Children’s Crisis Outreach
Response Services
A stronger "front door" to crisis services for youth and adolescents has
opened to help local families get 24-hour outreach and stabilization services
for their children in need. Improvements to the county's mental health crisis
response system implemented May 2005 work to stabilize youth and families and
quickly connect them to community supports and services to prevent further harm.
The Crisis Clinic serves as the entry point to crisis services for
children, in addition to adults – ensuring a single, countywide, integrated and
comprehensive system of crisis response for residents of all ages. The Young
Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) of Greater Seattle provides the 24-hour mobile outreach, stabilization
beds and services, and linkages to community supports needed by youth and
families in crisis.
The Children's Crisis Outreach Response System
focuses on safely and quickly containing the crisis, and developing an
individualized service plan maximizing the involvement of the child and family.
Access is available 24 hours per day through the Crisis Clinic at 206-461-3222
or 1-866-4CRISIS. Services provided through the YMCA are also available 24 hours
per day, including:
- Mobile crisis outreach services - specially trained teams
dispatched to the family home to help deescalate the situation, while working
with the family to establish ongoing services and supports to prevent future
crises. Outreach services include mental health and suicide risk assessments
and links to community resources.
- Non-emergent outreach appointments provided within 24-48 hours for
those families who are not in acute crisis but need quick support and linkage
to services.
- Crisis stabilization services – the provision of in-home supports,
based on the family’s needs, to stabilize the youth and the family following
the initial acute crisis. For those with more intensive needs, longer-term
stabilization services (up to eight weeks) are available.
- Crisis stabilization beds provided in a family-like home setting
and usually short-term (up to 14 days) to help stabilize youth who cannot
immediately be safely maintained within their own homes.
For more information on the Children's Crisis Outreach Response System please
contact Martin Cross, Downtown Seattle YMCA at 206-382-4927 or
mcross@fsmh.seattleymca.org.
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