TDMHSAS Receives New Federal Funding to Expand Services for Children, Youth, and Young Adults
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS) is receiving a new federal grant to expand the System of Care Across Tennessee Network (SOCAT-N). The four-year, $12 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) expands SOCAT services to 13 new, rural counties for service availability in all 95 Tennessee counties.
The new grant will build upon lessons learned throughout two decades of system of care implementation in Tennessee communities. The model seeks to address the social, emotional, and behavioral health needs of young people at risk of out-of-home placement including psychiatric hospitalization, foster care placement, and juvenile justice involvement. SOCAT services feature Intensive Care Coordination using a wraparound approach, implementation of community engagement strategies, and development of youth councils.
Over the past three years, SOCAT teams across the state utilizing High Fidelity Wraparound (HFW) services have been able to maintain a 90% success rate of keeping children, youth, and young adults in their homes and within their communities.
“With system of care, the interventions employed by our partner providers across the state truly change the trajectories of the lives of not only the youth but also the whole family. Being able to expand this proven program to all 95 counties in Tennessee is an incredible opportunity,” said TDMHSAS Commissioner Marie Williams, LCSW. “We’re grateful to our federal funders, the seven community mental health agencies that do this work, and each and every young person and family that trusts us to come into their homes and into their lives.”
In the application, TDMHSAS grant-writers focused on rural and distressed areas of the state. Counties receiving services under this grant include Bledsoe, Clay, Fentress, Grundy, Hancock, Hardeman, Jackson, Lake, McNairy, Morgan, Perry, Scott, and Wayne.
“What we’ve learned in two decades of system of care work in Tennessee is that when all of the different child and family serving agencies come together, collaborate, and listen, we’re able to earn the trust of the young person and their family, ensure full participation, and work together to produce better outcomes for everyone,” said Keri Virgo, MPM, TDMHSAS Director of Children, Young Adults, and Families.
Community mental health agency partner providers engaged in this work are:
- Frontier Health
- McNabb Center
- Mental Health Cooperative
- Pathways Behavioral Health
- Professional Care Services
- Tennessee Voices
- Volunteer Behavioral Health Care Services
Learn more about the System of Care Across Tennessee or make a referral at: SOCacrosstn.org.