The Child and Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP) came to Potter County in 1992. The Potter County CASSP Team meets as needed. A service of Potter County Mental Health, the Child and Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP) is an integrated approach to service and delivery planning for children and adolescents who are experiencing significant difficulties in physical, cognitive, emotional, behavioral or social areas of development. The expertise and decision-making authority of the agency representatives is brought together in CASSP making it possible, in one meeting, to bring the full range of services to bear upon the challenge, thus increasing communication and support for the child/youth and their family. The CASSP team reviews cases referred, makes recommendations for services and develops a service plan for the client and his/her family. This consistently unified approach to children’s services will improve the effectiveness of all child-serving agencies and may result in new program development as service needs are identified and defined.
To be eligible for CASSP a child or adolescent (under the age of 21) must meet the following criteria:
— be at risk for out-of-home placement
— have had a recent psychiatric hospitalization
— be involved in more than one child-serving system
— have a mental health diagnosis that is impacting on his ability to function at home, school or in the community.
If a child does not have a mental health diagnosis, he/she will still be reviewed by the CASSP Team who will then make a recommendation that a psychiatrist or psychologist assess the child for a possible mental health diagnosis.
Coordination of service provision Services are voluntary and free. Emphasis is on consumer choice.
Services are child/adolescent centered, family focused, and community based and sensitive to cultural differences and promote the least restrictive, intrusive approach.
Please call Potter County Human Services Mental Health Department to talk with our CASSP Coordinator