1. SAMHSA’S
CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVE

2. What is a System of Care?
• What it is…
– It is a philosophy; a process and practice for
building a more collaborative and effective
service structure for families who are
experiencing the most mental health needs
• What it’s not…
– It is not a program

3. Who are we?
• Represent Public Mental Health, Juvenile
Justice/Courts, the Department of Human
Services, and many community partners who
have committed to this initiative.
• Brief explanation of Public Mental Health
• Brief explanation of Community Education
Component

4. A Few Saginaw Statistics
• Population 200,169
–70% of the population lives in the city
• 22.2% of the population lives below the
poverty level
• Designated as the most violent American city
(per capita) by the FBI in 2010

5. Why Create a System of Care?
What else we know about Saginaw County:
• % of youth involved
with Saginaw County
Juvenile Court that
appear to have
significant mental
health concerns:
75%
• % of youth beginning
treatment with
SCCMHA that have
moderate to severe
problems in school:
80%

6. Cont.
• % of Saginaw County
youth in foster care
that have clear mental
health treatment
needs:
60%
• % of youth involved
with the Saginaw
County Juvenile Court
report that they have
seen someone get
killed or severely
injured in person
36%

7. What is the Overall Vision?
We believe that every child deserves the opportunity to live a
fulfilling life, especially children with serious emotional or
behavioral challenges. We are committed to their success
through our core values:
• Use of family driven, youth guided practice
• Respect for the unique background and culture of each
family
• A collaborative, unified team of community partners
• A provision of supports and services that have proven results

8. How Will We Achieve Our Vision?
1. By changing how we do business and how we serve
families with mental health challenges
2. By challenging the status quo
3. By changing policies and procedures that pose
barriers to successful treatment
4. By including youth and families in all areas of
planning and implementation of this initiative
5. By educating our community

9. Saginaw SOC Identified Population
• Children and youth, ages 6 to 17
• …with serious emotional disturbances
• …who are involved in the child welfare, special
education, and/or juvenile justice systems
• …and are at risk for out-of-home
placement, psychiatric hospitalization, expulsion
from school, or court involvement

10. System of Care Focus
80%
15%
“SED”
Most Intensive
intervention
level
Prevention and
Universal Health
Promotion
Level
Targeted
Intervention
Level
2%
3%
Less complex
needs
More
complex
needs
Targeted and
Individualized
Services

11. What Work is Being Done Now
• M.U.T.T. (Mobile Urgent
Treatment Team)
• Co-located Mental
Health, JJ, and DHS
workers between
agencies
• Community Education
Initiative
• Collaborative
Arrangement with Family
Court / Juvenile Justice /
Detention for shared
mental health screening
on all youth entering JJ
system
• Evidence Based Practice
Implementation
• Collaborative Funding with
Disproportionate Minority
Contact Initiative

12. Questions?

13. Contact Information
• Wardene Talley
Project Director
989-797-3562
wtalley@sccmha.org
• Dalia Smith
Cultural and Linguistics
Competency Coordinator
989-498-2270
dsmith@sccmha.org
• Keva Clark
Lead Family Representative
989-797-3534
kclark@sccmha.org
• Willie Hillman
Youth Involvement Director
989-272-7232
whillman@sccmha.org
• Melissa Lee
Social Marketing Coordinator
989-272-7209
mlee@sccmha.org
• Kelley Blanck
TA Coordinator
989-797-3556
kblanck@sccmha.org