Citation

Suarez E, Jackson DS, Slavin LA, Michels MS, McGeehan KM. Hawaii J. Med. Public Health 2014; 73(12): 387-392.

Affiliation

Hawai'i State Department of Health, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division, Honolulu, HI.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, University Clinical, Education and Research Associates (UCERA))

DOI

unavailable

PMID

25628971

Abstract

Project Kealahou (PK) is a six-year, federally-funded program aimed at improving services and outcomes for Hawai'i's female youth who are at risk for running away, truancy, abuse, suicide, arrest and incarceration. PK builds upon two decades of sustained cross-agency efforts among the state's mental health, juvenile justice, education, and child welfare systems to promote system-of-care (SOC) principles of community-based, individualized, culturally and linguistically competent, family driven, youth-guided, and evidence-based services. In addition, PK emphasizes trauma-informed and gender-responsive care in serving its target population of females ages 11-18 years who have experienced psychological trauma.

RESULTS from the first four years of the implementation of PK in the Department of Health's (DOH) Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division (CAMHD) highlight the serious familial, socioeconomic, functional, and interpersonal challenges faced by the young women who receive services in Hawai'i's SOC. Despite the challenges faced by PK youth and their families, preliminary results of the evaluation of PK show significant improvements across multiple clinical and functional domains of service recipients. A financial analysis indicates that these outcomes were obtained with a minimal overall increase in costs when compared to standard care alone. Overall, these results suggest that PK may offer a cost effective way to improve access, care, and outcomes for at-risk youth and their families in Hawai'i.

Language: en