(Editor’s note: This is part four of a series of five stories
regarding National Child Abuse Prevention Month and services
available in McKean County for families and children. For more
information on any of the services, contact one of the agencies
listed in the stories.)
Among the levels of mental health and behavioral assistance
available for children and families in McKean County are one that
wraps services around clients.
The Guidance Center, Port Psychological Services Inc., and
Beacon Light Behavioral Health Systems Inc., all offer wrap-around
services, where clients can be referred by doctors, teachers or
therapists.
“If a child is acting out, if a mom and dad may have issues and
it isn’t a clear case of abuse or neglect, we will refer them to
wrap-around services,” explained Duane Wolfe, director of McKean
County Children and Youth Services.
Kristine Kivari explained family-based services offered through
The Guidance Center. She explained the services offered include
mental health treatment programs where children have a mental
health diagnosis.
“It’s intervention in the home,” she said. “We maintain children
in their home, whenever possible, with their families. We work on
education around the mental health diagnosis.”
Therapy is offered for the child and for any family member who
wants to be involved in the treatment. All family members are
encouraged to participate, Kivari added.
“Most times, everybody in the household does get involved,” she
said.
“There is no charge to the family. If there is a medical
assistance card, it is accepted or the county covers the expense,”
she said.
“Our emphasis is on conflictual family relationships,” Kivari
added.
“Often times, families tend to be isolated,” she explained. “We
want to get them community support.”
That support includes participating in programs offered by the
Family Center.
The wrap-around services offered by Beacon Light are similar, in
that mobile therapists and therapeutic support staff work to keep
children with behavioral and emotional problems in their natural
settings, explained Kim Eaton from the agency.
“Our programs are preventative in nature,” Eaton said. “They’re
helping to prevent abuse from occurring or trying to prevent it
from re-occurring.”
A behavioral assessment is performed on a child referred to
wrap-around services to determine the cause of the inappropriate
behavior – abuse, normal behavior or reactions to stressors.
Mobile therapists work with a family, while TSS works
“one-to-one with a child,” Eaton explained.
TSS can include “normal activities with a therapeutic
component,” and also can accomplish goals in a treatment plan,
Eaton explained. The goal of the program is to transfer skills to
the child.
“Our goal is to have them do it on their own with lesser
support,” Eaton said. “The least we can do and still support the
family.”
While TSS is community-based service, it can be fairly
intensive, Wolfe said.
“That’s six to 15 hours a week with the TSS person in the house
with the child,” he said. Explaining that the therapist would come
after school possibly each night to work with the child, he added
that can become intrusive also.
And the therapists understand that as well, and work hard to
accomplish what’s best for the child with as little intrusion as
possible.
“They need to pinpoint what the issues are they need to
address,” Wolfe said of the therapists. And then, “they teach the
child what to do and teach the parent what they need to do.”
“In family-based, there is a beginning, a middle and an end to
therapy,” Eaton said. With the continuum of services available in
McKean County, when a family requests help, a provider can assess
their treatment needs and help them decide where in the continuum
they should be.
“We want to do what the family needs,” she added.
There is also help available for parents through Beacon Light.
Eaton explained she directs a community program which helps parents
learn coping skills. The better a parent is at coping with
problems, the less likely that abuse would occur, she said.
Port Psychological offers outpatient therapy for people with
private insurance. Except in certain circumstances, most other
cases are referred to The Guidance Center.
“In outpatient, we’re the least restrictive,” explained Arnie
Haskins, licensed clinical social worker with Port Psychological.
“If that isn’t enough, we can refer to a more intensive-type
setting.”
“We try to work collaboratively with other agencies in the
county,” explained Jennifer Morrison, licensed social worker. “We
don’t have a psychiatrist on staff. Travel for some of our families
is an issue.”
Because of the rural nature of McKean County, accessing some of
the services available can be difficult. And because of state
restrictions, social workers are not permitted to provide
transportation for patients to their appointments.
“Taking a child to an appointment may not be therapy, but it can
make the family’s life easier,” said David Outman, board certified
behavior analyst.
Instead, medical doctors fill what needs they can, providing
medication for disorders such as Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder. Conditions such as ADHD cause behavioral problems in
children, which, in turn, can lead to a parent becoming frustrated
or angry.
“It’s frustrating for parents,” Morrison said. “If they get to
the point where they can’t take it anymore, we call that a crisis
mode.”
