Tagged With "foster care"
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Social Workers are Essential: Highlighting National Social Work Month
The month of March brings an abundance of things to celebrate, including National Social Work Month! The National Association of Social Workers dedicates March as a time to celebrate the incredible social work profession and to educate others on the many contributions made by social workers in our communities. This year’s theme “Social Workers are Essential” calls our attention to the indelible role of the social worker in responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Indeed, for...
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How Benchmarks Center for Quality Integration’s Organizational Culture Influences Community Work
Organizational culture is the overall personality of an organization. This is comprised of attitudes, experiences, beliefs, and the values of an organization. An organization’s culture shapes and controls the interactions within the partnerships between agencies. Benchmarks’ Center for Quality Integration (The Center) internal organizational culture is reflected and filtered down to our communities through the daily work we do. The Center strongly values advocacy for the child welfare,...
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Book Club: One Way Life-Long Learning is Encouraged in the Center for Quality Integration
Benchmark’s Center for Quality Integration, made up of the Standardized Assessment Protocol (SAP) and Partnering for Excellence (PFE) teams, prioritizes learning about trauma and its effects on the children within child welfare systems. Both PFE and SAP seek to assist children who have experienced trauma in improving their outcomes and access to trauma-informed services. To be a champion of trauma-informed systems, the team must prioritize lifelong learning about the topic. One of the ways...
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Racial Equity in Clinical Assessments
Benchmarks' Partnering for Excellence (PFE) works to address the needs of child welfare involved youth and families by proactively connecting individuals to appropriate trauma-intensive assessments and treatment. One facet of exploration for Benchmarks is using data from PFE to examine racial disparities in mental health assessment and diagnosis in our PFE counties. It is known that connecting our youth and families to the most effective treatment lies in the hands of a great assessment. But...
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Rockingham County Youth Services Rockstar Spotlight
Rockingham County Youth Services (RCYS) is a local county government agency in Rockingham County, NC that provides counseling and other community alternatives for school-aged youth and their families. RCYS began in Rockingham County in 1979 as a program for troubled youth. Since then, the agency has evolved to provide programs that include counseling for children and adolescents, parenting classes, as well as programs ranging from teen court to substance abuse prevention. The evolution of...
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Exploring the Impossible Imperative
Every year our Benchmarks Center for Quality Improvement (CQi) team carefully selects books for our team to read as a part of our “book club”. The goal of this book club is to increase our team’s knowledge, expertise, and understanding of the systems and individuals we aim to serve through our work throughout the state. Last week, staff wrapped up the club book “The Impossible Imperative: Navigating the Competing Principles of Child Protection” written by Jill Duerr Berrick. We know when...
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Breaking the Stigma: Notable Names with a Child-Welfare Experience
May is National Foster Care Month--a month where we are intentional about acknowledging children, families, volunteers, mentors, policymakers, child welfare professionals, and other members in the community who are involved in Foster Care. An important topic, and one worth discussing, is helping children break the stigma associated with being in Foster Care. Considering all the trauma that can be experienced by children within the child-welfare system, foster children might feel as though...
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Yes! Because We Care!
YES! A resounding YES! This is the standard response given from Children's Homes of Cleveland County (CHCC) when asked about opportunities to come together to learn, grow, and develop in a safe, stable environment for children and families. After all, these are the words penned in the mission statement of the organization, but it is worth noting that this organization strives in every way to live this out. As a trauma informed agency, Children’s Homes of Cleveland County has been a leader in...
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May is Mental Health Awareness Month
The month of May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Mental health awareness applies to every individual, no matter their background. Mental health needs are discussed more often for adults, but it is equally important to remember that infants and children have their own unique mental health needs. A common theme the past few years regarding mental health awareness has been widely expressed using the phrase “No Health Without Mental Health.” This is very true; it is impossible for one to be...
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Nazareth Child & Family Connection: Empowering Youth and Families
Nazareth Child and Family Connection has been a vital member to Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) partnership since 2012. While they offer amazing services to the children and family involved in the project, Nazareth is also a huge contributor to innovative and best practice in and around their community. Nazareth was founded in 1906 and has since continued to provide an array of services to meet the needs of children and families located in Rowan and Davidson Counties. Their...
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Partners Health Management Spotlight
Without the efforts of a dedicated multidisciplinary team, the work of the Standardized Assessment Protocol (SAP) would not be possible. SAP is proud to be aligned with Partners Health Management—the Local Management Entity-Managed Care Organization (or LME-MCO) for four of the six counties SAP is working with. Partners works diligently to manage services for the behavioral health care needs of those who reside in Burke, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Rutherford, Surry, and...
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Rally for House Bill 914: Support our Direct Care Workforce
Thank you to everyone who reached out to legislators for our rally day on House Bill 914 Support Our Direct Care Workforce! A special thanks to Lutheran Family Services , Universal Mental Health Services , Alexander Youth Network , A Small Miracle and ACI-Dungarvin (North Carolina) , for having attendees who came to the legislature! If we missed anyone else who came to Raleigh, we apologize and hope you will let us know you were there! We had a fantastic press conference with Representative...
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Child Life Specialist Work within Child Welfare
There are many human services professionals who work within the child welfare system to help improve the lives of those involved in that system. One such professional that assists children and families in some of their most difficult times are Certified Child Life Specialists. Certified Child Life Specialists are professionals who strive to reduce the negative impacts for children and families caused by trauma in different settings. Their training and education come from educational courses,...
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Support is Key: How Licensed Independent Practitioners in North Carolina are Navigating Medicaid Transformation
In North Carolina, Medicaid Transformation is well under way with most beneficiaries receiving services through Medicaid Managed Care as of July 1 st , 2021. In this model, recipients choose an integrated health plan—covering both their physical and mental/behavioral health needs—from one of five prepaid health plans (PHPs) with which the state is contracted. This is a shift from North Carolina’s previous Medicaid system which separated the physical and mental/behavioral health dollars and...
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Self-Care for Resource Parents
Self-care is the golden key to obtaining personal wellness. As a parent, I have seen how practicing self-care can really make a difference between surviving and thriving. Every stage of parenting has its unique challenges, but often resource parents experience additional stressors that naturally come with caring for children involved in child welfare. Whether it is helping a child prepare for a family visit, dealing with another delayed court date, or a long sleepless night, foster parents...
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An Introduction to Support, Incorporated
We are pleased to announce one of our partnering clinical agencies for Burke and Rutherford counties within the Standardized Assessment Protocol project--Support, Incorporated! Support, Inc, which was founded in 2001, is located in Gaston, Lincoln, Cleveland, and Catawba County and is contracted with several Managed Care Organizations within North Carolina. Support, Inc has a strong clinical model that incorporates behavioral practices and ecosystemic principles—they aim to combine both...
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Pandemic Fatigue in the Child Welfare Workforce
Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence project works closely with child welfare workers to address trauma in families across the state of North Carolina. We are often inspired by the hard work and dedication we see from our state’s child welfare workers. Their days are centered around supporting those in need, and often helping those who find themselves in crisis. It is demanding work and research shows child welfare work and professionals in social services experience higher rates of stress...
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Trauma-Informed Early Childhood Initiatives [CTIPP]
CTIPP CAN Call - Trauma-Informed Early Childhood Initiatives - September 15th, 2-3:30pm ET/11am-12:30pm PT - Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/742183645 Meeting ID: 742 183 645 One tap mobile +19292056099,,742183645# US (New York) Please join us for next week's CTIPP CAN Call, which will focus on building mental well-being for infants, toddlers and preschoolers and the adults who care for them. This month's presentation will feature Drs. Kaitlin Mulcahy and Gerry Costa, and Kelly...
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CTSHealth
CTSHealth was established in 2001 as a continuity of care service in Charlotte, NC. They had an initial interest in foster care awareness which has ultimately led to additional service implementation. Most recently, these additional services included participation in Benchmarks’ SAP project. CTSHealth provides community support adult services, outpatient treatment services, and rehabilitative behavioral health services. They strive to implement trauma-informed and trauma-aware services by...
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Saying Farewell: Davidson County Child Welfare Stays Trauma Informed
At the end of this month, we at Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence will be saying farewell to our DavCard partnership- partnership between Davidson County Department of Social Services (DSS) and Cardinal Innovations Managed Care Organization. Over the past four and a half years Benchmarks has worked alongside leadership at both Cardinal Innovations and Davidson County DSS to implement our trauma-informed system alignment project known as PFE. Through this initiative, Davison County DSS,...
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Interpersonal Violence Effects on Mother and Her Unborn Child: Implications from the Womb throughout the Lifespan
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. During this month, efforts to increase awareness regarding interpersonal violence are more prominent via media outlets and community events. Though interpersonal violence affects many different groups, a particularly vulnerable group are pregnant women. According to research by University of California at San Francisco, twenty percent (20%) of women experience violence during pregnancy. Experiencing interpersonal violence is more common...
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Pitt County Department of Social Services Hosts Annual 'Bready Bear' Event
Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) project works closely with local child welfare agencies to implement trauma-informed shifts in the community. This is done through educating the community on the effects of trauma while also working with local child welfare agencies to screen youth who become involved and connect them with a Trauma Intensive Comprehensive Clinical Assessment (TiCCA). As a result, we know many of our youth in foster care experience higher rates of trauma than their...
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Benchmarks Engages in Local Efforts to Mirror Statewide Health Integration
For those who may not be aware, July 1, 2021, North Carolina (NC) launched a large transformation within its Medicaid program, referred to as Medicaid Transformation. Prior to this transformation, Medicaid recipients’ physical and behavioral health needs were handled as separate issues because of “ how” and “ where” funds were managed. For recipients, this separation often resulted in service dis-cohesion for those with co-morbidities or co-occurring mental and physical health needs. Since...
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Warning: Positive Changes Ahead!
Benchmarks is pleased to announce the implementation of a new project which seeks to improve the lives of children in the child welfare system. In conjunction with Vaya Health, a Medicaid managed care organization in North Carolina, we are excited to begin this important work. We believe this project has the potential to greatly impact the services children receive, the way professionals work together, and enhance the lives of the families we serve. Benchmarks has proven success in project...
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All Systems Go! Vaya Health and Benchmarks Kickoff Child Welfare Project with DSS Directors
Earlier this month we announced Benchmarks will be working on a new project with Vaya Health, a Medicaid managed care organization in North Carolina, to improve the lives of children in the child welfare system. Benchmarks will provide consulting and training services regarding the alignment of practices of the local child welfare system and the behavioral healthcare provider system. To jumpstart this effort, Vaya and Benchmarks invited each DSS Director from Vaya’s current 22 counties as...
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Cultural Competency in Multi-Regional Project Implementation
We have been sharing updates about one of our newest projects with Vaya Health and we hope you have been following along! On the front-end of the project, we are continuing to meet with stakeholders to collect valuable information that will help propel our work forward. Behind the scenes, we are analyzing county-specific data with a culturally competent lens in order to gain a better view of the unique strengths, needs and challenges for each county and how those views impact the system as a...
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Continuing Culture Change: CDC Trains Emergency Responders in Trauma-informed Care
Continuing Culture Change: CDC Trains Emergency Responders in Trauma-informed Care At Benchmarks, we invest time and resources into training child welfare colleagues on the importance of having a trauma-informed workplace. We believe it is important for the children and families to receive trauma-informed care as well as employees to recognize symptoms of secondary traumatic stress. It is very rewarding knowing that ultimately children and families in child welfare are getting the...
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What You See Depends on Where You Sit
Benchmarks is very grateful for the opportunity to host child welfare stakeholder focus groups as part of a new project with Vaya Health. Vaya is committed to providing quality services to our most vulnerable population- children that have experienced trauma, child abuse and neglect. As a part of the child welfare project, the data collection process will include the typical number crunching, quantitative data analysis, but we know that does not always capture the entire story. In order to...
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Why Universally Screen for Trauma?
In a world where “trauma,” “trauma-informed,” and “trauma-focused” terms are not only becoming increasingly used, but also better understood, sometimes one needs to take a step back and take stock of why we are doing the work that we are doing. Reflecting and remembering why the identification of trauma and being trauma-informed and-focused in our work and lives is important. There is a myriad of things that we can re-visit and evaluate for both their usefulness and effectiveness in trauma...
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Partnering to Care for Families: Highlighting the Work of Integrated Family Services
Benchmarks’ Center for Quality Integration (CQi) would like to say Happy Anniversary to our partners at Integrated Family Services! A year ago, the agency made the decision to join the Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) initiative between Trillium Health Resources and two of their partnering child welfare organizations in Pitt and Craven counties. Since joining, Integrated Family Services (IFS) has been more than just a stellar partner. Their commitment to collaborating with...
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Human Trafficking Risk Screening Project in Children’s Homes in North Carolina
Human trafficking and child sex trafficking are topics being more widely discussed across the state of North Carolina than ever before. Human service agencies are beginning to shift their focus to better understand and address this issue. Following changes within the child welfare system’s utilization of congregate care and the implementation of the Families First Prevention Services Act, one major implication that has become known are the risk factors that heighten a child’s likelihood of...
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Opportunities for Healing: Exploring Strategies to Improve Racial Disproportionalities & Disparities in Child Welfare
Research shows that due to substantial histories of abuse, neglect, and increased exposure to trauma, youth in foster care have exceptional concerns regarding their mental health needs. “Rates of psychiatric symptoms and disorders, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and reactive attachment disorder, are much higher in children in foster care” (Lohr & Jones, 2016). When we couple this knowledge with data on racial disproportionality and...
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A Trauma-Informed Approach to Court
As a result of a 2015 federal review of child welfare practices in North Carolina, the North Carolina Administrative Offices of Court and other judicial partners engaged local court and local social services offices to address issues of children receiving permanency. District Permanency Collaboratives were established as a result of the federal a review of child welfare practices. The collaboratives in each North Carolina judicial district were charged to hold quarterly meetings to include...
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Takeaways from the 2022 Kids: Empowered Communities Driving Change Conference
Benchmarks’ staff attended the virtual policy summit hosted by NC Child and the NC Essentials for Childhood Initiative on March 29 th and 30 th . The two-day conference was packed with inspirational messages from child advocates across North Carolina. After a formal opening from NC Child Executive Director, Michelle Hughes, and a moving keynote address with a call to action by Reverend Dr. Starsky Wilson of the Children’s Defense Fund, organizers from across the state came together to host...
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Sandhills Center Dives into TiCCA Work in the Midst of Change Whirlwinds
Change is difficult anytime an organization must undergo it, but it is doubly hard when that organization is navigating multiple systemic changes. Add in growing the organization’s number of consumers and partner agencies to the mix, and things can feel downright impossible. In the past year, North Carolina’s Local Management Entities-Managed Care Organizations (LME-MCOs) have weathered re-alignments, with some North Carolina counties choosing to shift to another LME-MCO catchment area.
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Healthy Opportunities Pilot Launches in North Carolina
The Healthy Opportunities Pilot is one of many innovative approaches the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) has taken in the last few years in its commitment to developing a system suited to improve the health and wellbeing of North Carolinians. Research shows that while quality medical care is critical, up to 80% of a person’s health is determined by social and environmental factors. The Healthy Opportunities pilot aims to implement a series of well researched,...
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The Impact of Trauma on Physical Health
Trauma has a significant impact on many aspects of a child’s life. Trauma exposure has an effect on overall health and well-being, contributing to complications and concerns with emotional and physical health throughout the life span. Over the past twenty years, there has been more research and acknowledgement of the overall impact that trauma has from childhood through adulthood. At Benchmarks, we strive to develop and implement innovative programs and processes that mitigate the effects of...
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A Vision for Pathways to Permanency
Last summer Benchmarks began facilitating a project to address the overwhelming challenges facing the child welfare serving system in North Carolina. When Vaya Health, a Medicaid managed care organization in North Carolina, approached Benchmarks about managing the project they recognized negative impacts on youth in foster care from the longstanding misalignment between the child welfare and the behavioral healthcare system. We began by hearing from stakeholders about how to best meet the...
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Why Use a Standardized Battery of Measures in Mental Health Assessments?
The question posed in the title is one that Benchmarks’ project managers and coordinators hear often during our implementation work within our state’s social services and mental health agencies. As busy as our mental health clinicians are, why would we want them to spend more time completing a battery of measures for children and families that need to get into services as quickly as possible? Isn’t it better to get their basic comprehensive clinical assessment completed quickly and start...
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