Collaboration and Youth Mental Health: Building an Optimal System of Care

Collaboration and Youth Mental Health: Building an Optimal System of Care

Dates: Tuesdays, May 13, June 10 and July 22

Time: 11:30 am to 1:30 pm

Location: Brooke Road Community Center (lower level), 1404 Brooke Rd, Rockford, IL 61109. Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Who should attend: Anyone who has participated in the past YMHSOC listening sessions or data reveal, any individuals or families with experience with youth mental health, and mental health or human service providers who support youth and their families.

Details: You are invited to share your wisdom and experience to inform the next steps and implementation planning for the Youth Mental Health Systems of Care (YMHSOC) in Winnebago and Boone Counties.

You may recall that past conversations featured discussions on community strengths, challenges, and an envisioning of what an ideal system of care would look like. Members of the YMHSOC spent several months collecting information during community conversations and listening sessions about mental health services in the community. These listening sessions helped to identify system gaps and advance efforts to create an efficient, effective, and comprehensive mental health system for youth and young adults.

The 2024 Listening Sessions Report share the results of that process, and the data collected suggests we focus detailed planning on 2-3 key areas that will be most impactful in ensuring an optimal system of care. Please join us as we take a deep dive into each of these areas. Mark your calendar for:

1. Community Collaboration (May 13) – Ensuring that services are coordinated and collaborative in their efforts, efficiently assisting families in navigate the system of care instead of expecting them to “figure it out”;
2. Education and Training (June 10)– Ensuring that the community is well-educated about mental health concepts and the services and resources that are available to them, as well as ensuring the availability of education and training opportunities that are accessible and affordable to individuals who need them, AND ensuring mental health and health professionals are trained and ready to meet the mental health needs of youth and their families;
3. Housing Support Services (July 22) – Coordinated and comprehensive services and supports to ensure stable, adequate, and affordable housing for youth and their families, including adequate inpatient services for adolescents.

Please join us, and please share this invitation with peers and other mental health and human services providers. Don’t hesitate to call if you have questions. Finding the right path forward requires strong community engagement; We hope to see you at all three sessions.

Goals of this work: The goal of this work is to establish area best practices with a focus on creating an optimal mental health treatment system as a whole, that is affordable, comprehensive and accessible, for all area youth and their families or caretakers.

Visit www.ymhsoc.org to learn more about the work of the Youth Mental Health System of Care. Email the event organizer, NICNE, at YmNhbGxhaGFuIHwgbml1ICEgZWR1 with questions.

About the Youth Mental Health System of Care (YMHSOC): Visit www.ymhsoc.org to learn more. In 2018, a community planning team worked in collaboration to submit a grant proposal to the Illinois Children's Healthcare Foundation to improve the youth mental health system of care in Winnebago and Boone Counties. This team included representatives from Rosecrance, Youth Services Network, Children's Home and Aid, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Winnebago County Health Department, Rockford Regional Health Council, Crusader Community Health, MercyHealth, Carrie Lynn Children's Center, Rockford Public Schools, Easterseals Metropolitan Chicago, and the 17th Judicial Circuit Court. The team was one of eight finalists but did not receive this grant. The team continued to meet, engage in preplanning work, and pursue future funding opportunities. In 2020, the group received a 4-year planning and implementation grant from the Children's Mental Health Foundation with a targeted focus on deep engagement of people with lived experience, heighted collaboration and coordinated care among partners, and community-based organizations through the creation of a professionals Community of Practice, and capacity building for mental health service providers through workforce development and training. Our mission is to create a coordinated and comprehensive system of care addressing the mental health needs of children and adolescents in Winnebago and Boone Counties. Our vision is to see a comprehensive, coordinated, equitable, and evidence-based youth mental health system of care affordable and accessible for all children, youth, and adults ages 0-21 in Winnebago and Boone Counties.

About NICNE: The Northern Illinois Center for Nonprofit Excellence (NICNE) has been strengthening nonprofits since August 2004 by providing capacity building, training, technical assistance, resource support and initiative leadership to nonprofit organizations in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. NICNE believes in investing in people and organizations that make communities in our area safer, healthier and more vibrant. We do so by providing training opportunities, which help nonprofits successfully achieve their missions. As the region’s primary resource for nonprofit capacity and movement building, NICNE encourages collaboration and best practices that result in a strong, vibrant nonprofit sector to demonstrating significant social impact. NICNE Mission: Promote, model and grow innovation, excellence and social impact.

Please email questions to CEO Pam Clark Reidenbach at cGNsYXJrMSB8IG5pdSAhIGVkdQ==.

Also check out other Health & Wellness events in Rockford, Workshops in Rockford.