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Mental health alphabet soup Spotlight on Children's Mental Health
Acronyms! An endless list of combined letters of the alphabet now represent agencies, events, phrases, people, places, and even emotions.
In the world of mental health, there are so many acronyms that some agencies are using quarter jars where they must deposit a quarter anytime they use an acronym when talking in front of a person who doesn't work in the mental health field.
Just a few examples of children's mental health (CMH) related acronyms include:
ADHD: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
CWCSS: Crow Wing County Social Services
DHS: Minnesota Department of Human Services
FAS: fetal alcohol syndrome
IEP: individualized education plan
PACER: Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights
SED: severe emotional disturbance
Another group of letters valuable for you to know if you're seeking to help a child with a mental health disorder is LAC. This acronym stands for: Local Advisory Council.
There are currently 92 Children's Mental Health and Family Services Collaboratives in Minnesota:
• 13 Children's Mental Health Collaboratives
• 48 Family Services Collaboratives
• 31 Integrated Children's Mental Health and Family Services Collaboratives
Collaboratives were envisioned and created "to better meet the needs of children with emotional or behavioral disturbances or who are at risk of such disturbances, it is the intent of the legislature to establish an integrated mental health service system."
Their intended function is to:
•Address the needs of children faced with complex problems
• Maximize results and resources by enhancing coordination and reducing duplication among systems
* Involve communities, particularly families, in system redesign and implementation so their needs are effectively met.
In Region 5+, which includes the counties of Crow Wing, Todd, Morrison, Aitkin, Cass, and Wadena, there is a children's LAC in Crow Wing County, and adult LACs in Todd and Wadena Counties. There is also a regional LAC that meets on a quarterly basis in Brainerd/Baxter and includes people from all six counties.
A regional LAC meeting will be held July 21st at the Brenny Funeral Home in Baxter, from 9:30- 11 a.m. Jan Buntz, from the State Advisory Council, will do an informational training about why attending an LAC meeting is such an empowering experience!
The Crow Wing County LAC on Children's Mental Health meets the second Wednesday of each month at 11 a.m. at the Lutheran Social Services offices in the East Brainerd Mall.
Information generated through LACs is used to advise the Legislature, lobbyists, and the Governor about the importance of successful mental health services, as well as identifying gaps in those services. If you have questions about LACs, or the upcoming regional meeting, please call Jode Freyholtz at 218-639-2010 or email at jode.freyholtz@mhcsn.org <mailto:jode.freyholtz@mhcsn.org> .
This monthly feature is provided by the Crow Wing County Local Advisory Council on Children's Mental Health.
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