GreeneCountyDiscussion Groups – Student Assistance Program (SAP) Session
Summary of Responses
04.18.07
A discussion group was held on April 18, 2007 from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. at the FortJackson building in Waynesburg, PA. Stakeholders from the Greene CountyStudent Assistance Program (SAP) participated in this session. There were seven (7) participants.
Participants discussed the six (6) components of the Family Resource Coordination model. Participants were asked to give their advice to the Integrated Children’s Services Planning (ICSP)team as they implement the six components.
The following are verbatim responses from the discussion group participants.
What is your advice to the ICSP team as they begin to implement integrated or lead case management in GreeneCounty?
Participant Responses:
Schools are not able to be the lead case manager as there are not enough resources to do this within the school system
From the schools perspective, it would be easier to have one person (lead case manager) to communicate with about families
Releases of information must be streamlined
Schools need to be included in the process to a greater degree
More information should be shared with schools since they see kid more often than most other resource providers
Lead case manager should be knowledgeable about all resources in the system, including the school systems
What is your advice to the ICSP team as they continue to implement multi-disciplinary teams (MDT) in GreeneCounty?
Participant Responses:
Transportation issues would need to be addressed
A variety of services and supports would need to be engaged and involved in the process
There needs to be a systemic change in perception that organizations have about not being able to share information with one another
Make sure school personnel are invited and involved in the MDT meetings
What is your advice to the ICSP team as they begin to implement central or common assessment, intake, and referral in GreeneCounty?
Participant Responses:
Centralized would require the need for a “super caseworker” that knows all the various regulations of each of the systems
Common assessment, intake and referral would work better then a centralized system
There would need to be a lot of training for providers and families for this to work well
Would need to determine, who housed the data and who is in control of the data and data system
Need to consider the culture of being private in GreeneCounty
Refer to “Benefit Bank” that is being piloted in other locations to enroll consumers in social security benefits
What is your advice to the ICSP team as they begin to implement coordinated service planning in GreeneCounty?
Participant Responses:
A unified plan approach would require the use of a MDT process where providers and families meet to devise a coordinated “master” service plan
Use Child and Family Service System Program (CASSP), Family Group Decision Making (FGDM), Mental Illness/Substance Abuse (MISA) models and principles as framework for coordinating service planning
How can be confidentiality issues be addressed so that information can be more easily shared?
Participant Responses:
Streamline the process of sharing information to make it easier for families to give and remove permissions
Be aware of individual rights of privacy
Each entity has its own rules and regulations, try to find common themes to better coordinate this process
Don’t make it too easy or establish a generalized process for information sharing, need to maintain protections for families
Start off with sharing only “targeted” information that families specifically identify for release
Consider that a small close-knit community like GreeneCounty can have unique issues that make it problematic to share some information
Information sharing should be on a need to know basis with families driving the process
Imaginea data system that lets consumers determine the information that they want to share and who has access to that information. What does this data system look like?
Participant Responses:
This is a terrific idea and seems to address confidentiality issues since families are in control of what info is being shared with whom
Make sure that the system is “driven” by families and not providers
This is a great way to coordinate resources and share information in an innovative way
Start small as a pilot, work out the “bugs”, and then expand to include more families
Must provide education and training for providers and families on how to best use the system
Make sure the system is very user friendly – have families be involved with the development of the system