New York has awarded $21 million in funding awards for 15 Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) for Youth teams, Governor Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday.
New York is the first state in the nation to enact Youth Assertive Community Treatment teams, serving children ages 10-21 and their families, providing services and support at home and in the community.
The teams allow youth who are at risk of entering residential or inpatient psychiatric treatment to receive services while remaining with their families and in their communities.
Nearly $15 million in funding is annual and will be provided through state aid and Medicaid reimbursements, and $6 million is one-time initial funding from the Federal Government provided through time-limited expansions of Community Mental Health Services (CMHS). ) Programas Block Grant and Federal Medical Assistance Porcentage (FMAP). Additional funds were appropriated for those programs under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act and the American Rescue Plan Act.
Assertive Youth Community Treatment (ACT) team providers are non-profit agencies that have experience providing mental health services to individuals with serious emotional disturbance. They will create and oversee ACT teams, which are multidisciplinary with professional staff including psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, mental health clinicians, and peer advocates.
By using a team approach, teams of Youth ACT they can provide intensive, highly coordinated and individualized services and skilled therapeutic interventions to ensure that the child and family have the level of treatment and services to support their recovery. They are very responsive and flexible to meet the changing and individualized needs of the child and family, offering 24/7 support.
The development of Youth ACT represents a commitment by the New York State Office of Mental Health to increase access to services in the home and community for children and youth with mental health problems and their families. As teams begin treating clients, OMH will evaluate their effectiveness and has formed a steering committee of researchers, physicians, family and youth partners to guide the evaluation and refine the model.
“When at-risk youth experience hardship, it is imperative that families stay together,” Governor Hochul said. “In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, New York is at the forefront of developing new and innovative ways to provide behavioral health care to vulnerable people. With the help of this new program, children across the state will have the opportunity to stay with their families and receive the services they need.
ACT youth teams by region include:
Capital Region:
Parsons Child and Family Centers– Serves Albany and Schenectady counties, 36-seat team.
Central New York:
Onondaga Case Management – Serves Onondaga County.
Hillside – Serves Chenango and Cortland counties.
Finger Lakes:
Hillside – Serves Monroe County.
Long Island:
Central Nassau: Serves Nassau County.
Hope for Youth– Serves Suffolk County.
Mid-Hudson:
MHA Westchester: Serves Westchester County.
New York City:
Child Center of NY: Serves in Manhattan.
Jewish Board of Family & Children’s Services: sirve and Staten Island.
Jewish Board of Family & Children’s Services: serves in Queens.
Jewish Board of Family & Children’s Services: serves in the Bronx.
JCCA: serves in Brooklyn.
Southern Tier:
Children’s Home of Wyoming: Serves Broome County.
Western New York:
Child and Family Services: Serves Erie & Niagara Counties.
Mohawk Valley:
Integrated Community Alternatives Network (ICAN): Serves Oneida County.
____________________________
OMH will soon issue a request for proposal to develop an additional five teams that will serve children and families in the following counties:
Capital Region:
A team serving Warren, Washington and Saratoga counties.
Mid-Hudson:
A team serving Orange County.
Mohawk Valley:
A team serving Fulton and Montgomery counties.
Finger Lakes:
A team serving Ontario, Wayne, Seneca and Yates counties.
Southern Tier
A team serving Steuben and Chemung counties.
–
