Impact is a partnership of child and family-serving agencies working in cooperation to provide coordinated services for children with Severe Emotional Disturbance (SED) and their families. The main goal of Impact is to build home-based and community systems of care for young people with SED and their families.

Impact believes that a child with SED is best helped while living at home. This is the kind of care that has proven most likely to help young people and families have life-long success.

Impact provides a system of care to help ensure that success.

What Is a System of Care?

A true system of care is a partnership of everyone who cares for a child – families, teachers, service agencies, health providers, and more.

Mental health agencies, education, child welfare, juvenile justice, and other agencies coordinate their services to ensure that a child and the family receive the services and supports they need to succeed.

These services and supports may include:

• Individual and family therapy • Collaboration with other involved agencies • Social and recreational activities • Psychiatry • Wraparound services • Home-based services • Respite care • Case management

Each child and family is assigned a caseworker who works to ensure that these coordinated and comprehensive services provide a complete system of care.

“A true system of care is a

partnership of everyone who

cares for a child – families, teachers, service agencies, health providers,

and more.”

Impact partnering agencies include Association for Children’s Mental Health; Lansing School District; Ingham Intermediate School District; Ingham Department of Human Services; Child & Family Services; Catholic Charities of St. Vincent Home; Youth and Families from Ingham County; Boys & Girls Club of Lansing; Community Mental Health Authority–C-E-I; Cristo Rey Community Center; Highfields, Inc.; Ingham County Circuit Court, Family Division; Lansing Police Department; Lutheran Social Services.

How do we make a difference?

Working as one, Impact is a team that develops an individualized service plan that builds on the unique strengths of the child and family. This plan is tailored just for them, always keeping their needs in mind as the team works to help the child and family. The family and the child have a voice in all care and services provided by the Impact team. If needed, culture and language issues are included in that system.

The Core Values of Systems of Care

Systems of Care share several core values. These values play an important role in ensuring that services and supports are effective and that they respond to the needs of each youth and family. These core values are:

• Systems of care are family-driven and youth-guided, meaning that families and youth have a significant voice in the care they receive. • Systems of care deal effectively with the culture and language of families and young people. • Systems of care are based in the community, with everyone working together to support youth and families.

What Is Impact?

What Is Severe Emotional Disturbance (SED)?Severe Emotional Disturbance (SED) is a term used to describe young people who:

• Have a diagnosable mental, emotional, or behavior disorder.• Have a significant problem in individual, home, school, and/or community functioning that has lasted, or is expected to last, for a year or more.• Are served by three or more systems or services or have issues serious enough to be served by that many systems or services.• Have a high risk of being placed out of home or in a residential treatment center or in licensed foster care.

Q: Why have you chosen to focus on this aspect of the law and judicial oversight?

JL: I believe the family division allows a judge to have the greatest direct impact on a youth or family. The focus is on treatment and assisting families to function in a much more positive manner.

Q: How long have you been a judge, and for how long have families and children been your focus?

JL: I’m in my fifth year as an Ingham County Circuit judge, in the family division. I have been involved with children and families since 1981, when I first became a licensed attorney. I focused on family and probate law in private practice, then continued to be involved in families when I worked for the Probate Court.

Q: What do you find most rewarding about this work?

JL: The ability to be a part of assisting youth and families in becoming better, healthier and stronger. It is very satisfying to see a once very troubled teen grow into an appropriate, productive and successful young adult.

Q: Why do you feel Impact will make a difference in the lives of young people with SED and their families?

JL: It will allow more direct access to the services each SED youth and family need. Many of these services will be offered in the home of the youth and will be tailored to the needs of each youth and family. Impact will serve the needs of the entire family and not just the SED youth, which should increase the likelihood of success.

Q: How will Impact serve the best interests of the community?

JL: Impact will allow most youth to remain in their homes with their families while they receive services.

As I said earlier, Impact assists the family as a whole, which will benefit the community. Also, if Impact can effectively assist the needs of the youth, the community will be safer and the youth has a better chance at becoming a productive adult. It is also more cost-effective.

Q: Why do you believe young people are better off with home-based services?

JL: Most youth are better off with home-based services because, as I said, these services assist the entire family. Very often, the problems the youth are having can be traced back to some stresses in the family. It is difficult to effectively deal with family stressors if the youth is placed out-of-home. Unfortunately, there still is a small population of youth that cannot remain in their home and must be treated out-of-home due to serious criminal behavior, safety, or other concerns.

Q: What have been the strengths of Ingham County’s system of agencies and support for children with SED and their families? In what ways will Impact improve that system?

JL: Ingham County’s system of agencies has collaborated to work toward the goal of providing immediate and seamless services for all youth with SED and their families. Bringing community resource representatives to the same table, utilizing programs established with “best practice” methods, and formulating treatment plans that are family-driven are some of the strengths of this initiative.

The Court is excited to be a part of Impact and is committed to its sustainability as a partner in our community.

Interview with Judge Janelle A. Lawless

Judge LawlessBackground

Judge Lawless is the presiding judge for the Family Division of the Ingham County 30th Circuit Court. She has a BS in political science from Central Michigan University, and her JD from Cooley Law School, awarded in 1981. Before first being elected as Circuit Court Judge for Ingham County in 2002, she was in private practice for 8 years, with an emphasis on Family/Probate Law, and served for 13 years as Probate register and Probate Court administrator, Ingham County Probate Court. Judge Lawless is married with two children.

Bradley NiklasYouth Volunteer of the Year 2006

Congratulations to Speak Your Mind member Bradley Niklas, who was recently

named as United Way Youth Volunteer of the Year 2006.

The purpose of the Family Council is to ensure family involvement and family input throughout the system of care transformation in Ingham County. The council will promote and support families to share their diverse experiences, perspectives, and ideas. The Council will attempt to assure that Impact’s system of care remains culturally relevant, family- and youth-guided, and home- and community-based.

The Family Council is a safe, non-judgmental environment for families to share their positive and negative experiences. Meetings of the Council are an opportunity for families to socialize, network, support, and educate one another. These meetings encourage families to feel confident and become more involved in Impact’s systems transformation.

The meetings also provide Impact with a continuous feedback loop for ongoing quality improvement of the system – what is working and what is not. At the same time, they serve to educate stakeholders about the cultural needs of the community. They also help to educate the community, decreasing the stigma about SED.

Members of the Family Council are residents of Ingham County that have a child with SED in the family and are engaged with at least one Impact child-serving agency. They must also be committed to working with other families and Impact, and willing to share their diverse beliefs, ideas, experiences and perspectives.

The size of the Family Council is not limited, and there are several other features of the program to encourage participation: meetings move around the county, childcare and transportation can be arranged, a Cultural & Linguistic Coordinator will recruit and facilitate the involvement of diverse cultures, and any family- specific information will not be shared outside of the meetings.

Family Council a Safe Place to Share

Speak Your Mind is composed of two youth groups that promote youth leadership and advocacy, and are dedicated to helping other youth. Participants have been involved in mental health, juvenile justice, child welfare, court, or special education.

The youth involved want to share their experience and expertise about the systems they have been involved in to help create better services, and they are dedicated to making a difference in their community. The high school group meets twice monthly, on Mondays. The middle school group meets once a month on Mondays.

Why do you participate in Speak Your Mind?

It gives me a chance to talk to other people who have had the same upbringing as me.

It helps me relax and get rid of some stress and it allows me to express MYSELF.

To help and hang out with kids my age. Also, I help kids that are going through my state and I give them my feedback.

What is the outcome of the youth meetings?

It gives me a place to hang out and vent with people my age and in my situation.

The outcome for me is that I get to talk about how I feel and meet new people that have problems like me.

I feel better. I no longer have a heavy burden on me.

I know that when we leave we actually are happy after we talk about our pasts.

How would you recommend this to others?

I would let others know about this program just through talking to them.

I would recommend this is a way of conversation if the person has strong feelings about something.

To come. It is a great program. You can find some kind of resource to help you out.

Ask what they do after school and see if they want to come and hang out.

I would ask them if they were interested in programs like this and then I would tell them about Impact and what we do and ask them if they would like to join.

Has this helped you? If so, how?

This has helped me speak out more to people in groups and it has also helped me know that I can help others.

Yes, it has helped because my home life is hard and coming here gives me a place to hang and vent.

Yes, this has helped me because I learn how to deal with my problems more. I learn to help others with their problems in better ways.

This group has helped in a way of freedom of the mind. It makes me feel positive and strong.

Yes, it has. It has let me know that I am not alone in how I feel and act. And that makes me feel a lot better.

Speak Your Mind

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This graphic shows how the resources of Impact are child- and family-centered.

Contact UsImpact System of Care5303 S. Cedar Street, Bldg. 2 Lansing, MI 48911schulz@ceicmh.org (517) 346-9597www.impactsystemofcare.org

The continuum of children’s services the state is responsible for begins with Protective Services, which conducts investigations of abuse and neglect cases and seeks court intervention when needed. When the court intervenes, the foster care program of Department of Human Services takes action.

Janet Kaley, supervisor of Foster Care and Adoption Services, supervises five foster care specialists who are responsible for developing service plans with families, children, and foster care providers.

“Initially, we look at ways to offer the family or parent services that would help remediate their issues to allow for a timely return for the child,” explains Kaley. “If parents aren’t able to remediate their circumstances, then children need alternate permanency plans.”

Kaley’s staff works to find the best permanency options for the child, so the child can have a greater sense of security about his or her future. One option is adoption, and Kaley also supervises three adoption specialists.

“There are occasions when adoption is not in the best interest of the family or the child,” says Kaley, “and another option is long-term placement with a relative.”

A third option is called a permanent foster family agreement. “We can do that if a youth, usually a teen, has developed a strong relationship with someone like a foster parent, but termination of parental rights is not in the best interests of anyone. That’s a situation in which all parties agree that this is a permanent and long- lasting relationship, but it doesn’t require guardianship or adoption,” Kaley explains.

In such cases, parents are sometimes involved in the decision, but in a situation in which the parents’ parental rights have been terminated, the state is involved in the agreement. Normally the youth has been placed in that foster situation for at least 18 months.

“We continue to provide services to that youth and support the placement,” says Kaley. “The best interests of the child are foremost, and permanency is very important.”

The concept of permanency is relatively new, says Kaley. “It came into play because children at times have been in a foster home for multiple years waiting for the parent to remediate their circumstances without ever coming close to returning home. Seeking permanency allows the child a little more opportunity to know where they are going.

“One year after the child is removed from the family, there has to be a permanency planning hearing. At that time, the court listens to the recommendations and determines whether or not it is in the best interests of the child to continue to work on reunification, or to look at other permanency plans.”

The Roles of Foster Care and Adoption

Cultural Awareness Dialogue (2 days): Conversations regarding perspectives on service delivery to children and families and the intersection of cultural awareness Day 1: A cross section of participants from system of care partner agencies together doing a self-inventory and discussion Day 2: Continue the self-inventory and discussion, ending with the development of community planFor information and dates, contact Juaquin Sanchez 346-8078

An Impact Front-Line Staff Forum to be held quarterly: • Providingopportunityforfront-linestafftodialoguearoundthebenefits/challenges of working in a system of care • To determine what additional support is needed • To develop relations with colleagues across systemsFor information and dates, contact Carol Dixon 346-8097

An Impact System of Care Orientation to be held quarterly: • Fornewemployees/agencies • ProvidehistoryoftheImpactSystemofCare–itsconfiguration,values,andprogressFor information and dates, contact Marilyn Schulz 346-9597

Calendar of Events