{"id":128179,"date":"2024-03-07T17:53:49","date_gmt":"2024-03-07T22:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=128179"},"modified":"2024-03-07T17:53:49","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T22:53:49","slug":"one-year-in-kidspeace-and-lehigh-county-highlight-success-of-free-walk-in-mental-health-assessments-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=128179","title":{"rendered":"One Year In, KidsPeace and Lehigh County Highlight Success of Free Walk-In Mental Health Assessments Partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>SCHNECKSVILLE, PA (March 7, 2024)<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 One year into their innovative partnership to make mental health assessments more available to families in need, KidsPeace and Lehigh County are calling the effort\u00a0<strong>an outstanding success in improving access to mental healthcare services.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In February 2023 the two entities announced that\u00a0<strong>the county would provide financial support for KidsPeace\u2019s offering of free walk-in mental health assessments\u00a0<\/strong>at its Lehigh County clinics on Green Street in Allentown and its Broadway Campus in Fountain Hill.\u00a0 Families facing a mental health challenge or crisis can have a child or adult\u00a0<strong>assessed by a clinical professional free of charge and without an appointment<\/strong>, and receive a safety screening, risk assessment and a safety plan, as well as recommendations on further care.<\/p>\n<p>KidsPeace Executive Director of PA Community Programs Chris Ferry said thanks to the partnership, a total of\u00a0<strong>274 Lehigh County residents received a free walk-in assessment during 2023<\/strong>\u00a0&#8211; and more than two-thirds of them were connected to a service afterwards for ongoing support.<\/p>\n<p>Ferry added that post-visit surveys\u00a0<strong>reinforced the value the service provided<\/strong>\u00a0to those who received assessments:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>94%<\/strong>\u00a0of individuals surveyed stated that their experience with the walk-in service was positive.<\/li>\n<li><strong>84%<\/strong>\u00a0agreed that the service helped them avoid a potential crisis.<\/li>\n<li>And fully half of those surveyed noted that\u00a0<strong>the walk-in service helped them avoid an emergency room visit<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 one of the main goals of the KidsPeace walk-in assessment program.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Comments from the surveys include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201c<em>We feel like we were heard and are coming out with a comprehensive next step.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>\u201cVery professional and careful to explain everything.\u00a0 Highly appreciated.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>\u201cI feel this will give us some answers to our questions.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>\u201cGood experience and clear next steps.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>\u201cI appreciate all the help I was given for my mental health.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The partnership also included funding for\u00a0<strong>a case manager to focus on follow-up care<\/strong>\u00a0with all Lehigh County residents after their walk-in assessment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe case manager reviews the recommended level of care, provides guidance for next steps, completes the walk-in survey, and offers to connect to any services that would be beneficial,\u201d Ferry said.\u00a0 \u201cThe case manager has helped consumers navigate the mental health system, assisted consumers with completing Medicaid paperwork, secured stable housing as needed, and offered a virtual check-in group as a bridge gap until services are started. We\u2019re proud to note that\u00a0<strong>every one of the Lehigh County residents who completed a walk-in assessment in 2023 also received an outreach call from the case manager afterwards<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Data from the walk-ins show that 53% of individuals assessed are aged 4 to 12-years, with 36% aged 13 to 18-years. The top three presenting issues for a walk-in include School\/Home\/Daycare issues (28%), Suicidal Ideations (27%), and Anger\/Aggression (14%).<\/p>\n<p>Joshua Bridges, Lehigh County\u2019s Administrator for Mental Health, Intellectual Disabilities, Early Intervention Services, and Drug &amp; Alcohol, noted that the agreement with KidsPeace originated with the desire to help families struggling with mental and behavioral healthcare challenges.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur goal with this program was to make mental health care more accessible. We felt we needed to provide families an alternative to waiting weeks or even months to see a mental health professional or clinician,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<strong>One year in, we believe the program is accomplishing that goal.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ferry said that in the ten years that KidsPeace has provided walk-in assessments,\u00a0<strong>more than 6,000 families, children and adults were able to find appropriate care for individuals who are suffering a mental health crisis<\/strong>, while at the same time the program diverts those cases from traditional hospital emergency departments.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>If you or your family are facing a mental health challenge or crisis, free walk-in assessments are available during business hours at the following KidsPeace locations<\/em><\/strong><em>:<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Green Street Clinic<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>801 E. Green St.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Allentown, Pa 18109<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>610\/799-8910<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Family Center at Broadway Campus<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>1620 Broadway<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Bethlehem, PA 18015<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>610\/799-8600<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Since 1882, KidsPeace has been building on its expertise to give hope, help and healing to children, adults and those who love them. Through its comprehensive range of residential treatment programs; accredited educational services; unique psychiatric hospital and foster care and community-based programs, KidsPeace is dedicated to helping people connect, transform and overcome their challenges to ensure a stable future, transition to adulthood and gain independence. Since its doors opened, 300,000 children have participated in one of the multitude of programs KidsPeace offers.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>For additional resources or more information on how to get involved, become a foster parent or make a donation, please visit\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.kidspeace.org\/\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=http:\/\/www.kidspeace.org&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1709932495843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1ZkFNxyMXmlC1yM57YvQri\">www.kidspeace.org<\/a>. Follow us at\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kidspeace.org\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kidspeace.org&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1709932495843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1tzfnXFG1R0oRH5_LVdg_U\">www.facebook.com\/kidspeace.org<\/a>\u00a0or on Twitter @KidsPeace.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Information Provided By:<br \/>\nRobert Martin<br \/>\nDirector of Communications<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SCHNECKSVILLE, PA (March 7, 2024)\u00a0\u2013 One year into their innovative partnership to make mental health assessments more available to families in need, KidsPeace and Lehigh County are calling the effort\u00a0an &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=128179\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">One Year In, KidsPeace and Lehigh County Highlight Success of Free Walk-In Mental Health Assessments Partnership<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":105500,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/kidspeace.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128179"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=128179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128179\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/105500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=128179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=128179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=128179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}