Lucas County is awarded Behavioral Health/Juvenile Justice Grant

Toledo, OH: The Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Lucas County received notice on Friday, August 07, 2009, that Lucas County was awarded a $457,806 grant under the Behavioral Health and Juvenile Justice Initiative, which is collaboratively supported by the Ohio Department of Mental Health (ODMH), Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services (ODADAS), and Ohio Department of Youth Services (ODYS).

National research studies support that many youth involved in the juvenile justice system have co-occurring behavioral health needs, particularly serious emotional disturbance and substance abuse. 

Data from Lucas County is consistent with the state and national data for this population. The Lucas County Behavioral Health and Juvenile Justice Improvement Initiative is designed to transform child-serving systems’ ability to identify, assess, evaluate, and treat multi-need, multi-system youth. 

Through this initiative, Lucas County seeks to engage parents and families within the process and ensure that the initiative is culturally competent and includes gender-specific approaches. 

This initiative will allow Lucas County to achieve these goals and implement High Fidelity Wraparound and Multi-Systemic Therapy, both of which are evidence-based practices, to divert serious juvenile offenders who have behavioral health needs from commitment to ODYS.  Additionally, this award will improve the coordination and collaboration between all child and family serving public agencies in our community.

This award was the result of the collaborative efforts between the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Lucas County, the Lucas County Juvenile Court, and the Lucas County Family Council.