Your family may come into contact with a variety of child and family service agencies when trying to meet your child’s mental health needs.
A brief overview of several of the child and family service systems that families of children with mental health needs may come in contact with are listed below.
Public Mental Health
The public mental health system in Michigan is often a key partner in supporting families raising children and youth with Severe Emotional Disturbance (SED) because it can provide intensive home and community based support for kids with complex needs.
Juvenile Justice
Juvenile Justice involves youth under the age of 17 who are charged with a violation of a criminal law or ordinance. All Cases involving juvenile offenders are handled by the Michigan’s Family Courts.
Child Welfare
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has several programs that serve children and families including Child Welfare, which includes Children’s Protective Services and Foster Care, Cash and other family assistance.
Education
Children’s emotional, behavioral and mental health problems can sometimes affect their ability to learn and be successful in school. Some children and youth with mental health challenges may require extra support and/or special education services in order to be successful while others may not. Just having a mental health diagnosis or other disability does not automatically make a young person eligible for special education. Their mental health problem or disability must also significantly affect his or her ability to learn and make progress in the general education curriculum.
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