The Counseling and Consultation Center is focused on pre-certification to be able to establish a new comprehensive behavioral health program as soon as possible.
Julie Crump, the Center’s executive director, and her colleagues plan to pre-certify as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) by July of this year. Full certification by the state of Kansas will follow within the next 12 months.
CCBHC is a multi-dimensional program that will be offered through the Center, 5815 Broadway.
“Because we got a head start, many of the dimensions of the service are already being implemented here,” Crump said. “Just to name a few examples, we now provide medically assisted treatment and have secured a substance use disorder license.
“The whole point is to integrate our services to offer CCBHC, which is a person- and family-centered program designed to provide access to comprehensive behavioral health care.”
The construction of this program began about a year ago at the Center, which began to address the 39 included criteria.
“We have met the requirements for many of these criteria and are approaching others,” Crump noted. “The result will be a much wider range of services that address problems holistically.” We are moving away from partisanship.
“For example, does the client need help finding housing and work?” Is it a substance use problem? Could talk therapy and/or medication be the answer? Is a physical exam required? Or all of the above? “Often, the problem does not stem from just one thing.”
One of the 39 criteria now prioritized is ensuring access to intensive mental health care for veterans and those currently serving in the armed forces.
“We have always tried to connect customers with the Veterans Administration (VA),” Crump noted. “But we want to play a bigger role. A person may not be taking advantage of VA benefits because they think they don’t qualify, or they may simply not have been keeping track of what they are entitled to.
“We’re not only going to connect them with the VA, we’re going to help them track it.” The goal is to remove as many barriers to services as possible – whether we provide those services or the VA provides them.”
CCBHC will provide a care coordinator who assists with the intake and follow-up process to ensure clients receive the resources they need.
“Over the past year, we have already improved services with this new multidimensional program in mind,” Crump said. “We are more intentional and intensive with on-site services and follow-up when referral is appropriate.
The Center’s state association—the Kansas Association of Community Mental Health Centers—worked with the National Council on Mental Wellness on this program. The state association also sought guidance from Missouri and Oklahoma, which were part of the CCBHC pilot program that is now being rolled out across the country.
The Counseling and Consultation Center is a community mental health center serving Burton, Pawnee, Rice and Stafford counties. Professionally trained staff offers: individual and group therapy; marriage and family counseling; community support services; community-based services; psychosocial rehabilitation; peer support; and medication management. The confidential 24/7 crisis line phone number is 800-875-2544.
