Ramsey County Children's Mental Health Collaborative
Working across systems and with families to support children's mental health.
Call or Text (800) 565-2575
2020 - 2021 Report
In the middle of a storm...
RCCMHC offers healing, belonging, and hope
"Before RCCMHC, I didn't know of any services. I didn't know any other parents who had children
like me.
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I felt alone and lost.
With them, I know that I have someone to turn to for help, answers, and
resources when I need it."
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-RCCMHC parent
83% of RCCMHC families report feeling more connected/ a sense of belonging in the week following a training or event.
A Message from our Board Chair & Executive Director
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The "storm clouds" were already building before the COVID-19 pandemic. Youth mental health issues have been trending higher and higher for years. But in 2020, the state of our kids' mental health became a full blown hurricane! As needs emerged in 2020, RCCMHC adapted quickly, broke down barriers, and leveraged resources. We found ways to lift each other up with compassion, gentleness and ingenuity. We brought together community members and our system partners to struggle, mourn, celebrate, and innovate together as a collaborative family. In spite of all the hardship, this year has been proof that COLLABORATION WORKS.
As Jacinta and I thought back over 2020, we could hardly believe how much was accomplished! RCCMHC only has two fulltime staff so we could not do what we do without every single volunteer, intern, system partner, community leader, young person, caregiver, and funder. Thank you for your investment in collaboration. Your generosity and commitment made it possible for RCCMHC to reach thousands of Ramsey County families and family service providers.
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But the hard work is not over. Our community is grieving too many losses. BIPOC families have been disparately impacted by illness, unemployment, community violence, and school disengagement while also coping with the open wounds of systemic racism. Youth and family service providers are burned out and struggling with compassion fatigue. Kids and caregivers are hurting from a year of isolation and stress. Across the country, experts are warning about a mental health crisis which is swiftly becoming unmanageable.
The months ahead are going to be challenging but not impossible- because we will weather the storms together.
With gratitude,
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Jacinta Moss
Jacinta Moss
Chair, RCCMHC Governing Board
W. Goodman-H.
Wendy Goodman
RCCMHC Executive Director
Vision, Mission & Goals
RCCMHC works across systems and with families to meet the complex needs of youth with mental health disorders. We want Ramsey County youth to have the strengths, skills, relationships, supports, and opportunities that they need to experience mental health and wellbeing. Our story started in 1989... visit our virtual timeline for a trip down memory lane.
GOAL 1: A Responsive Children's Mental Health Delivery System
GOAL 2: Health Equity
GOAL 3: Youth & Whole-Family Wellbeing
With community, we identified 6 strategies to help us meet these goals: 1) Partnerships, Policy & Collaboration, 2) Youth, Family & Community Engagement, 3) Capacity Building & Professional Training, 4) Cross-System Services & Supports, 5) CommunityDefined/Driven and Data-Informed Decision Making, and 6) Resource Sharing & Development.
Who did we reach in 2020?
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25,000+ youth/families, community members and family service providers
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ALL youth and families were Ramsey County residents or attended a school in Ramsey County. 55.6% of grantees said their program supported youth in Saint Paul. 49% of families served directly through RCCMHC were from Saint Paul.
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Most youth/families are BIPOC. Most are low income families/ qualify for free and reduced school meal programs.
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64% of grantee agencies identified as culturally specific.
Note: thousands of people used our website for resources but they were not counted in the number served.
"I have had several difficult cases in case management that involve deep trauma and complex generational mental health struggles. Through case consultation, RCCMHC has helped me sort out what would be good support services for each individual in the family. Being a case manager can be overwhelming and RCCMHC has helped me to be able to ground myself and refocus on the needs of the family.
They have a calming and caring presence that you won't find anywhere else! They also have the "best of the best" in resources and make referrals easier and more streamlined. The connections with parents has been great because they allow my families a safe space to ask questions and learn about navigating the system and empowering them to be strong advocates for their children. "
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-Local Provider
In this virtual impact report, you will read about community outreach and mental health services that we sustained as well as many new or redesigned initiatives that were developed in 2020. Please click on each image below to view more accomplishments and see how they tie back to our strategic plan.
2020 Highlights
2020 DATA & OUTCOMES MEASUREMENT
A continuous feedback loop between community, grantees, and our Board members helps RCCMHC evaluate our effectiveness and make future funding decisions.
In 2020, our grant making increased ten-fold. This resulted in increased collaboration with schools, county, and local agencies as well as increased access for thousands more youth/families. But with so many new grants, we had to find a new way to gather data and report on collective impact and youth/family improvement across all funding areas. Click on the link below to learn more about how we are doing this.
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"Very friendly providers that sought our questions and made us feel comfortable asking and sharing..."
-a Parent
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"I really thought everything was really cool....to be able to virtually go into these rooms and get so much info and resources..."
-a Parent
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"I think this is an excellent way for people to learn more about the organizations and services that may be helpful to them. I hope that this format continues even when the pandemic ends. This is a really unique resource for our community!"
-a Provider
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(parents and providers describing a Virtual Resource Event)
Collective Impact & Stories
For a "deeper dive" into outcomes and lessons learned, click on the icons below to read about our four main funding areas. Each report includes a personal story about a youth or family who received RCCMHC-funded supports.
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School Linked Mental Health is the broader term which also includes School Based Mental Health (SBMH) and refers to services that connect or co-locate effective mental health services with schools at the local level. RCCMHC grants cover non-billable services and services for uninsured/underinsured students. (click on the school to learn more)
Innovative Services awards support and identify effective practices that address existing or emerging mental health issues for youth and/or families in Ramsey County. These include 1) new models and practices- inventive or novel approaches which are not commonly in use and 2) traditional healing practices- community defined approaches which may already be in use by certain communities or cultures but are not commonly used by public systems. (click on the light bulb icon to learn more.)
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The Non-Billable Services Bank supports youth with or at risk for ED or SED (and their families.) The RCCMHC Governing Board may designate additional criteria as-needed to respond to emerging needs in the community. This award provides funding for services that cannot be reimbursed through insurance, federal, state, local or other funds. (click on the bank icon to learn more.)
RCCMHC provides Youth, Family, and Community Engagement in the following areas: 1) Caregiver and Youth Leadership, 2) Family Education & Whole Family Support, 3) Community Outreach and Trainings, and 4) Family Wellbeing & Respite Events. Funding includes the salary for a Director of Family and Community Engagement who coordinates the direct services as well as our intern/volunteer program. All services and supports are free. Youth (up to age 24) must live in Ramsey County or be affiliated with a school district in Ramsey County. Qualifying youth must have a mental health diagnosis or must be struggling with emotions/behaviors that may put them at risk for a mental health diagnosis in the future. Providers can refer or parents/caregivers can self-refer. (click on the home icon to learn more.)
“This funding's flexibility really allowed for our agency to continue to provide services during a time where there was so much uncertainty and struggles all the way around from payroll to staff stability, client and family crisis and social systemic concerns in the community. As a provider it’s our responsibility to continue to provide services to our clients while addressing their needs and struggles as well as trauma induced by the uncertainty and chaos during the summer especially.
But we as providers are struggling with some of the same struggles as our families both personally and professionally. Funds and grants such as this really allows for us to supports not just our clients but also our staff who comes from some of the same background as our clients and are part of the same communities that have limited resources and access to services in a "main stream" way.”
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-2020 Non-Billable Bank Grantee
Grantees
These agencies received one or more grants in 2020-2021: American Indian Family Center, Anod Inc, Art of Counseling, Autism Society of MN, Canvas Health, CLUES, Face to Face, FamilyWise Services, Family Values for Life, Fear None Conquer All, Living Spirit Therapy Services, Metro Social Services, Mid MN Legal Aid, MN CarePartner, N4 Collective, NAMI MN, Natalis, North Homes, Northeast Youth and Family Services, PACER, Playworks Minnesota, Progressive Individual Resources, Refuge Church/Mosaic Family Services, Safe Families, True Thao Counseling
The following schools/ districts were also awarded grants: AFSA Highschool, Northeast Metro District 916, Mounds View Schools, Roseville Schools, White Bear Lake Schools, and Saint Paul Public Schools.
“It's RELATIONSHIP that heals."
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-2020 School Linked Mental Health Grantee
“RCCMHC has played an important role in engaging our community by allowing families and community partners to come together to ensure that the needs and relevant issues in Ramsey County are being discussed. They help to explore and develop solutions that are innovative and positive for our larger community."
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-Community Leader
What's NEW so far in 2021...?
To meet the increased need, we now have a 16-person collaborative support team that provides free resource navigation, resilience coaching, and care coordination. Most are BIPOC and have lived experience with youth mental health or trauma.
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Moodie Mondays: our brand new program for youth already has 150+ active particpants!
Crisis Kit project with metro area hospitals and the Ramsey County crisis response team supports youth who do not meet criteria for inpatient hospitalization.
Professional Training & Scholarship Fund
Mental Health 101 Workshop and other trainings for non-mental health professionals and volunteers
Common Referral Page to increase access
Search Tool: Mental Heath Agencies
“I am ALWAYS impressed with your efforts to build such a beautiful community for people. With COVID, your group has been such a life-line for me, a good reminder that people want the best for each other, care for each other unconditionally vs being treated like a transaction. "
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-Family Service Provider, 2021
Financials 2019 & 2020
Collaboratives grow and are sustained through our Integrated Fund. (Minnesota Statutes Sections 245.491 to 245.495). The Integrated Fund is a pool of public and private local, state, and federal resources as well as in-kind donations and services which are consolidated at the local level and used to develop and implement cross-system and integrated services or supports that meet locally agreed-upon goals for youth with mental health disorders and their families. Learn more here.
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