Medicaid Managed Care - U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging

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Children Come First of Dane County
provides individualized care
Providing appropriate and cffectivc behavioral mental health came to cdildren with severe emotional
disorders is not easy.
Because these children are often difficult to control and can be a danger to themselves and othem. they are
often secn as a chatlcngc too big for school systems. menial health agencis juvenile justice systems, and
tbeir families each to handle alone. Often institutional placement for these children srems like the oest
solution.
However, one Wisconsin behavioral meital healmh program is having stcc ' re neatring clildren
with severe emotional disorders.
By coordinating the efforts of school systems. mental health agencies, juvenle justice systems, and
families, Children Come First of Dane County is helping many children receive the Individualized,
coordinated cmre they need to get better.
In many cases. the programn's efforts ame rcsultirg in enough rehahilitation and developm tal growth in the
children to allow them to live in their communities instead of being instintitonalized
The framework for Children Come First of Dane County has been established by the Children Come First
AcL which was passed in the Wisconsin 1987-1989 Budget Act The act cteated a new section of the
Wisconsin stamtuts. 4656. and added amendments to other sections of the Sgatgs.
The act prescribes how to develop a coordinated system of care in which multiple agcncics work together
to help children and families wittimultiple needs.
The act also authorizes public educational and human service agencies to collaborate in planning and
providing snrvices and directs the Depattnmi of Health and Family Services to provide techtical
assistance and statewide coordination for Children Come First programs throughout the state.
Througyb the Children Come First of Dane County program, everyone who has a role in helping the
participating child comes together to develop the child's treatmentplan. This includes both formal support
proiders. such as teachers. doctors. social workers, and psychologists, and infomasupport providers,
such as family members, foster parents, and other individuals who play an important role in the child's life.
This group appro3ch to developing the child treatment plan helps facilitate agreement about the
appropriate treatent for the child and whet each member's responsibility is in providirr that teannent.
The result is coordinated. consistent nteatment tailored to the child's and family needs. a goal which is
difficult to achieve if each agency is developing its oft ttpaxrte teameat plia for the chuild
By including informal suppors providers in the development of the child's treatment plan. the program
aims to ensure the family's needs ame represented An added advantage is tha itformal sapport providers
will be able to offer continued support and guidance Lo the child after completion of the program.
Unlike rnany other behavioral mencal health programs. Children Come First of Dane Counry provides
individualized, family-driven care based on the child's and family's smengths. rTe progam uses the
'wtapaziund' philosophy of case described in the Idren Come First Act
The wraparound philosophy stresses the need for services to be based on the specific necds of the child and
family rather than on predecermined service slots This philosophy also grants the use of flexible, noncategorized
funding to obtain unique but necessary er-vices for the child and family. such as in-home
assistance or recrtetional and instructional activities, that cannot be paid for through categorized funding.