The Mental Health Services Act (MSHA) represents a comprehensive approach to the development of a system of community-based mental health services and supports. One of the components of MHSA is Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI).
Shasta County’s PEI Plan includes Triple P® and is dedicated to bringing mental health awareness to the entire community through universal and targeted education initiatives and dialogue. In 2016, Shasta County served an additional 536 new caregivers representing 445 children, an increase of 33.6% and 26% respectively from 2015 with Triple P® services. As an early intervention program, Triple P® assists Shasta County residents at the earliest possible signs of mental health problems and concerns. Residents receiving services include the underserved population and rural communities having at-risk children and youth in stressed families ages 0-18 years old.
Prevention in mental health involves reducing risk factors or stressors, building protective factors and skills, and increasing support to prevent the onset of mental illness. Prevention programs like Triple P® promote positive cognitive, social, and emotional development and encourages a state of well-being that allows a child or youth to function well in the face of changing and sometimes challenging circumstances.
Triple P® early intervention is directed toward caregivers and families for whom a short duration and relatively low-intensity intervention is appropriate to measurably improve a mental health problem or concern very early in its manifestation, thereby avoiding the need for more extensive mental health treatment or services, or to prevent a mental health problem from getting worse. Triple P® is an evidence-based multi-level parenting and family support strategy that aims to prevent severe behavioral, emotional, and developmental problems in children by enhancing the knowledge, skills, and confidence of parents.
The Shasta County Office of Education has been serving families in the community with various levels of Triple P® for the past six years and have a well-established history of success. In 2016 SCOE served 79 caregivers representing 54 children. For those served, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale assessment demonstrates caregiver improvement in all areas with depression symptoms resulting in a decrease by 31.3%. In a recent competitive procurement that ended September 2017, their proven ability to utilize evidence based programs, maintain cultural and trauma informed practices as well as their well-trained personnel has merited this agreement.
The Triple P® Request for Proposal, released May 1, 2017, received six proposals and selected four providers (Northern Valley Catholic Social Services, Family Dynamics, Wright Education and SCOE). Proposals submitted were evaluated for five critical areas: Technical / Program Design, Organization Capacity, Relevant Experience, Budget, and Performance Measures. Each of the five criteria where considered and rated by a 5-person evaluation panel whose scores were then applied to a weighted scale resulting in each proposal’s total score.