Funding remains murky for regional youth crisis center

Youth in north central Idaho desperately need access to a crisis center, community organizers say — but right now, whether there will be the funding for such a place is still unknown.

At an Idaho Region 2 Behavioral Health meeting Thursday, Joyce Lyons, rural crisis center network project manager, said the area’s lower population density makes it harder to secure funding from the Department of Juvenile Corrections.

“Region 2 is also very aware of being one of the last in line,” she said. “If they invest $100 in Region 4, they’re going to hit more people than if they invest $100 in Region 2.”

A group had applied for a grant from the Department of Juvenile Corrections last year, Lyons said, but was denied.

“I talked with the Department of Juvenile Corrections yesterday, and they don’t have any plans to bring forward grant funding for youth crisis centers,” she said. “They said to check with Health and Welfare.”

That news, Lyons said, presents another issue: Because of transitions within the Department of Health and Welfare, even existing programs’ funding is still undetermined.

“We don’t even know with our adult crisis centers about funding after April 30 of next year,” Lyons said.

Michelle King, president of the Lewis Clark Valley Youth Resource Center, said the community is in dire need of more support.

“Last Thursday night, we had two suicide interventions, one of which included pulling a kid off a bridge,” she said. “We need a better solution than taking them to the emergency room.”

Emergency rooms, she said, are not a good solution to caring for people who are suicidal.

“This kiddo who went to the emergency room was asked if he was suicidal. He said no. And they cut him loose on his own again,” she said. “So we have to do something different.”

Jenny Teigen said the group would also be submitting a proposal for a block grant through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

“There is a set aside for crisis services for children, and for further support of the crisis centers that are being developed right now in their implementation phases,” she said. “We’ll be putting in recommendations, but the block grant will be submitted Aug. 31.”

Part of the funding requirements for youth crisis centers, King said, requires partnership with a safety assessment center. There are currently eight in Idaho, including one at the Youth Resource Center in Lewiston.

“Whoever works on this project, we are 100% on board to help you with that,” she said.

Currently, all of Idaho’s youth crisis centers are located in southern Idaho. One potential location for a crisis center in the northern end of the state could be at the Northwest Children's Home, Lyons said.

“In our proposal, we actually partnered with Brian Pope,” she said. “They actually have an appropriate facility that is on their campus. Iit could have (a) minor remodel in order to accommodate the parameters they put around the youth crisis center.”

Laura Thayer, behavioral health chief at IDHW, said a youth crisis center in the region is something the department is working toward addressing in the next year.

“I know that the issue is definitely not going away. And we haven’t resolved it yet. So it is becoming a bigger priority,” she said.

King also presented an update on the Safe Teen Assessment Center (STAC) at the LCV Youth Resource Center.

STAC interviews teens and their families using in-depth screening tools, King said, and case managers go with children and their families in person to connect them to resources including food banks, health care, behavioral health, dental and more.

“The goal is to be able to not only help these kids thrive, and their families thrive, but also provide that preventative measure to keep kiddos out of the juvenile justice system out of the welfare system,” she said. “ It’s to identify those critical needs earlier on, and then walk with them hand in hand to solutions.”

Part of the program is also geared toward preparing youth for independent living as they near 18, she said. It can include helping them obtain things such as identification cards, birth certificates and school supplies.

Case managers work with counselors to identify children in need, King said, and also accept self-referrals and referrals from outside community partners including law enforcement.

The board also approved $1,500 of a request for $4,500 in funding for a prison support group through the National Alliance on Mental Illness at the Orofino prison.

Beth Markley, executive director of NAMI Idaho, said the program has been facilitated by one volunteer, whose travel has been funded by a small stipend supported by grants.

“We’re exploring options for longer-term funding — perhaps there’s an opportunity for a partnership with the Department of Corrections,” Markley said. “But in the meantime, I’m just pulling together enough funding every month to keep carefully going up to Orofino twice a month, and without interruption.”

Sun may be contacted at rsun@lmtribune.com or on Twitter at @Rachel_M_Sun. This report is made in partnership with Northwest Public Broadcasting, the Lewiston Tribune and the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.