They are coming: A word from the Partnership.

I've been in the office 3 days this week, and in the Berkshires 3 days;  I've identified at least 6 families that have Masshealth, a child with SED and a need for ICC.  One has already told me that they can't get in to their local agency for the intial CANS evaluation.  In other words, it begins.   Here is what the CSAs are going to look like, according to the MBHP folks.

A Community Service Agency (CSA) is a community-based organization whose function is to facilitate

access to, and ensure coordination of, care for youth with serious emotional disturbance (SED) who

require, or are already utilizing, multiple services or who require or are already involved with multiple

child-serving systems (e.g., child welfare, special education, juvenile justice, mental health) and their

families. In total, there are 32 CSAs across Massachusetts: 29 that provide services in the geographic

region consistent with the current 29 service areas for the Department of Children and Families (DCF)

and three culturally and linguistically specialized CSAs to address the needs of specific cultural or

linguistic groups in Massachusetts. Geographic CSAs and specialized CSAs working in overlapping

areas are expected to collaborate and partner in ways that strengthen services to youth and families.

The chart below is intended to assist potential referral sources, including families, in identifying and

selecting an appropriate CSA to meet their needs. Consistent with the Wraparound principle of family

voice and choice, families may choose from any CSA based on their needs and are not limited in using

the CSA in their geographic area. For the 29 geographically-based CSAs, towns are listed

alphabetically, followed by the (DCF) area, the CSA, the site(s) where services will be delivered, the

referral phone number, and other relevant information if available (i.e., contact person, e-mail address).

A town is assigned to a CSA based on the DCF area office that covers that particular town.

Additionally, the three specialized CSAs, which have tailored their services to engage and serve the

unique needs of their specialized populations, are listed separately at the bottom of the chart, identifying

the towns each covers, the specialty population, the site(s) where services will be delivered, the referral

phone number, and other relevant information if available (i.e., contact person, e-mail address). An

asterisk (*) next to a geographically based CSA town indicates the town is also covered by a specialized

CSA.

If you have questions regarding this Alert, please contact our Community Relations Department at

1-800-495-0086 (press 1 for the English menu or 2 for the Spanish menu, then #3 then #1 to skip

prompts), Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.