ANNUAL REPORT 2003 - Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic

FAMILY-CENTERED PROGRAMS
System of Care
The Los Angeles Child
Guidance Clinic is a
participating agency in
the county-based System of Care
program. This interagency program
coordinates services for seriously
emotionally disturbed children
involved in multiple public service
systems (e.g., the Departments of
Mental Health, Children and Family
Services and Probation) who are at
risk for placement in a group home
or more restrictive setting.
The Clinic’s role in the System of
Care is the delivery of communitybased
and in-home mental health
and case management services. Each
family is assigned a therapist and a
family advocate who help the family
in identifying and working toward
their treatment goals. The treatment
team maintains small caseloads to
ensure their availability to provide
individualized, intensive services.
Each family actively participates in
the program and becomes a member
the System of Care treatment team.
In support of family-centered
programming, the System of Care
embraces:
• FAMILY AND CHILD STRENGTHS
• PARENTS AS PARTNERS AND PART
OF THE SOLUTION
• IN-HOME, COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES
• PARENT ADVOCACY AND SUPPORT
• FLEXIBLE SERVICES TAILORED TO THE
NEEDS OF EACH FAMILY
Parent Night
The "Parent Night" component of our After-School Day
Treatment program provides quality time to engage in
fun activities that facilitate positive interactions between
children and their caregivers.
The first half of "Parent Night" is dedicated to a parent-child
activity, such as playing board games or creating art projects
together. The second half of the evening involves the parents
in a support group run by therapists, which provides help and
encouragement from the treatment team, as well as from other
caregivers.
In this setting, caregivers whose children have been in the
program for a longer period are often able to gain perspective
on how far their children have come during their treatment.
They realize their progress when they can say to newer parents
“my child used to do that, too.”
With the caregiver’s active involvement in the treatment of their
child, there is a better chance that the child’s accomplishments
in the program will be maintained in the home and school
environments.
MISSION POSSIBLE | 8