The Health District is part of a community partnership that received a pair of grants totaling nearly $1 million to expand the range of behavioral health services available to children, adolescents and young adults in Larimer County.

The grants will fund specialized staffing at the Health District, SummitStone Health Partners and Poudre School District—all members of the Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Partnership—who will work together to support local families struggling to find help for what could be mental illness or a substance use disorder.

“Parents looking for answers have told us that they didn’t know where to start, and that they often got little support in a process that can be very lengthy as a child grows and changes,” says Lin Wilder, director of the Healthy Mind Matters program at the Health District.

Parents sometimes are unsure if the behavioral issues their children are experiencing are just a “normal phase,” or the result of a developmental issue, mental illness or substance use, Wilder says.

The new funding will increase families’ access to assessment services that can pinpoint potential problems and smooth a path toward appropriate treatment, and then help connect families with treatment providers.  

“The earlier you can identify a mental health or substance use disorder, the earlier you can intervene and the better the outcome,” Wilder says.

The two grants will support a new coordinated effort called the Child, Adolescent and Young Adult Connections (CAYAC) Team, which will be headquartered at Connections, the mental health and substance use resource operated jointly in Fort Collins by the Health District and SummitStone Health Partners.

That team will include: a child/adolescent psychiatrist; a child/adolescent clinical psychologist; a school liaison from Poudre School District’s mental health team; two care coordinators; mental health specialists; and a family support partner, an individual who has “walked in the shoes” of families seeking help and can offer support and guidance based on experience.

Major funding for the CAYAC Team comes from The Denver Foundation, which is providing $465,746; and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Children Youth and Families Branch, which is providing $510, 950. The latter grant was awarded as part of the State Innovation Model (SIM), which uses federal dollars to encourage innovative changes to Colorado’s health-care system. Both grants are for three years. Funding is also being provided by the Health District and SummitStone Health Partners.

The CAYAC Team is expected to be fully staffed and able to offer complete services by early summer. Anyone interested in the CAYAC Team can call Connections at 221-5551.