Child Guidance & Family Solutions Receives Grant to Help At-Risk Youth Across Summit County
Grant will help expand the organization’s Intensive Home-Based Treatment (IHBT) program
The Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM), in partnership with the State of Ohio’s Child and the Adolescent Behavioral Health Center of Excellence at Case Western Reserve University (COE), is helping Child Guidance & Family Solutions (CGFS) expand access to a critical mental health service in Summit County by increasing the capacity of the agency’s Intensive Home-Based Treatment (IHBT) program. ODM authorized $194,797 to support this much-needed mental health service provided by CGFS.
IHBT is an intensive, time-limited mental health service for youth with severe mental health concerns and their families. Services are provided in the child’s home, school and community to safely maintain the youth in the least restrictive, most normative environment.
CGFS has several team members dedicated to its IHBT program. With this grant, CGFS will expand its IHBT program by hiring additional employees to provide intensive home-based services to aid more children and families in Summit County. CGFS estimates the grant will allow it to serve an additional 130 Summit County clients and their families.
"Our IHBT program supports vulnerable children and families in Summit County," said Karen Talbott, President & CEO of CGFS. "We are thrilled to be able to expand these essential services to better support young people and their families in their own homes.”
The first Integrated Co-Occurring Treatment (ICT) team in Ohio was developed by CGFS. ICT is a specialized form of IHBT, treating both mental health and substance use concerns. The organization has successfully provided these services in Summit County for over ten years. CGFS was the first IHBT team to utilize the fidelity model in Summit County and is the only ICT team in Summit County.
IHBT involves an individual clinician or team of providers delivering a comprehensive set of clinical and rehabilitative services. IHBT is designed to intensively treat a young person’s mental health conditions that significantly impair their functioning. Often, children who need IHBT face significant challenges in multiple areas of their lives, including school, home, and the community. Some young people who need IHBT are involved with or at risk of being involved with the juvenile justice and child protection systems.
The State of Ohio’s Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Center of Excellence at Case Western Reserve University will provide training, technical assistance, consultation, program implementation support, fidelity monitoring, and evaluation of the new services under the grant.