medical Assistance requires that services are medically necessary. So Pennsylvania created Behavioral Health Rehabilitation Services (BHRS), which includes the famous TSS (Therapeutic Support Services), as well as Behavior Support and Mobile Therapist Services. These services give individualized services to children in their home and community. However, outcomes were not consistent.

In 2008, the development of “High Fidelity Wraparound” sites across the Commonwealth began. This research-based approach to designing individualized community services is improving outcomes for families and their children.

The goal is to have this service available in every county. Highlights to date are:

  • Creation of the Youth & Family Institute to oversee implementation
  • Creation of Medical Assistance Funded Youth and Family Partners
  • Number of counties implementing this growing monthly from original four
  • Federal SAMSHA System of Care Partnership grant awarded to PA for a 15 county, 5 year initiative focused on High Fidelity Wraparound for youth with behavioral health needs in the Juvenile Justice or Child Welfare Systems.

Click here for more information.

Developing Alternatives to Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTFs)

Sending a child away to a Residential Treatment Facility has long been a sad result of failed community services and supports. OMHSAS has taken a serious look at PRTFs because the national research now shows that even quality PRTFs are not as effective as quality community treatments.  In partnership with the family, youth and advocacy community, OMHSAS has begun the task of transforming how children with the most challenging behavioral health needs are helped.

Efforts include:

Partnering with Juvenile Justice and Education to Ensure Access to Evidence-Based Behavioral Health Services

An unprecedented amount of work happened in partnership between OMHSAS and the Juvenile Justice and Education systems. Certainly earlier collaborations and emerging research set the stage for this progressive approach. As noted, MST and other juvenile justice specific services were developed.  Notably, OMHSAS worked closely with the Department of Education to promote School-wide Positive Behavioral Support (SWPBS) and with Juvenile Justice to promote Models for Change (MfC).