PORT HENRY | Parenting a child with a mental health crisis- and navigating all the various service systems needed to support that child- is no easy task. As of July 1, Mountain Lake Services has rolled out an unprecedented program that will offer relief for the community’s most vulnerable children. The Critical Time Transition Program (CTTP), a new initiative that will provide mental health services for youth with complex needs, is now available.
“The hope is this program will be like a big hug for families that are already stressed and struggling,” noted Sarah Louer, Senior Director of Clinical Services for Mountain Lake Services. “This program has the potential to alleviate a lot of stress on families in our community that are otherwise resource-starved; it will potentially keep children out of needing service long-term and keep children with their families.”
A collaboration between the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities OPWDD) and the Office of Mental Health (OMH), CTTP is funded by New York State and is at no cost to children and their families.
“After almost 28 years with MLS, I have never seen a program like this; this is a brand new service model,” she shared. “Since I have been in the field, there have been respite programs or emergency respite services through other providers in the area, but this will be the first program of this kind in the North Country and it's been a need for a long time. Kids don't always fit into one service sector.”
According to Louer, the program’s goal is to keep kids experiencing mental health crises out of emergency rooms and out of emergency departments, which has been an overall challenge in the entire North Country.
“At any given time, there might be five kids sitting in emergency departments without possibility for admission and really not able to go home or back to their foster placement because of their mental health safety being compromised,” Louer revealed.
Of those kids who are waiting in emergency rooms in the North Country, Louer said most will not be injured. Rather, they will be dealing with suicidal ideation, homicide ideation, extreme behavior issues- possibly running away and possible aggressive and violent behavior to where their family doesn’t know how to help and needs medical intervention.
“They end up in ER, which is not the appropriate place for them but is the starting point for these services,” Louer explained.
The referrals come directly from the hospital emergency department where a child has been, but was not admitted due to their situation not being appropriate for hospital admission, but they need other community services.
“This is not going to be a self-referral program, this will be crisis intervention where the kid is in the ER and there are no other options and we are really the agency that will step in,” Louer explained.
From the time the referral is made, no more than 72 hours can lapse without services beginning. Children who would qualify for a referral may have difficulty staying in school, or require constant 911 or police intervention. They may have attachment disorder or a history of severe trauma- they are the children whose needs have sometimes slipped through the cracks.
“This program exists because families shouldn't have to navigate a youth mental health crisis by themselves,” noted MLS Assistant Director, Community & Staff Relations, Elizabeth Rutkowski.
Services with CTTP will include community-based intensive case management community based, vocational and educational rehab services, peer advocacy, parent advocacy, clinical services, and access to medication administration and management.
“Eventually we will have an eight-bed temporary respite program for kids who need more intensive 24/7 support,” Louer said. “That program will have a wait list, which is a real need in our greater North Country area.”
The average age of the youths struggling in this severe capacity is 11-17. CTTP is also expected to help school systems by reintroducing kids back into their classrooms as successful and productive learners.
“At MLS, it is in our mission to help people live their very best lives; that is exactly what this program is about,” said Louer. “A family can't function when one member is in crisis and struggling. This will really help people achieve a higher quality of life with more stability, less dependence on the system in the future because we will have helped intervene early.”
In Louer’s opinion through experience and situations she has witnessed- in addition to the research- early intervention works and helps individuals avoid future intervention by other organizations.
“I have seen kids come into our service as early as two or three and never need a service past pre-school ever again,” she expressed. “I know that it works; working with these kids at 11 or 12, I don't think we will see them when they are 17, not in the same capacity we are seeing now. That is what MLS has been about for years, prevention.”
