Home Based Crisis Intervention is a short term, intensive program which is intended to prevent unnecessary psychiatric hospitalizations for children and adolescents.

To be eligible, the child must be at high risk of hospitalization, be under 18 years of age, and reside in Onondaga County.

•  Referral: Most referrals originate with CPEP.  Other referrals come from clinics in the area, and occasionally from another hospital emergency room or from the Youth Emergency Services Mobile Assessment Team.  Upon receiving a call, staff will go to CPEP, or other location if necessary, to assess the appropriateness of the referral.  This visit typically occurs within an hour of receiving the call, unless the family needs to make a different arrangement.  Since it is a crisis service, we do not keep a wait list, and only accept a referral when there is an opening.

• Services: Services begin immediately.  Most services occur in the home.  When appropriate, they take place in other community settings.  Hours are flexible to med the needs of families.  Services are intensive: workers carry 2 cases at a time to allow them to spend many hours on each family.  Families average about 10 hours a week of direct services.  Usually, there are 3-5 visits during the active phase of the intervention, with fewer visits as the crisis is resolved and the child and family develop coping skills. The program is short term, meaning that families receive these services for 6-8 weeks.  On-call for emergencies is available 24/7.  The on-call rotates among the staff. 

• The HBCI therapist will assess the safety needs of the child and family, establish safety plans, and will work to help the child and the family develop skills.  Goals are identified and worked on.  Many of these children have school difficulties, and the therapist can provide advocacy and coach parents toward collaborating effectively with the child’s school.  Often the child is receiving other mental health services, such as outpatient therapy.  We will collaborate with such ongoing services in order to better serve the family.  Discharge planning is part of the entire intervention so that the child and the family are linked with whatever ongoing services the family needs and wants in order to continue to progress.

In the event the child and family cannot be safe, we will ask them to return to CPEP, and will accompany them if necessary. 

• Staff: Because the children served in this program are at high risk for inpatient psychiatric care, the level of skill needed requires a master’s level clinician.  Supervisory backup is available 24/7 through the on-call system.