Children’s System of Care
Children’s System of Care:
The Rural Counties’ Initiative (RCI), for Resiliency and Recovery in Systems of Care is working to enhance and expand the systems of care approach in the chiefly rural, 30 county region of the Texas Panhandle.
System of Care is not a single program or clinical intervention. Rather the term “System of Care” is an approach for working within and across organizations throughout a community:
- Through the use of a *community-wide governance board we use formal agreements to better coordinate services and share resources.
- Using that governance board, we develop committees that will be in charge of creating plans to assess service needs, training, financing and evaluation.
- We emphasize the values of family driven, youth guided, and cultural and linguistic competence. These values are infused in all of our work. We invite families and youth to be at the decision making table as a full partner.
- Our goal is to ensure services are well coordinated across all systems and we use data to guide changes over time.
Recovery Support Services (RSS): Central Plains Center’s RSS program became operational in May 2014 after being selected for funding by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC). The RSS program offers a wide array of non-clinical services and supports to help individuals initiate and maintain recovery from alcohol and other drug use problems. Services include peer-run groups; training around basic life skills such as financial management, parenting, and stress management; educational support; recovery check-ups; and assertive connections to mutual aid support groups and employment. One of the key elements of this program is the recruitment and utilization of trained Peer Recovery Coaches.
Recovery Coaches are individuals with robust, long term recovery who use their experience to provide strength based support for persons seeking recovery (or who are in early recovery) from addiction and/or substance abuse. They do not offer primary treatment – they help individuals work on life goals, build community support, and improve their life while preventing relapse.
Youth Recovery Community Services (YRCS): Central Plains Center, along with the support of our collaborative partners, created Youth Recovery Community Centers in Littlefield and Plainview, Texas. We focus on implementing ways to improve the outcomes of youth ages 13-21 with a history of substance misuse or substance use disorders, including co-occurring mental health disorders. We provide support to young people who are in, or seeking recovery, along with their family members, significant others, and supportive allies.
The purpose of our YRCS is to provide a physical place for recovery development and a venue for healthy, drug/alcohol free socialization and other recovery support activities. We have Youth Peer Recovery Leaders on staff to help lead these efforts.
Youth Peer Recovery Leaders are young adults in recovery from substance use disorder , the misuse of substances, or a family member of a person or persons in recovery from substance use disorder. These trained individuals help young people experiencing similar challenges. Through shared understanding, respect, and mutual empowerment, peer recovery leaders help individuals become and stay engaged in the recovery process and work to reduce the likelihood of relapse.
