NNews-July-2023

5 July 2023 “If anything happens, the families can always call us back. We’ve had kids come back several times over the years though overall, recidivism is low,” DeStefano added. The central value of CMOs is “family voice and choice” and they follow the wraparoundmodel, which focuses on coordinating individualized, culturally competent services to build on each youth’s and family’s strengths. CMOs also provide social services to help families with financial issues, food insecurity and transportation. DeStefano emphasized that “transportation is not a medical necessity; it’s a human necessity. It’s one of the smartest things to help families and remove barriers, and this is where CMOs shine. It’s a function you don’t see inmany places.” “We help families develop a sense of control. Loss of control can be terrifying. Families learn how to manage different possibilities with different parts of the system,” DeStefano said. He shared examples of dealing with overdoses and providing support for one child while focusing on another child in a family who is struggling. “Our focus is on sustainability. If the supports they need are not available, we help create them,” Collins said. “We try to do innovative things to fill the gaps in the system,” Gorman added and shared examples of creative ways to engage youth and families. Hudson Partnership CMO and collaborating organizations created the Community Outreach Voice and Empowerment (COVE) Center in Jersey City to provide a safe place for youth and opportunities for them, such as a summer camp for childrenwho have I/DD. Hudson Partnership CMO also developed specializedmentor programs for youthwho become involvedwith the justice system. “Since they are resistant to traditional therapeutic intervention, we recruited and trained people from the community. Some had their own experiences in the system, so the youth can relate to themverywell,” Gorman said. Overall, CMOs help justice-involved youth by advocating to the court system, participating in court hearings and linking youth to community-based support services as alternatives to juvenile detention. To help youthwho are experiencing difficulties in school, CMO staff collaborate with schools to develop plans to foster each student’s success and participate in Child-Study Teammeetings with parents and other caregivers. LOOKING AHEAD “It was a big deal going from pre- to post-CSOC. Many things were brought into play, and we need to continue evolving,” DeStefano stated. He emphasized that workforce issues need to be addressed. Although the ideal caseload is 10 youth per casemanager, many have been serving 20 youth. In addition to needing more staff, DeStefano reinforced that case managers need to be mission driven, and employers need to be in tune with what their employees need. “You can’t do good family work if you ignore the needs of your staff, so we’re as flexible as we can be,” he said. “I see CMOs in all the counties as being leaders on multiple levels. I see the opportunity to have impact on themicro level —youth and families —and the macro level: advocacy. We identify where the needs are and advocate for where funding should go,” Gorman said. “Whenwe get invited towork onmacro issues, we bring our knowledge of the issues in the community.” For example, Gorman advocates for school funding with Jersey City Together. “It’s outside of CMO work, but certainly related. We achieved full funding for the Jersey City school district—the first time in a decade,” she shared. CMOs’ advocacy resulted in the creation of more mental healthcare services in schools. “We played a role in the government seeing the impact of COVID and need for services,” Gorman said. “CMOs can do best in the future by continuing to improve their wraparound practice and to be available to those who need care, which is individualized, creative and unconditional,” Collins reinforced. Learn more about CMOs at www.njcmo.org.