Youth and families are referred to Choices in different ways but are typically enrolled by states or counties with whom we partner. We also partner directly with schools and managed care entities.

Choices provides a care coordinator for each child and family we serve. The care coordinator helps build a custom plan for each youth and family. Care coordinators:

• help families identify strengths and needs to develop plans;
• partner with families to build a team of community supports and health care resources;
• help families track their progress;
• stay in regular contact with youth and families with face-to-face meetings and phone calls;
• provide crisis support; and
• educate, empower, and encourage youth and caregivers.

Choices believes families are the key to supporting youth with intense emotional and behavioral needs. Care coordination is a process that brings together the perspectives and expertise of people invested in the well-being of each youth, connecting them with the best resources and services. This may include parents, teachers, pastors, health care providers, child welfare workers, and community supports in the process.

Together, we create plan of care for youth and families based on strengths. Each plan includes needs, goals, and strategies to help manage day-to-day activities, tackle challenges as they arise, and to prepare for potential crises. Because care coordination is unique to each youth and family, it is flexible, respectful of each family’s culture, and helps to hold everyone accountable.

Choices supports not only helps strengthen families but also reduces the cost of providing care to youth with significant emotional or behavioral health needs.

• Care coordination saves taxpayers millions of dollars each year by reducing health care, juvenile detention, social services, unemployment, and other related costs.
• According to a report by the National Technical Assistance Center for Children’s Mental Health, systems of care like care coordination:
  • reduce the costs of inpatient hospitalization by 42 percent,
  • reduce costs of emergency department visits by 57 percent,
  • reduce the costs associated with arresting and detaining a youth by 38 percent,
  • reduce the costs of lost productivity for caregivers of youth in wraparound by 39 percent, and
  • can reduce the lifetime costs of providing care, services, or detention for a youth by up to 57 percent.

Care coordination recognizes the importance of non-traditional services and works with youth and families to find the best resources to meet their needs.

In most cases, Choices can pay for services like mentoring, alternative therapies, tutoring, and other services that fall outside of traditional healthcare or social welfare services. We work closely with families, our partners, and communities to develop options for Choices youth.