The Los Angeles County Departments of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and Mental Health (DMH) developed the Strategic Plan to provide a single comprehensive vision for the current and planned delivery of mental health services to children under the supervision and care of child welfare, as well as for those at-risk of entering the child welfare system. The Strategic Plan provides a detailed road map for the implementation/delivery of mental health services Countywide, in fulfillment of the objectives identified in the Katie A. Settlement Agreement, over a five-year period, and acts as the central reference for incorporating several planning efforts in this regard.
The Strategic Plan includes reference to several systems-level enhancements, which are broad in scope and speak to the larger systems reform efforts that are underway in both Departments that will be of benefit not only to the members of the Katie A. class, but those who are served by either Department as well. Fundamental to both the Strategic Plan and the larger vision and missions of the two Departments is ensuring the systematic screening, assessment, and prompt delivery of mental health services to children in the custody of DCFS or in imminent risk of foster care placement. The service delivery approach will focus on the identification of child and family needs through a strengths-based model of assessment and the development of an array of clinical, direct support, and placement services to meet those needs within the home or the most homelike setting available. The development of these services will incorporate a holistic system of care approach, deeply rooted in best practice principles for both child welfare and children’s mental health, by promoting multi-agency collaboration, cultural competence, improvements in utilization and access management, community network/provider development, and targeted finance strategies to maximize resources.
Presented by
Los Angeles County Department of
Children and Family Services
