The New Jersey Division of Child Behavioral Health Services

Through the Division of Child Behavioral Health Services (DCBHS), the New Jersey Department of Human Services (DHS) is implementing broad system reform based on a new paradigm for financing, organizing, managing, and delivering care to children with emotional and behavioral disturbances and their families. The paradigm is grounded in a strength-based, family focused, wraparound practice model for individual children and their families across child-serving systems. This practice model uses culturally competent community resources to deliver effective treatment and support community living and normal social development to the greatest extent possible.

Implementing this paradigm requires substantial changes in the structure and functions of the current system of care for children. It challenges existing practices, with obvious and immediate implications for all stakeholders and participants. Successful implementation requires comprehensive, organized training and technical assistance resources to develop capacity at the individual, organizational, and system management levels for all critical participants in the Division of Child Behavioral Health Services. The Department of Human Services has contracted with UMDNJ-UBHC to provide a comprehensive Training and Technical Assistance program to support the development of the capacity needed to implement and sustain this system of care.

University Behavioral HealthCare is responsible for delivering training and technical assistance that supports and sustains implementation and operation of the Division of Child Behavioral Health Services. This includes direct support for all aspects of preparation, start-up, implementation, ongoing development, and evaluation of all components of the system of care.

All training and technical assistance efforts are infused with the values and principles of wraparound including: a child focus, family involvement and partnership, cultural competence and individualized planning.

Services includes curriculum design, implementation and technical assistance for the key components of the Division of Child Behavioral Health Services, including Care Management Organizations, Family Support Organizations, Mobile Crisis Response and Stabilization Agencies, and other constituents.

VISION

As a social reform effort, the Division of Child Behavioral Health Services brings a paradigm shift in the way we think about serving children and families with complex behavioral and emotional needs. Accessible, effective, state-of-the-art training and technical assistance is essential to support such an undertaking, creating a learning community that embodies the values of the Division of Child Behavioral Health Services and is sustained and enhanced over time as the system matures.

MISSION

To develop a training and technical assistance program that supports learning the requisite knowledge and skills to provide services and support the unique needs and strengths of families and children with complex needs. UBHC’s training and technical assistance effort draws on it’s commitment to competency based curriculum design, training based on adult principles of learning and skill development and development of local expertise and training capacity.

Overview of NJDCBHS Training Program

The NJ DCBHS training program is comprised of 6 major components that are organized around a local system of care model. Various stakeholders are trained together to promote collaboration and developing a shared vision. The training modules and topics were developed in collaboration with workgroups consisting of DHS staff, CMO and FSO staff, parents and national experts.

The primary goal of the training program is to support the development of essential competencies (consisting of knowledge and skills) of CMO, FSO, Mobile Response staff, providers and stakeholders to work within a system of care model.

Full development of this training program will culminate in Certification for Care Manager and Mobile Response staff. A process of on-line certification in the use of a uniform assessment tools has been developed.

The training modules and topics were developed in collaboration with workgroups consisting of DHS staff, CMO and FSO staff, parents and national experts.