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Home -> What is CAF?
Circle Around Families (CAF), Child Mental Health Initiative (CMHI) for Northwest Indiana, is a system of care development initiative targeted to 147,000 people living in the communities of East Chicago, Gary, and Hammond, Indiana. The Initiative is designed as a child-centered and
family-focused system with services provided to families coordinated within the context of the existing family strengths and needs. The Initiative reflects the notion that the system of care is community based, with governance informed by the desires of community residents. Project goals
involve three areas:
- Parent empowerment and participation through the creation of a parent organization.
- Creation of a seamless community infrastructure through interagency collaboration, blended funding mechanisms, and a wraparound service process
- Enhanced mental health services for children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbance through the expansion of the traditional and non-traditional array of services
Circle Around Families (CAF), Child Mental Health Initiative (CMHI) for Northwest Indiana, is built upon the belief that wraparound services for children and families must be coordinated within the context of the existing family and child strengths and needs. The design of Circle Around Families
reflects the notion that the system of care is child-centered and community-based; with the locus of services, care, and administration based upon the parental involvement. Enrollment of families in the Initiative began November 2000. State and local community agencies, other
stakeholders and parents have been meeting regularly as the Northwest Indiana Collaborative Consortium. Representatives from education, juvenile justice, mental health, family and children services, the Federation of Families - Family Action Network and parents are seated at the table
of the Consortium.
Children will be referred from four distinct referral sources; parent advocates, child welfare, juvenile court, education, and mental health (including Behavioral Health referrals from Head Start XXI). Given the poverty that exists in the project service area, a general priority will
be placed upon addressing the needs of children living in low income neighborhoods. Research indicates that access to services is generally harder for low income populations and that racial bias may occur in the patterns of referral and institutionalization (Pavkov, Lewis, & Lyons,
1989). The project will pay close attention to these factors during the referral process, but will also provide access to services to all children who apply regardless of their background.
In Indiana, many children do not qualify for "emotional handicap" status because they may have behavior/conduct disorders which do not qualify them for services under Indiana Article 7. Behavioral issues exhibited in the classroom can force many school systems who lack resources
for effective behavioral interventions, to expel students. This project will focus on these students in the recruitment process, and through support and expanded services, such as tutoring, mentoring, and in-classroom support, aim to keep youth in their home schools.
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