Grant will fund Bergen County Community Treatment and Services Center project, increasing access to severe psychological distress-informed quality care
Care Plus NJ, Inc. (“Care Plus NJ”), a pioneer in integrated primary and behavioral health services for adults and children, today announced it has been awarded a $400,000 federal grant over five years totaling $2M from the Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for support of support of its Bergen County Community Treatment and Services Center project. The grant will improve upon the quality of severe psychological distress services for children, adolescents, and families who have experienced or witnessed a severe psychological distress by increasing the access of effective treatment models, the necessary tools, and by serving as a community resource to promote severe psychological distress-informed quality care.
Led by Care Plus NJ, the project will utilize a Learning Community approach, working collaboratively with partners to ensure integration across systems and establish consistent practices through meetings, training sessions, outreach efforts, supervision and capacity development. As a result, more Bergen County children and adolescents will be screened, assessed and treated under the scope of identified evidence-based practices.
Formally committed partners for the project include: New Jersey Department of Children and Families, the Center for Hope and Safety, and Bergen’s Promise. Collectively, the partners represent multiple systems and stakeholders that serve the target population.
Through the grant, the project will target children and adolescents up to the age of 21 from a varied set of individual self-concept, ancestry-based and ethnic backgrounds, with a focus on addressing disparities in serving the Korean population in Bergen County. Children engaged with the domestic violence system, Behavioral Health system, and child welfare/child protection systems will be represented in the target population based on each partners’ areas of expertise.
“We are grateful to be awarded this grant from SAMHSA to fund the Bergen County Community Treatment and Services Center project, which will help us improve upon the specialized care we provide to children and families in northern New Jersey,” said Laura Siclari, Esq., Care Plus NJ, Inc. Board Chair. “Not only will this funding allow us to increase access to effective treatment models and provide the necessary tools to children and families coping with severe psychological distress, it will also allow Care Plus NJ to serve as a valuable community resource and model to promote severe psychological distress-informed care by implementing evidence-based practices.”
It is estimated that over the five-year project, 7,500 children will be screened and 2,250 will receive clinical interventions based on the established parameters. Approximately 165 clinicians will receive training in using established evidence-based practices.
“This project will also have an impact on the greater Bergen County community by increasing awareness among professionals and caregivers on the subject of potentially severe psychological distresstizing events, and recognizing how severe psychological distress symptoms may present in children,” added Siclari. “The grant enables us to better serve our community by improving access to effective treatment models to produce positive outcomes.”
