Resource and Service Coordination
Medical Home Plus provides information, advice, support and guidance specifically designed for professionals and parents of children and adolescents with special health care needs. Youth may include those with chronic illnesses such as asthma or diabetes, attention deficit disorder/attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, or more complex needs as with a child with severe-profound mental retardation, one who is medically fragile with multiple health/educational needs, or any number of special needs. This is done through:
RESOURCE REFERRALS – to obtain information on who/how to contact for access to specific services. For example, providing a family member with the contact information, or making a referral to a provider on behalf of a family (with their permission).
SERVICE COORDINATION – provides a more comprehensive and complex form of support. For example, Medical Home Plus provides direct assistance in obtaining available services. It helps families by developing advocacy strategies, providing intensive support to families while they assess the services available to them, or assistance in the development of an individualized education plan (IEP) or care plan. They may need someone to accompany them to an IEP meeting. Care planning is a process that provides specific medical information, emergency and action plans. The entire team caring for a child or adolescent – parents, caregivers, health care professionals, educators – can benefit from having a comprehensive and individualized plan of care to provide clear-cut information regarding the
child's medical information, potential emergency care needs and ongoing action needed to provide continuity of care.
Medical Home Plus is committed to providing these services to children with
special health care needs, to ensuring access to available services, decreasing fragmentation of services and access to resources, and improving current delivery systems, thereby improving the lives of those with special health care needs and their families.
The vast majority of professionals and community members involved in the work of Medical Home Plus are themselves parents of special needs children. They are intensely committed to work of Medical Home Plus.
Children and Family
Behavioral Health Policy and Planning Committee
Working Together to Build a System of Care
(Study authorized by 2004 Virginia General
Assembly, Budget Item 330-F)
Fact
Approximately 70% of children with mental health problems do not receive the
treatment they need. Children with untreated mental disorders are at higher
risk for school failure, dropping out, violence, drug abuse, suicide, and
criminal activity. (Voices for Virginia’s Children, 2005)
It is time to act! Please
make vulnerable children a high priority in Virginia by acting on these
solutions and investing $8.24 million this year as a down payment on their
futures.
Virginia needs a better way to serve children and families with
behavioral health care needs. We endorse these increased funds to help build a
strong system of care across the Commonwealth. A strong system of care will
help guarantee that children and families who have mental health, mental
retardation, or substance abuse services needs will have quick access to those
services in their communities. We must train more professionals to work with
children and families. These professionals must be able to use programs that
work! See the attached
Fact Sheet and
Endorsement Form –
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