Strengthening Family Support for Young People with Mental Health Needs in the Transition to Adulthood: A Tip Sheet for Service Provider

Strengthening Family Support for Young People with Mental Health Needs in the Transition to Adulthood: A Tip Sheet for Service Provider
http://wraparoundohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/projPTTC-FamilySupportTipSheet-1.pdf
To strengthen family support in the transition to adulthood,service providers need to be able to: Consider the experiences reported by many families during the transition years: A shared sense of losing control with the natural pulling apart of adult family members and youth as youth become more independent; Initially parents may feel confident, although worried, but feel less adequate when service providers undermine their expertise and judgment by questioning and marginalizing them; The treatment system often forces young adults and families to disconnect; Families care for youth in a context of inadequate resources, and little support in the community; Systems do not necessarily support collaboration with families. Service providers need to be familiar with federal, state, and local legal and policy issues; Individual and family developmental changes happen gradually but institutional transitions occur abruptly according to bureaucratic and legal rules; There are different definitions of serious emotional disturbance in special education versus mental health in the adult system; Youth with mental health disabilities have entitlements in the education system but when they have reached the age of adulthood there is only eligibility for adult services, no entitlement.