Arlington, Texas-based nonprofit Behavioral Health Services Provider and Child Placing Agency (CPA), CK Family Services (CK), will begin accepting referrals to provide High-Fidelity Wraparound, Mental Health Rehabilitation, Skills Training, and Behavioral Health Services in the Greater Austin, Texas area beginning Monday, February 3, 2020.
CK was founded in 2003 to meet the needs of children in the Texas Foster Care system. CK Behavioral Health (CKBH), a program of CK Family Services was developed to ensure that Texas children, covered by Medicaid (STAR Health, STAR, and STAR Kids) had access to the highest quality nationally recognized evidence-based and research-supported practices and interventions. Until now, CKBH services have only been available to children, youth, and families who live in the DFW Metroplex and surrounding counties. Currently, more than 1,200 North Texas children are enrolled in these services with many more lined up waiting to get started.
![Dustin Biel, MS, LMFT, MPA](https://ckfamilyservices.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Dustin-Biel-CKBH-Regional-Director-O365-300x300.jpg)
Dustin Biel, MS, LMFT, MPA is CK Family Service’s Greater Austin Area Regional Director of Behavioral Health Services
“We are very excited to officially announce this expansion into the Greater Austin, Texas community. We look forward to partnering with child and family serving providers, Child Placing Agencies, and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to meet the needs of Austin’s children, youth, and families. Together we will strengthen the community’s capacity to care for those who have been impacted by the harmful effects of trauma.” – Shawn Wilson, Chief Business Development Officer
CKBH calls these services Community Support Services. Community Support Services can include Trauma-Informed Counseling, Skills Training, Medication Training, Routine Mental Health Case Management, and High-Fidelity Wraparound.
At the core of Community Support Services are Skills Training and High-Fidelity Wraparound. By adding Skills Training as an enhancement to existing, ongoing counseling services, we dramatically improve outcomes for children, youth, and their families. To be clear, Skills Training is not the same thing as counseling or therapy. For more information on the differences, visit www.ckbh.org.
In most cases, Community Support Services are provided in the child’s home but might also occur at a child’s school (with appropriate consideration for privacy and with all relevant permissions) or another location in the community. The frequency and duration of services depend on the needs of the child and their caregiver/family and can range from as little as an hour every other week to several hours a day. In severe cases, we recommend more frequent and intense services initially and then taper down to a schedule that is less frequent over time.
Eligibility criteria for participation in Community Support Services include: children/youth must be at least 3 years old, must be enrolled in and actively covered through Texas Medicaid (see current list of accepted Medicaid plans on our website www.ckbh.org), must reside in our service area (service are available at www.ckbh.org), must have a qualifying mental health diagnosis and/or they must have parental/LAR consent to participate in an initial assessment to determine a qualifying mental health diagnosis.
Signing up to participate in our Community Support Services program is easy.
Visit www.ckbh.org and complete/submit our convenient online referral form. In most cases, we will respond within 1 business day. As noted above, CKBH will be fully equipped to begin responding to referrals from the Greater Austin, Texas Community beginning February 3, 2020.
Please direct questions regarding CK’s expansion into the Greater Austin Community to communications@ckfamilyservices.org. We are happy to connect with local service providers and Child Placing Agencies and are available to participate in person, telephone, or web conference to discuss how CKBH Community Support Services can partner with and enhance your existing services.
If you need help completing the online referral form please call us 817-516-9100 (option 4) or email us at referrals@ckbh.org.