Agenda - 10-30-2002 - 1 (AOG) - Laserfiche WebLink

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Gwen Harvey- I. Planning - Rev Oct.doc Page 9 i monies. The project has made funds available to hire "support brokers"who are accountable to the participant with developmental disabilities. The support broker assists in planning and coordinating the needed services as identified in the person-centered plan and individual budget. System of Care Grant In 1999,OPC received a federal System of Care Grant to develop community-based services for children with serious emotional disturbance and their families. Child and Family Teams and interagency collaboration are core components of the system of care approach.The existing Orange and Chatham Community Collaborative and a Person Community Collaborative serve as the local management structure for the System of Care project. Involved with OPC in this Collaborative are parents of children with serious emotional disturbance,Family Advocates,Department of Social Service staff,Juvenile Justice,local schools,Guardian ad Litem,community agencies(including. Chatham Together and the Mental Health Association)and interested community members. The Collaborative has many responsibilities including budget oversight for the grant, identifying and coordinating services and resources across child serving agencies, identifying training needs and exploring resource development opportunities. In 2001,the System of Care project for OPC initiated a resource project involving community partners, families and private foundations to explore the pooling of public funds and acquisition of private funds in order to expand the continuum of services for children with serious emotional disturbance. Deaf Services In FY 2000 the OPC Area Program was approached by the State Division of MH/DD/SAS,Adult Mental Health Section,with a request to consider taking on the coordination and delivery of services to the deaf and hard of hearing for part of the North Central Region. The Area Program agreed to this request and at the end of that fiscal year hired two coordinators, one for Adult Services and one for Child and Youth Services. These positions serve the OPC catchment area with direct therapy and case management services. They also provide consultative services and limited direct service to Durham, Alamance,Caswell,Vance,Granville, Franklin,Warren,Rockingham and Randolph counties. In addition to individual client services,the Coordinators work collaboratively with the area programs and other service and community providers to access resource/service needs and develop therapeutic,vocational,recreational,and social services for the deaf and hard of hearing throughout the area. They also serve as advocates and educators in obtaining and enhancing access to services and improving the quality of a range of services. They do outreach case finding,coordinate specialized services, including interpreter services and provide linkage to the State Coordinator for Deaf Services. A consequence of the establishment of these coordinator positions has been a dramatic increase in the accessing of these specialized services,as consumers needing them have