Providing mental health services to families living in the northeast corner of Louisiana had been a difficult undertaking prior to The Louisiana Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health’s (LFFCMH) Mobile Family Support/Outreach Project. This region is not only the poorest in the state, but one of the poorest in the nation. In fact, the primary economic resource of this area is prisons. Add to this the common problems facing rural residents--difficulties with transportation, lack of adequate health care and counseling facilities, and the disconnection of living in remote locations--outreach to families in rural Louisiana becomes a seemingly impossible task.

THE MISSION

Ignoring the impossible, LFFCMH devised a plan to reach families of children with special behavioral and emotional needs. In 1998, their Mobile Family Support Outreach Project was launched in the rural parishes of Beauregard and Allen. Facilitated by two part-time, Family Support Specialists with the support of regional staff from the Louisiana Office of Mental Health, Year 1 activities included:

• Gaining knowledge and collaborating with community partners;
• Operating a Mobile Outreach vehicle which provided books, pamphlets, fact sheets and videos on topics such as parenting, behavior management, mental health diagnoses/treatment, and other mental health issues,
• Connecting with families through a series of home visits to conduct needs assessments, connect families with available resources in their communities, and provide support to families throughout their child’s mental health treatment.

By the end of Year I, 63 families had been identified for parent-to parent support and assistance. In addition, community partners and resources including YMCAs, churches and synagogues, schools, community centers, and counseling centers had been identified to assist with the Year 2 plan.

In Year 2, using community partners, parent volunteers and other resources, two respite sites were developed in the rural parishes of DeRidder and Oakdale. At the end of Year 2, 43 of the 63 families were provided with 3,200 hours of planned respite—all in their own communities! So impressive was this feat that mayors offered the use of city facilities to expand recreational services, hospitals donated recreational equipment, restaurants donated food for the kids, and local casinos donated CASH!

Now in its 3rd year, the community respite services are funded almost entirely with community resources, allowing LFFCMH to use its resources to expand the Mobile Family Support/Outreach Project to the remaining parishes of the region. LFFCMH was also able to hire additional family support specialists, providing them with training, equipment and assistance.

THE SUCCESS

The Family Support Representatives witnessed overwhelming successes in their families including:
• a reduction in family stress,
• an increase in parent coping skills,
• enhanced family communication,
• a decrease in out of home placements,
• increased safety within families, and
• preservation of the family unit.
One of the most significant outcomes was the benefit from respite care, which reduced the strain caregivers experienced by offering relief from the daily demands of caring for their children.

THE FUTURE

Future goals are to increase services to the region, build and complement relationships with traditional providers, and increase the presence of parents as providers of nontraditional mental health services such as planned respite and family mentoring. In addition, the project hopes to develop community partners to complement state contract funds for planned respite services throughout the area. Ongoing goals include: connecting new families to their community mental health centers, breaking down barriers that once kept families from completing treatment, increasing opportunities for support and communication, and encouraging local parents to mentor and support new parents entering the system.

LESSONS SHARED/LESSONS LEARNED EVALUATION TIPS

This article is an overview of a workshop presented at the Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health on December 1, 2001. A big thank you goes to Mark Terry & Debbie Freeman, from the Louisiana Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, who presented this informative material.