Breakthrough project - the breakthrough project, located in orlando, florida will serve children ages 0-8 exhibiting symptoms of a mental health disorder and located in high-risk ZIP codes for…

Breakthrough project - the breakthrough project, located in orlando, florida will serve children ages 0-8 exhibiting symptoms of a mental health disorder and located in high-risk ZIP codes for poverty, crime, child maltreatment, negative health outcomes and domestic violence. The county in conjunction with the youth mental health commission (ymhc), an eighteen member board, project offers strong positive mental health assessment and interventions utilizing evidence-based practices while strengthening infrastructure for the identified early childhood systems. Project goals are focused on improving the early childhood infrastructure, increasing the capacity of the community to provide early screening and intervention, improving the competency level of early childhood providers and pediatric offices to respond effectively to the behavioral, social and emotional needs of young children, increasing the use of evidence-based practices in mental health treatment centers for young children and their families and increasing the capacity of the healthy start coalition of orange county (hscoc) to provide clinical support to parents. Assessment is the foundation of an effective system and the project will utilize screen approximately 200 children per year using the ages and stages questionnaire, social emotional, version 2 (ASQ:SE-2) and the child and adolescent needs and strengths assessment (cans) to determine the strengths and needs of the family. Children needing intensive service will be provided with parent child interaction therapy (pcit) or child parent psychotherapy (CPP). The project will serve 50 children the first year, 75 children the second year and 100 children the third and fourth year for a combined service to 325 children in this modality. Expectant mothers and young toddlers identified as high-risk for negative outcomes will receive supports via the evidence-based nurse family partnership home visiting program under the healthy start coalition. The infrastructure for early childhood will be expanded with the provision of early childhood mental health consultation - georgetown model to increase the competency of early childhood providers. A web-based referral, assessment, and navigation model will be expanded to families and the community. Additionally trainings to increase expertise on early childhood mental health will be provided throughout the community and will initially focus on clinicians providing mobile crisis services and those within the school system. Orange county seeks to sustain the systemic gains from prior system of care awards and expand effective assessment, interventions and supports to children and their families.