Child & Adolescent Services

Often, it’s hard to know why a child is consistently unhappy, angry, aggressive, or anxious or why a child persistently behaves in ways that are just not acceptable. If your child is having emotional or behavioral difficulties, Child & Adolescent Services at Gulf Bend Center offers a broad range of resources for children with adjustment and behavioral disorders.

Services are provided to eligible children, adolescents, and families to assist in coping with mental illnesses and serious emotional and/or behavioral disturbances. Services can be provided in the school, home, community, office, or other location preferred by the family.

A case manager and/or treatment team will work with the child and family to meet goals, provide treatment, and help work toward a vision of success.

SERVICES:

•       Targeted Case Management – Link, refer, and assist families  with resources in the community and to help meet needs. 

•       Skills Training/Psychiatric Rehabilitative Services – Skills are taught to help meet goals using evidence-based curriculums and include working with the youth, as well as the caregivers and family.

•       Medical Services – Includes psychiatrist and nurses  services.

•       Family Partner- Support for parents from a peer with lived experience

•       Counseling- provided by Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs)

•       YES Waiver- Medicaid Services Waiver that allows for more intensive community-based services to assist children and adolescents with severe emotional disturbances to live in the community with their families.

WHO IS ELIGIBILE FOR SERVICES? 

Children & youth ages of 3 – 17 whom:

•        Have a diagnosis of mental illness (other than a diagnosis of substance abuse, autism, intellectual disability [IDD] or pervasive developmental disorder; and

•        Exhibit serious, emotional, behavioral or mental disorders; and have a serious functional impairment; are at risk of disruption of a preferred living or child-care environment due to psychiatric symptoms.

•        or are enrolled in a school system’s Special Education Program because of serious emotional disturbance. 

Youth Empowerment Services (YES) Waiver:

This program provides community-based mental health services to children and youth ages 3-18 who live with a serious emotional disturbance. A special type of case management called wraparound is used to build a team of providers for the youth. Staff work to keep the youth at home with their families, in school and in their communities. Services include case management, help getting and keeping a job, and specialized therapies such as art and music therapy. The YES Waiver also provides support for parents.

Families or the Legal Authorized Representative of an eligible child or youth who are interested in referring their child to the YES Waiver Services Program must first contact the Center’s Message Line at 361.575.0611, ext. 300.

YES Waiver Brochure
YES Waiver Provider Brochure

Gulf Bend Center accepts CHIPS, Medicaid, Medicare, Self-Pay and most private insurance plans.  Individuals with no insurance benefits are still eligible to apply for services.  

Note: Diagnosis and assessment of current functioning will determine the services a client is eligible to receive.

*Individuals will not be denied access to services based on current address or ability to pay.