The Kim Foundation
is pleased to provide an overview of the responsibilities
of Region 6 Behavioral Health Care in Omaha, as well
as an explanation of some of the existing services
offered by Region 6. Our special thanks to Tom Greener,
Regional Program Administrator, and to his staff for
making this information available to us.
Region 6 Behavioral Health Care in Omaha is one of six regions in Nebraska
responsible for organizing and financing community-base behavioral
health services for area residents.
Our mission is to provide a public
behavioral health care system of such quality that
our consumers and community will receive appropriate
service and the public (taxpayers) will have a sustained,
effective and efficient system.
Our core function is the responsibility
for organizing, monitoring and financing an integrated
system of community-based behavioral health services
for residents of the five-county area. This function
is accomplished through partnerships with the Nebraska
Department of Health and Human Services and a network
of behavioral health service organizations in the
community that provide treatment, rehabilitation
and prevention services.
Region 6 contracts with 17 community-based
behavioral health providers (see bottom of page).
This network of providers has demonstrated a commitment
to provide quality and cost-effective services.
COSAT
This Program offers a unique approach for providing judicially-supervised
substance abuse treatment services using techniques of managed care.
The program primarily serves Douglas County and the target population
is adult non-violent drug offenders. The Douglas County District Court
(DCDC) is the sponsoring agency that oversees the formal structure
of the Douglas County Adult Drug Court, in conjunction with the Douglas
County Attorney and Region 6 Behavioral Health Care. Region 6 provides
treatment and placement recommendations, utilization management and
clinical coordination of local substance abuse providers.
In 2002, fifty-seven participants
successfully graduated from the program, fifty graduates
remained out of the court system and seven drug-free
babies were born to mothers of the drug court system.
ICCU
The Integrated Care Coordination Unit is a collaborative effort between
Region 6 and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
These agencies have been charged with providing a supportive process
called Wraparound Care. The Wraparound process is a way to improve
the lives of consumers who require multiple community programs.
A Wraparound Team develops the
actual individualized plan. The team is comprised
of four to ten people who know the consumer best,
especially the child’s family, and must consist
of no more than two professionals.
This system of care reduces out-of-home
placements, recidivism of juvenile offenders, and
abuse and neglect of state wards. It improves child
and family functioning, and increases consumers’ level
of satisfaction with service delivery.
Professional
Partner Program
The Professional Partner Program is a case management program that provides
services to families that have a child with a serious emotional/behavioral
problem. Services are provided in the family’s home. The case manager
helps the family identify strengths, needs and goals, and assists in
identifying services/supports in the community to assist the family in
reaching those goals.
The program is involved with the
Omaha Public Schools in the Safe Program (School
and Family Enrichment), where schools have identified
students that might benefit from the Region 6, Professional
Partner Program. Case managers and school personnel
work closely in an attempt to improve the child’s
functioning, both at home and in school. This program
has been able to expand through a SAMHSA grant.
In year 2002, the program served
266 youth.
 6%
of the youth served were preschool age
57%
were in the 6-12 age range
37%
were in the 13-20 age range.
Less than 5% of the youth served
this past year were State Wards, and fewer than 5%
of the youth served needed out of home placement.
The wrap-around services philosophy adheres to serving
the youth in the least restrictive environment and
developing services and supports to meet the individual
needs of each youth.
Regional
Prevention Center
The Region 6 Prevention Center is certified by the Division of Alcoholism,
Drug Abuse and Addiction Services of the State of Nebraska’s Health
and Human Services System as a provider of technical assistance and information
services.
The mission of the Prevention Center
is to build healthier communities one child at a
time by providing effective and efficient technical
training, assistance and information services of
the highest quality for our partners in prevention.
The Prevention Center’s ultimate goal is to
reduce alcohol, tobacco and other drug use among
people in the five-county region.
A message
from Justin Mickles, Regional Prevention Center
Director
2003 has been
an exciting year in substance abuse prevention. The
Region 6 Prevention Center alone has served over
34,000 people with Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa
through providing facts, referral services and technical
support to area teens, community groups and agencies
working to provide drug abuse.
One of our largest projects
funded by the Department of Health Promotion and
Education has led to coalitions successfully reducing
the percentage of failed compliance check rates
for the sale of tobacco products to minors from
23% when the project began to roughly 8% this spring
within the metro area. We’ve also seen ordinances
passed in both Omaha and Plattsmouth cities since
the projects inception, restricting all tobacco
products to locations behind counters and outside
the reach of children.
This year Sarpy County Tobacco
Coalition funded by Region 6 has gotten the Papillion
La Vista School district to adopt a campus-wide
smoke-free policy and along with Metro Omaha Tobacco
Action Coalition (MOTAC) and Cass County’s
Tobacco is a Drug coalition is working collaboratively
to encourage all worksites including restaurants
and child care centers to voluntarily adopt smoke-free
policies city-wide.
What does all of this mean?
Well for starters, future generations will have
limited access to a deadly product and more opportunities
to breathe clean air without exposure to the deadly
chemicals found in second hand smoke. The legislature
also passed a permanent tax increase of 30 cents
on all tobacco products this year increasing incentives
for current smokers to quit while decreasing the
likelihood of first time, start-up use among preteens
and teens.
In the long run, the state
of Nebraska will see an overall reduction in the
rate of tobacco consumption, which translates into
significant reductions in health care costs, increased
workforce productivity and ultimately healthier
Nebraskans who live longer and more productive
lives.
Justin Mickles
Regional Prevention Center Director
Resource
Center
The Region 6 Resource Center is a public service funded by the Department
of Health and Human Services to provide educational material on the nature
and extent of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, abuse and addiction,
as well as their effects on individuals, families and communities.
Information services are offered
to the general public at no cost. Informational materials
include current facts on alcohol, tobacco, marijuana,
methamphetamines, mental health, parenting, 40 Developmental
Assets, and much more. Books, survey information,
technical manuals and videos are also available for
checkout.
Services
Include:
Literature
Searches
Interlibrary
Loan
Technical
Assistance in Web Development
Development
of Original Materials
Community
Resource for Monthly Awareness Campaigns
Individual
Assistance in Database Searching
The Resource Center’s web
page offers over 60 downloadable PDF files on substance
abuse, mental health, prevention and more. You will
also find links on the web page to
Free online journals as well as free searchable databases like PubMed,
Medline Plus Tobacco Fact File.
The
Spring Center
The Spring Center is a crisis intervention residential program that operates
as a hospital diversion program by reducing hospital in-patient admissions.
The program was designed by professional mental health experts with more
than 32 years experience in behavioral healthcare. The focus is on a
treatment-active approach to brief intervention and stabilization for
non-committable admissions.
A typical stay at the Spring Center
is three to seven days, with the capability for 24-hour-per-day
assessments.
A 24-hour referral service is offered
at (402) 546-0770 with a toll-free,
24-hour crisis line at (866) 734-8888.
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