Our System of Care principles guide and direct how we implement the work we do throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Youth-Driven

Youth-driven is having youth included in decisions that affect their care and well-being. Adults make the conscious decision not to manipulate youth or use them in a way that would suggest tokenism or mere decoration. Youth are trained, supported, have a valued voice, and earn a seat at state and local policy and program tables as their experience, confidence, and voice develops. Participation grows from being assigned and informed and evolves into youth leading and sharing with adults in decision-making.

Youth are supported in various ways as they share their experiences and their opinions. Financial support is given as needed through stipends, transportation assistance, hotels, meals, and childcare, to sustain their input. Opportunities, like youth voice and leadership, are encouraged and made available to youth at county and state level child-serving systems, through the work of System of Care.

Family-Driven

At the individual family level, family-driven means families have a primary decision-making role in the care of their children. Family-driven can be realized even within the context of delinquency and/or dependency proceedings, even when there is a feeling that it is not being driven by the family. In some situations, families may not have the opportunity to drive all decisions, but they should have the opportunity to be involved in the decisions.

Home- and Community-Based

A System of Care helps families by using the strengths of their community. This means giving families good services that they can easily access in a comfortable setting. The system looks at the family's home, school, and neighborhood to find out their good qualities and use the natural support in these places to help them in a positive way.

Strengths-Based and Individualized

Strength-based and individualized practices and processes identify and build on the strengths of the family and child. Families are included and drive the creation of individual plans to provide needed services. Formal and informal supports are used to create services and supports for each child and family. Plans are individualized based on the needs of the youth, young adult, and family. The plan changes frequently based on ongoing individualized assessments of strengths and needs.

Plans are created by teams comprising of people who know the child and family, including neighbors, friends, family, and professionals such as child welfare, mental health, education, substance abuse, and juvenile justice. The team's major task is to create an individualized plan of care that is community- and strength-based, made up of formal and informal services and supports.

Trauma-Informed

Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) is a holistic, person-centered approach to treatment that understands and incorporates the biological, psychological, neurological, and social impact of trauma on an individual. Implementing trauma-informed practices means that every part of an organization or program understands the effects of trauma on the individuals they serve and promotes cultural and organizational change in responding to the consumers/clients served. By recognizing trauma as an important factor impacting health throughout the lifespan, and by offering trauma-informed approaches and treatments in health care settings, provider organizations can more effectively treat patients, thereby potentially improving health outcomes, reducing avoidable care utilization, and curbing excess costs.

Cultural and Linguistic Competence

Cultural and linguistic competence is the integration and transformation of knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes from and about individuals or groups that enable policymakers, administrators, youth, families, service providers, and system partners to work effectively in cross-cultural situations. Furthermore, linguistic competence is the capacity of policymakers, administrators, youth, families, service providers, and system partners to communicate effectively and convey information in a manner that is easily understood by diverse audiences including persons of limited English proficiency, those who have low literacy skills or are not literate, and individuals with disabilities. (Goode & Jones, 2006).

Being aware of culture is vital to ensuring equity in Systems of Care because it is a set of attitudes, values, beliefs, symbols, and behaviors shared by a group of people, but different for each, and usually communicated from one generation to the next. Cultural and Linguistic Competence supports authentic collaborations between systems and community and natural supports through community partnerships and outreach to ensure youth and families receive culturally responsive care.

Connected to Natural Helping Networks

When working with people, we need to ask about those associations and relationships a person has that supports them that are personal, not professional. They are natural helpers, and social supports may be family members, youth, and representatives from culturally diverse neighborhoods, and others who can provide a more “normalized” and enduring form of support to families and youth that can use formal services. Natural helping networks may include groups such as faith-based organizations, neighborhood watch groups, or informal social groups such as a neighborhood scrapbooking club.

Data-driven, Quality, and Outcomes-Oriented

System of Care aims to help families function better at home, in school, in the community, and throughout life by finding out what they truly need and providing the appropriate care. Collecting data from youth and families in a community allows decisions to be data-driven – relying on concrete information, rather than personal feelings, anecdotal, or historical experience. Data collected includes information such as a youth’s mental health diagnosis and system involvement as well as information related to the youth’s perception of his/her mental health care and his/her connectedness with people other than their mental health providers. Data is collected every six months from youth still enrolled in a county chosen provider program and ultimately provides an objective picture of what works and what doesn’t work locally and nationally.

County Leadership and Governance Teams

Leadership Teams and Governance Boards may look and run in many different ways across Pennsylvania. Ultimately, the Leadership/Governance Board is comprised of an equitable partnership of System, Family and Youth leaders who work together to assure that the System of Care Values and Principals are incorporated in the framework of how decisions are made, policies are made and how services are planned and delivered.

Multi-System Integration

Integrated serving systems ensure that services and supports are integrated at the system level, with linkages between the child and transition-aged serving agencies and programs across administrative and funding boundaries. Then, mechanism are established for system-level management, coordination, and integrated care management. The mission, vision, and desired outcomes of each system are incorporated in a person-centered approach that meets the needs of the youth and family’s social, emotional, and physical health care needs. This allows us to utilize natural and community supports and services available to the youth and family in the county they reside.

Youth and Family Services and Supports Planning Process

A way to help young people and families is by working together to plan and provide services. The people involved, like staff and trained helpers, use a clear process to figure out what each young person and family needs. They do this in a way that is helpful, reducing harm and not too strict. They also track progress and use data to measure results. It's important for young people and families to have support, like from peers, when they need it.