Best Practices in Child and Youth Behavioral Health Crisis Care

Best Practices in Child and Youth Behavioral Health Crisis Care CE Course (PDF document) – Online CE Course

Best Practices in Child and Youth Behavioral Health Crisis Care CE Course objectives, description, and outline

Course Objectives:

• Discuss at least two evidence-based behavioral assessment and early intervention approaches for youth with severe emotional, behavioral, intellectual, or developmental challenges, and integrate these approaches into crisis stabilization and mobile response models consistent with national best-practice standards.
• Describe at least one function of service availability, geographic location, and system capacity (e.g., rural vs. urban settings) in youth suicide prevention and crisis response, and formulate at least one clinically appropriate strategies to mitigate access barriers within coordinated crisis care systems.
• Discuss at least one barrier to access in pediatric and youth behavioral health crises, including emergency department utilization, suicide risk, and service access disparities, and explain how this barrier informs the design of developmentally appropriate crisis response systems for children and adolescents.
• Explain at least one impact of racial, ethnic, and structural inequities—including fear of law enforcement involvement and differential use of restrictive interventions—on youth and family engagement in crisis services, and apply at least one equity-informed strategy to reduce harm and improve outcomes in crisis settings.
• Describe at least one behavioral assessment principle and early intervention strategy for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities into crisis assessment and stabilization practices, with the goal of reducing behavioral escalation, misinterpretation of symptoms, and unnecessary restrictive interventions.

Course Description:

SAMHSA’s National Guidelines for Child and Youth Behavioral Health Crisis Care describes a framework that states and localities across America can consider as they develop or expand their crisis safety net for youth and families. Ultimately, SAMHSA envisions 988 as part of a robust crisis response system that is as widely recognized and understood as 911.

This document captures recommendations from an expert children’s crisis continuum workgroup, best practices identified in the research, and learnings from pioneering children’s crisis response programs. It is not the final word—it is a beginning. With the implementation of 988, we will continue to learn better ways of engaging, serving, and supporting young people in crisis and their families. Together, we can build a crisis response system that both responds effectively to all youth in crisis and prevents emotional and behavioral health needs from escalating to crisis.

Course Outline:

1. 1. Forward
   2. Executive Summary
      1. Core Principles for Delivering Crisis Response to Children, Youth, and Families
      2. Integrating Systems of Care Approach in Serving Children, Youth, and Families in Crisis
      3. Special Populations and Settings
   3. Introduction
      1. About this Document
      2. Language and Terminology
   4. Youth Crisis in Context
      1. Traditional Youth Crisis Response System
      2. Emergency Departments and Hospitalization
      3. Justice System
   5. Core Youth Crisis Services
      1. Someone to Talk To – Crisis Call Hub Services
      2. Someone to Respond – Mobile Crisis Team Services
      3. A Safe Place to Be – Crisis Receiving and Stabilization Services
   6. Core Values and Principles
      1. Addressing Recovery Needs
      2. Trauma-Informed Care
      3. Significant Role for Peers
      4. Zero Suicide/Suicide Safer Care
      5. Safety/Security for Staff and People in Crisis
      6. Crisis Response Partnerships with Law Enforcement, Dispatch, and Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
   7. Connecting to the System of Care
      1. Key Systems of Care Partners
         1. Schools
         2. Community Organizations
         3. Child Welfare and Foster Care
         4. Juvenile Justice
         5. Pediatricians and Other Primary Care Providers
         6. Homeless Shelters and Transitional Housing Programs
      2. Special Populations
         1. Early Childhood
         2. Transition-Age Youth (TAY) and Young Adults
         3. Youth with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDDs)
         4. LGBTQ+ Youth
      3. Rural and Frontier Communities
      4. Conclusion

Instructors: Nicole Hiltibran, MA, LMFT; Julie Campbell, Phd

Author: SAMHSA

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation. SAMHSA’s mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America’s communities.

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