Project Details
Sarasota Early Childhood Mental Health Partnership System of Care Evaluation
Description
This project is the result of the cooperative efforts of child-serving agencies, organizations, and professionals, families of children with serious emotional disturbance, and other interested stakeholders who believe that there is a need to re-organize the way that mental health services and supports are provided for children in Sarasota County, Florida. In this initiative, the Sarasota Early Childhood Mental Health Partnership will establish a system of care that initially will target infants and young children. Over a six-year period, the Early Childhood Collaborative Project will improve and increase mental health and non-mental health services and supports provided for very young children consistent with system-of-care principles and best practices. The project will link a newly created system of care with elements of the early childhood, child welfare, and health care systems; and provide comprehensive training and technical assistance to ensure that these linkages remain in place. Ilene Berson, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Child and Family Studies at the University of South Florida, will direct the project evaluation. Consultation and technical assistance also will be provided by other USF/FMHI faculty, including Norin Dollard, Mary Armstrong, and Mario Hernandez.