Help is Available: Finding Resources for Families with Parental Mental Illness California Institute for Mental Health November 3, 2004

PREVALENCE OF PARENTHOOD

Impact on Children Studies have shown that: – Children whose parents have mental illness are at greater risk for developing problems, but child outcomes appear to be related to many variables, alone or in combination with parental mental illness Over the last decade, there has been increased attention to parents with mental illness and their children, which has led to some innovative programs for families with parental mental illness

Steps Toward Evidence-Based Practices Program for Parenting Well at the Center for MH Service Research at the Univ. of Mass. And SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services collaborated on a project to identify and describe some promising interventions for families with parental mental illness

Promising Programs Children and Parents Together (CAPT) – Commack, New York Emerson-Davis Family Development Center – Brooklyn, New York Family Support Services/PACE Program – Iowa City, Iowa Invisible Children’s Program – Goshen, New York San Francisco General Hospital Consultation/Liaison Program – San Francisco, CA

Core Components Family case management Comprehensive array of services Coordination and communication Flexible funds Crisis intervention services Education – child development, parent-child relationships, parenting skills

Key Ingredients Family-centered, strength-based values and practices Trusting emotionally supportive relationship between provider and consumer Integration of adult and child mental health service system Interagency collaboration