County boards bring grant to Portage to help youth with mental illness and developmental disabilities

The Mental Health & Recovery Board of Portage County and the Portage County Board of Developmental Disabilities were awarded $50,000 of the state Strong Families, Safe Communities funds to support community partnerships providing collaborative services to youth at risk of harming themselves or others due to a mental illness or developmental disability.

The county boards will use the funds to coordinate care for local youth through programs at Children’s Advantage, school districts in the county, services and supports coordinated by the Board of DD’s Service and Support Administrators and the Interagency Clinical Assessment Team, a local organization of children’s agencies. Located in Ravenna, Children’s Advantage is a mental health agency treating children, teens and families with mental health problems.

“We welcome the funds to help us serve Portage County families better because ultimately the care of a child or teen with serious mental illness becomes a complex family and multi-agency challenge. This will help us fill some gaps temporarily since the Mental Health & Recovery Board’s state funding has been reduced by more than $2.2 million each year,” said Joel Mowrey, Ph.D., MHRB executive director.

Portage DD Board Superintendent Patrick Macke sees the grant award as an important support for local families.

“Children and youth with dual diagnoses of mental illness and developmental disabilities typically have complex multi-system needs. The family structure of these individuals may be subjected to significant stressors and disruption. This grant will enable the Mental Health & Recovery Board and the Board of Developmental Disabilities to more effectively identify and coordinate services and interventions that these youth and their families need,” Macke said.

The funds will provide specialized screening and referrals for high risk youth through local schools. The grant will also provide families access to services that will help keep a child safe and at home with his or her family.

Strong Families Safe Communities is funded by Governor Kasich’s initiative to commit money from Ohio’s Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) awards to develop targeted strategies to stabilize youth in crisis, ages 8-24, and develop long-term treatment plans that help children and their families live happy and healthy lives.

The Ohio Departments of Mental Health & Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) and Developmental Disabilities (DODD) recruited 38 proposals from Ohio’s communities, all representing collaboration among mental health and developmental services providers, and many involving multi-county partnerships. The Portage project is part of a proposal that also includes programs for Stark, Columbiana, Wayne and Holmes counties.

“Children at risk—those struggling and teetering on the edge of self-harm or aggression and violence—often aren’t yet in treatment programs and therefore not yet known to us as someone in need of care and support,” said Tracy Plouck, director of OhioMHAS. “Our focus was to engage our local systems and encourage community-driven solutions that combine knowledge and leadership across agencies. We’re very pleased with the comprehensive treatment models in these counties’ plans.”

DODD is responsible for overseeing a statewide system of supports and services for people with developmental disabilities. The department’s mission is continuous improvement of the quality of life for Ohio’s citizens with developmental disabilities and their families.