Division of Child Mental Health Services
Susan A. Cycyk, M.Ed., Director
Marc Richman, Ph.D., Deputy Director
Phone: (302) 633-2600
FAX: (302) 633-5118
Who are we?
The Division of Child Mental Health Services (CMH) is part of the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. CMH provides a statewide continuum of mental health and substance abuse (behavioral health) treatment programs for children and youth. These services have graduated levels of intensity and restrictiveness that are child-centered and family focused.
CMH is accredited under the Business and Services Management Standards of the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). In addition, the contracted and/or state operated treatment providers within the CMH network are licensed where appropriate and most are accredited under one of the nationally recognized accrediting agencies such as CARF, JCAHO, COA or CHAP
Mission
To provide accessible, effective behavioral health treatment services
for children in collaboration with families and service partners.
Vision
Children and families: reaching their fullest potential.
Who do we serve?
The Division provides voluntary behavioral health services to children up to the age of 18 and their families who:
- Do not have insurance to cover behavioral health services
- Have Medicaid and who require more than the basic Medicaid 30-hour annual outpatient benefit available through the Diamond State Health Care Plan.
How do I obtain services?
There are three “gates” to services provided by CMH:
- Routine outpatient services
- Crisis services
- Central Intake
Contact information for all of these entry-points can be found on the CMH Brochure
For more: Information for Families or Information for Providers
Organizational Structure
To develop, maintain and support a system of high quality, accessible services, and to assure that children and families are served within a coordinated system of care, the Division is organized into the following components:
Administration - Administrators manage budget and strategic planning processes, publish policies, procedures and standards, develop and maintain services, and assure service accountability. Administrative functions also include data, information and business management, quality improvement, monitoring, credentialing, training and public relations.
Intake and Assessment - This unit receives referrals for services beyond the routine outpatient level of care. It processes requests for service, and passes the referrals to Clinical Services Management for more intensive follow-up.
I & A Referral Packet (English)
I & A Referral Packet (in Espanol) Llene por favor esta formulamo completamente como le es posible y llame si usted necesita ayuda 302.633.2571
Clinical Services Management - CMH is part of the Diamond State Health Care Plan. With the exception of the 30-unit annual benefit for routine outpatient services, the Division acts as the managed care organization (MCO) for all children’s behavioral health services provided under Medicaid in Delaware.
Care Assurance/Managed Care – As part of the Medicaid managed care system, CMH clinical services management teams, each headed by a licensed behavioral health practitioner, work with families and service providers to refer clients to the appropriate level of care. Teams authorize services, review progress in treatment and assure continuity of care. Care assurance differs from a standard managed care process in that teams take an active role in other aspects of case management. They work with all the agencies involved with youth and their families such as schools, protective services, youth rehabilitation services, treatment providers, etc. to assure that there is a unified service plan.
When a case is first opened under a clinical services management team, a team member meets with the family to provide information about how they will work with them. Clinical Services Child and Family Handbook.
Commitment to Quality
Evidence-based Practice – The Division encourages treatment services that can be empirically supported in mental health and substance abuse literature for specific target populations and presenting problems. Within recent years, the Division has used grants for dissemination and training in a number of evidence based practices. CMH is also developing processes for studying client outcome in programs across its entire system.
- Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) - For more
information about the project in Delaware, contact Marsali Hansen,
Ph.D., ABPP at Marsali.Hansen@state.de.us
- Family Education and Support - This
manualized program was developed in collaboration with the University of
Delaware, Center for Disabilities Studies.
- CMH created intensive
outpatient (IOP) services as a safe alternative to psychiatric hospital
and residential treatment. From FY 01 through FY 07, CMH IOP services have
been successful in discharging 63.1 % of clients (N = almost 950) to
a lower level of care where they can be maintained for 6 months or more.
For further information, contact Jeanne A. Dunn, M.Ed., M.A. at
jeanne.dunn@state.de.us
Data-Based Management - The Division is committed to providing the best outcomes for its clients in the most cost-effective way. Decision-making, whether it is clinical or financial, must be grounded in data. “Every fiscal decision is a clinical decision and every clinical decision is a fiscal decision.”
Complaints and Appeals – Anyone has the right to make an inquiry, lodge a complaint about any aspect of CMH operations, and/or to appeal a decision made under the managed care system. The Division encourages individuals to talk together and to settle complaints at the lowest possible level.
Quality Improvement – This unit is responsible for monitoring both the internal and external operations of the Division and providing status reports to Division Leadership on a regular basis. In addition to these activities, QI manages the incident reporting process and data base, manages clinical records activities, and reviews and reports on complaints and appeals that rise to the level of central office review. (See above)
Training – CMH is committed to expanding the knowledge base and clinical skills of individuals who work with clients and their families. To this end, the CMH training unit provides e-mail notices of upcoming events that are available. If you are currently a provider of CMH services but are not receiving training notices, contact CMH Training Administrator, Marcia Roe at Marcia.Roe@state.de.us to be added to the e-mail distribution list.
