This week we are giving a shout out to Partners Health Management! They are a valuable teammate in making the Standardized Assessment Protocol (SAP) project successful, and Benchmarks is proud to be partnering with this organization. Partners serves as a Managed Care Organization (MCO) for clients with mental health concerns, intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as substance use disorders, managing services for the behavioral health care needs of these populations. Partners Health Management (Partners) currently offers their services to 14 counties throughout North Carolina including Burke, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Lincoln, Iredell, Rutherford, Surry, Yadkin, Union, Forsyth, Stanly, Davie, and Cabarrus.
Partners’ role within the SAP project includes their representative attending Leadership Team meetings, establishing contracting and credentialling so providers receive adequate compensation, and working with service providers to ensure fidelity to the project tenets. Partners staff also offer support and assistance with National Child Traumatic Stress Network’s (NCTSN) “Trauma Training for the Child Welfare Professional” trainings for the County DSS offices, which is the curriculum used by the project to ensure that both the leadership and social work staff are well-informed on the most current trauma-informed care standards. Partners continues to be invested in this work by ensuring that children and families have access to trauma-informed care, and specifically that foster children in DSS counties participating in the SAP project have access to Trauma-intensive Comprehensive Clinical Assessments (TiCCAs). Partners supports these efforts by paying an enhanced rate for this assessment so that clinicians can adequately assess a child’s needs thus ensuring holistic recommendations pertaining to all domains of the child’s life.
Partners has supported two SAP foster care pilot cohorts in three counties since July 2019. In July 2022, they enthusiastically supported the pilot expansion into Cabarrus County. LaShay Avery, Regional Director at Partners Health Management, encompasses the nature of this pilot work in a recent comment, “Collaboration and partnership are the two words that come to mind when I think of the work we have done with Benchmarks. Coming together to implement the Standardized Assessment Protocol for youth in foster care is definitely needed. Having this tool in place will afford us the opportunity to work collaboratively on behalf of our community’s youth. I am looking forward to and am excited about the work that lies ahead, the positive outcomes that await us, and the difference we can collectively make.” We look forward to continuing our collaborative pilot project work with Partners Health Management as we seek to improve outcomes for children and families involved with the foster care system.
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