Youth Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Teams

The New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH or “Office” herein after) announces the availability of funds for the expansion of a Youth Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) in the Central, Hudson River, Long Island and New York OMH regions.

The Youth ACT team serve children/youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED), who are returning home from inpatient settings or residential services, at risk of entering such settings, or have not adequately engaged or responded to treatment in more traditional community-based services.

Youth ACT ensures the child and their family have the level of support services and access to clinical professionals they require to sustain any gains made in crisis response or high-end services. Youth ACT teams deliver intensive, highly coordinated, individualized services and skilled therapeutic interventions through an integrated, multi-disciplinary team approach to better achieve success and maintain the child in the home, school, and community. The majority of services are provided by Youth ACT staff directly (not brokered) and are delivered in the home or other community-based settings.

Team interventions are focused on improving or ameliorating the significant functional impairments and severe symptomatology experienced by the child/youth due to mental illness or serious emotional disturbance (SED). Clinical and rehabilitative interventions are also focused on enhancing family functioning to foster health/well-being, stability, and re-integration for the child/youth. Services are delivered using a family-driven, youth guided and developmentally appropriate approach that comprehensively addresses the needs of the child/youth within the family, school, medical, behavioral, psychosocial, and community domains.

To address the needs of children and adolescents eligible for this comprehensive service, the Youth ACT team is multi-disciplinary with professional staff including mental health clinicians and psychiatric prescribers. Other members of the team include peer advocates (family and youth), clinical staff, and program assistants.

Youth ACT is expected to promote a myriad of interventions, including:  active participation of the family and other natural supports; utilization of promising practices and evidence-based treatment interventions focused on family and systems approaches; re-integration and meaningful connections within the home and community; and preparations for transition to adulthood; all as applicable to the population served. The Youth ACT team must also ensure that services are comprehensive and principle driven.

A reliable and intensive treatment structure that is flexible and responsive in nature, is required, whereby the type and intensity of services are immediately and seamlessly adjusted to meet the individualized, changing needs of the child and family. Youth ACT offers support on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week basis.

The expansion of Youth ACT represents a commitment by the New York State Office of Mental Health to increase access to an evidence-based practice by children and youth with SED, and their families. Youth ACT programs serve as a critical component in the children’s continuum of care.

OMH is expanding Youth ACT by eleven (11) teams under this Request for Proposal (RFP). Up to eleven (11) awards will be made , available for counties as outlined in the RFP.

The full RFP can be found at: https://omh.ny.gov/omhweb/rfp/

All applicants must be Prequalified by the due date/time of the RFP.

All applications/proposals must be submitted through the Statewide Financial System.