Expansion of System Navigation and Family Support at CIDD/UNC Pediatrics, Emphasis on Supporting Eastern NC Families-A Partnership with Trillium MCO
Project Description:
The North Carolina I/DD Health Home Initiative(http://www.iddmedicalhealthhomencinitiative.com/) has identified system navigation and family support as key missing factors in supporting complex children. For the purposes of this effort, we define complex as meaning high developmental complexity (presence of I/DD) in combination with high behavioral, medical, psychiatric, or psycho-social complexity. CIDD believes firmly in the specialized skills and abilities that a person with lived experience brings to supporting families navigating our complex IDD system. At CIDD we use the terms "family partner" and "family system navigator" and "system navigator" synonymously. We recognize that such individuals need not be actual family members of an individual with I/DD, but believe that lived experience is key to the effectiveness of the role. For brevity, we will use FP as an acronym for this role henceforth. UNC pediatric specialty care clinics and the continuity clinics at CIDD annually assess and follow thousands of children with IDD and complex psychiatric, behavioral, developmental, and medical challenges. Since 2020, our CIDD FPs have supported over 150 families/yr. In the proposed partnership with Trillium, we plan to expand the role(s) of our FPs at CIDD/UNC. The proposed position will focus on but not be limited to supporting Trillium connected families receiving care at UNC Pediatric outpatient services and CIDD clinics. Most patients will be seen in Pediatric Neurology, Developmental Behavior Pediatrics, UNC Complex Care, and CIDD but this navigator will not be limited to these service areas. Additionally, we will link our Trillium supported FP to our expanding network of UNC and NC based system FPs via the following separate but related projects: a) UNC Pediatrics Complex Care-CIDD partnership, b) NC-PAL, IDD Branch, c) and a possible additional FP based at CIDD related to a new developing separate state contract. We see these efforts to network and train FPs as synergistic and key components of this effort.
Keyword(s):
Mental/Behavioral Health – Autism, Clinical Care, Developmental Disabilities, Medical Home, Mental/Behavioral Health – General , Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults with Special Health Care Needs
Core Function(s):
Other Direct/Model Services
Area of Emphasis
Health-Related Activities
Target Audience:
Family Members/Caregivers, Children/Adolescents with Disabilities/SHCN
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Geographic Areas, Rural/Remote
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
Mulit-County
COVID-19 Related Data:
N/A
