Healthy Transitions: Improving Life Trajectories for Youth and Young Adults with Serious Mental Disorders Program (Short Title: Healthy Transitions)

Description

The purpose of this program is to improve access to treatment and support services for youth and young adults, ages 16-25, who have a serious emotional disturbance (SED) or a serious mental illness (SMI), hereafter referred to as serious mental disorders. It is expected that this program will improve emotional and behavioral health functioning so that this population of youth and young adults can maximize their potential to assume adult roles and responsibilities and lead full and productive lives.Youth and young adults with SMI or SED between the ages of 16-25, including those with intellectual developmental disabilities, may not be working, in school, or in vocational and higher education programs. Some face the additional challenge of experiencing homelessness, or being in contact with the juvenile or criminal justice system, thereby increasing the likelihood of admissions to hospitals, mental health, and/or correctional facilities. Unfortunately, these same youth are among the least likely to seek help and may “fall through the cracks” and not receive the services and supports they need to become productive and healthy adults. It is imperative that appropriate outreach and engagement processes are developed and implemented to create access to effective behavioral health interventions and supports.The overall goal of Healthy Transitions will be to provide developmentally appropriate, culturally and linguistically competent services and supports to address serious mental disorders among youth 16 – 25 years of age. This will be accomplished by increasing awareness, screening and detection, outreach and engagement, referrals to treatment, coordination of care, and evidence-informed treatment. Healthy Transitions will accomplish program goals by: • Creating, implementing, and expanding services and supports that are developmentally appropriate, culturally competent, and youth and young adult-driven, involve family and community members (including business leaders and faith-based organizations), and provide for continuity of care and support between child- and adult-serving systems. • Improving cross-system collaboration, service capacity, and expertise related to the population(s) of focus through Infrastructure and organizational change at the state/tribal level.

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