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Transforming Childrens Mental Healthcare in America
Systems of Care

Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services Program for Children and Their Families

 

District of Columbia

D.C. Children Inspired Now Gain Strength (D.C. CINGS) 

The District of Columbia Department of Mental Health will establish a comprehensive system of care for children and youth challenged with serious emotional disturbances (SED) and their families. The D.C. Children Inspired Now Gain Strength (D.C. CINGS) project's major goal is to reduce reliance on out-of-home and out-of-state residential treatment centers for care of Washington, D.C. youth with SED through the creation of a comprehensive array of community-based services and supports that are accessible, available, culturally appropriate, and of high quality for families. The target population will be youth meeting criteria for SED between the ages of birth and 22. The District will begin with youth who are currently in costly out-of-state placements, eventually addressing the needs of youth who are also at risk of such placements. Particular strategies will include the development of intensive home-based services, wraparound case management, an array of crisis responses for youth, and the development of a cadre of family liaisons to support families as they move through the system and identify/develop needed community supports. In addition, the grant funding will be used to strengthen and build the capacity of the Family Advocacy and Support Association (FASA) and other community-based organizations to work as coalitions and increase access to services for currently underserved Latino and immigrant children and families in the District. All aspects of the project will apply cultural competency principles and strategies.

Lisa Rubenstein
Grantee Project Officer
1 Choke Cherry Road, Room 6-1050
Rockville, MD 20857
Phone: 240-276-1927
Fax: 240-276-1990
E-mail: lisa.rubenstein@samhsa.hhs.gov 
Shauna Spencer
Principal Investigator
D.C. Department of Mental Health
64 New York Avenue, NE
4th Floor
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202-673-2200
Fax: 202-673-1933
E-mail:  
Yvonne Doerre
Program Director
D.C. Department of Mental Health
64 New York Avenue, NE
4th Floor
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202-673-2200
Fax: 202-673-1933
E-mail:  
 

  Please direct information updates to soc@samhsa.gov with the specific location or internet address to be updated. Thank you.
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