Statewide Family Support Network
Advocacy
Support Groups
Networker
Trainings
Education/Awareness

Advocacy services are at the heart of Outreach. Advocacy includes providing information about community resources, referral to resources, and education to help parents/caregivers and professionals have a better understanding of children and adolescent mental health disorders and needs. TVC provides a toll free access telephone number for families across Tennessee to insure that parents/caregivers can make contact for assistance. The major concerns parents/caregivers have involve lack of access to services through Special Education, TennCare, private insurance, and mental health providers.

Special Education: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) & 504:
Parents/caregivers often find it difficult to get their child evaluated at the school level. When that is achieved, they often have to advocate for needed services even when their child qualifies. Outreach Specialists work with parents/caregivers to understand their rights, the laws that cover their children's educational needs, and to actively engage in the process of developing educational plans that benefit their child.

Sometimes children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral disturbances are involved in disciplinary actions at school including zero tolerance charges. Outreach Specialists work with parents and school staff to develop the best outcome for the child in these incidences, with emphasis on keeping the child in school with all the necessary support services needed to help them achieve success.

TennCare Behavioral Health Services & Private Insurance:

Children and youth who have a severe emotional disturbance (SED) often need intense levels of mental health services such as in-home counseling, day treatment, intensive outpatient counseling, crisis intervention and sometimes inpatient hospitalization and residential treatment. Intense levels of services are sometimes difficult to obtain as they have to be approved by the child's insurance and managed care organization, usually through its behavioral health organization (BHO). Outreach specialists help parents file appeals and learn about their mental health benefits. Outreach specialists also work with parents/caregivers to keep children and youth out of state custody. Sometimes parents/caregivers have been encouraged by others to place their child in state custody to get necessary treatment services. Outreach specialists help parents to find other options. When children are in state custody, there is no guarantee that they will get the proper treatment they need and parents have little control over what happens to their child.

Lack of mental health providers in the community:

Parents/caregivers often call when they cannot find a doctor or counselor in their community to provide mental health services for their child; or they may call and ask for recommendations as to who to contact for services. Outreach specialists can help parents/caregivers through referral and information.