Comprehensive Healthcare’s Impactful Program Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary Serving 800 Children, Youth and Family Members
2024年7月31日 - 3:38AM
ビジネスワイヤ(英語)
Comprehensive Healthcare marks a significant milestone as it
celebrates a decade of the Wraparound with Intensive Services
(WISe) program, an innovative initiative that has positively
impacted nearly 800 children, youth, and families across the
greater Columbia region. WISe utilizes a team approach to address
the intensive mental health needs of children and youth by
providing support to families in reaching their goals.
With remarkable statistics underlining the program’s impact over
the last 10 years – more than 2,000 Child and Adolescent Needs and
Strengths (CANS) screens administered, nearly 800 youth and
families served spanning six counties, and an impressive roster of
staff members with significant tenures – Comprehensive Healthcare’s
WISe program has proven to be a beacon of hope.
The program provides comprehensive mental health services
personalized to enhance wellness, safety, and strengthen community
relationships. A dedicated WISe care coordinator, therapist, and
family/youth partner will meet with families in environments where
they feel most comfortable. They then employ a strengths-based
approach to record the family’s story and assist them in assembling
their Youth and Family Team (YFT). The team includes natural
supports like family, friends, religious leaders, and professionals
like counselors, educators, child protective services, and
probation officers.
The YFT will meet regularly – at least once a month – to develop
innovative strategies that leverage their collective strengths and
address the family’s needs. Therapy will incorporate evidence-based
practices to effectively pursue the identified objectives.
“Our goal is to prevent long-term and expensive placements and
instead keep children in their communities where they can thrive,”
said Mistee Magalei, Comprehensive Healthcare senior program
manager for WISe. “Together, we work through challenges with their
family or support system in environments that they know.”
The WISe model was originally established in the late 1970s and
early 1980s by Karl Dennis, a social worker in the Chicago area, to
offer support for children and youth who couldn’t access intense
mental health services in their rural counties, often leading to
displacement from their homes and communities. Over time, the
program has expanded to address the needs of families in nearly any
environment across the country.
In the last 10 years, Comprehensive Healthcare’s WISe program
has flourished and currently provides secure employment to 20 local
community members, who work as program managers, care coordinators,
therapists, youth partners, and family partners in five cities:
Yakima, Walla Walla, Ellensburg, Sunnyside, and Pasco.
One family who successfully completed the program wrote, “The
WISe team always patiently explained each step and helped us
understand and use the steps they proposed. We have found that the
WISe program really does work.”
As Comprehensive Healthcare’s WISe program enters its second
decade, Magalei said, “We envision further growth and innovation,
including the development of youth and family partners who have
graduated from the program. With additional training for them, we
see them going full circle as they step into peer roles or other
roles within the program.”
With a commitment to keeping children within their communities
and an impressive track record of service, Comprehensive
Healthcare’s WISe program continues to showcase the transformative
power of wraparound services in building resilient communities.
About Comprehensive Healthcare:
As one of the largest behavioral health organizations in the
state of Washington, Comprehensive Healthcare serves clients in the
Greater Columbia Region. Comprehensive Healthcare is a Joint
Commission accredited organization, providing compassionate,
individualized behavioral healthcare since 1972. As a non-profit
organization, Comprehensive Healthcare is dedicated to delivering
high quality, evidence-based services to individuals, families and
organizations. To learn more, visit Comprehensive Healthcare’s
website at comphc.org.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240730166873/en/
Cassidy Brown Comprehensive Healthcare (509) 317-2876
cassidy.brown@comphc.org
Joan Green joan@firmani.com