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). 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.
Shasta County’s PEI Plan includes Triple P® and is dedicated to bringing mental health awareness into the entire community through universal and targeted education initiatives and dialogue. 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.
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.
SCOE has been serving families in the community with various levels of Triple P® for the past seven years and have a well-established history of success. With implementation of this agreement in November 2017 SCOE expanded existing services to families to include teens as well as younger children. From January through March 2018 they held two Triple P® groups serving 13 families and had another 14 families complete individual Triple P® services with only one family discontinuing. In 2017 SCOE served 96 caregivers representing 64 children. For those served, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale assessment demonstrates caregiver improvement in all areas with depression symptoms decreasing 45%. SCOE has proven their ability to utilize Evidence Based programs, partner with underserved populations, and maintain their well-trained personnel which has merited this agreement and increased compensation in order to serve additional families with Triple P® services in Fiscal Year 2018/19.