Child & Family Mental Health Services

IFBS is an intensive community-based, short-term (3 to 6 months) program that works with families at risk of having a child removed from their home due to emotional or behavioral challenges, delinquency, truancy, and/or family risk factors such as domestic violence, mental health and/or substance abuse issues of parents/caregivers. IFBS services also provide support and stabilization to families who are in the reunification process with a child following an out-of-home placement.

The Outpatient Services program offers evidence-based interventions for children experiencing mental health, behavioral and/or emotional barriers.  Clinical services are tailored at evaluation with a strong focus on family and person-centered choice.  Services can be provided in youth and family-friendly environments.

The Case Management program provides community-based case management for children and youth experiencing mental health, behavioral and/or emotional barriers.  Services are provided in youth and family-friendly environments.

ECS provides assessment, consultation, home and office-based case management (i.e. service planning and coordination, community supports), and individual and family psychotherapy, for infants and children age 6 and under.  Master’s level Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation is provided to childcare centers, Head Start, and childcare provider networks.  Intensive Case Management services are also provided to the most challenging children at Rutland County Head Start to help facilitate kindergarten readiness and to support children in need of intensive short-term work on skill building.

VOAP is a specialized program that utilizes experiential and adventure-based activities in a wilderness setting as a means of assisting individuals in achieving their emotional and behavioral goals.  The program strives to improve participants’ levels of self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-control, and assists them in learning how to manage emotions, communicate effectively, trust others, take responsibility, work with others as a team, and make positive choices for their life.

Crisis stabilization services are offered in the office and community for the purpose of providing follow-up stabilization supports to children/families with mental health issues following a crisis assessment through the RMHS Crisis Team.  These services are short-term, intensive, and focused on the immediate problem.  When additional services are needed, the child is typically referred to outpatient services for on-going support.  In situations where a child is hospitalized, Rapid Response services can be instrumental in discharge planning and ensuring access to immediate supports upon the child’s return to their home.

The Outpatient Substance Use Treatment Program provides services for children and adolescents needing support around challenges related to self-medication and substance use.  Substance use and mental health services are integrated throughout the program, which anticipates a very high degree of co-occurring issues among adolescents.

The Respite program provides respite services for children in Rutland County who are engaged in other services at RMHS, and whose family system would benefit from brief separation (one to four hours) of the child from the home environment.  We also offer short-term respite services for families who need this extra support to help them get through a crisis period.

This program offers contracted clinical and behavioral support services to schools in Rutland County for the provision of on-site mental and behavioral health services.  Schools have the option of contracting for a Clinician, Case Manager or Behavioral Interventionist.  Through these contracts RMHS is able to provide a more accessible intake process for students and develop more active collaborations with families, schools and treatment teams.

The JOBS Program is an innovative supported employment and intensive case management service that targets eligible youth, ages 16 through 21, whom are considered to be at-risk in the community.

Oak Tree Program is a foster family support initiative through Rutland Mental Health Services aimed at providing foster, kinship, and guardianship families clinical supports to navigate the challenges of caring for a child (0-18) while outside of their family of origin. The mission of this program is to decrease placement instability in the Rutland area, therefore this team is looking for referrals in which placement is in question, or education and support would either ensure placement stability or support a smooth transition to another placement. Some services that the program offers include: education about parenting a child who has experienced trauma, dealing with vicarious trauma and burnout, managing challenging behaviors, and advocacy/connecting to community resources. Oak Tree Program is a family support program that includes the identified parent, family, and child. It is designed to be an adjunct service to individual supports for the child; if needed, Oak Tree can help facilitate these referrals.

Resource Parent Curriculum Plus Trauma Informed Parenting Skills (RPC+) is a 10-week course that educates foster, adoptive and kin caregivers about the impact of trauma on the development, attachment, relationships, emotions and behaviors of the children in their care. Instructors of the course provide a safe space for caregivers to access compassionate training. This course is offered twice annually, in the spring and fall.  To learn more about RPC+, visit the Vermont Child Welfare Training Partnership page here. 

Choices for Youth, offered through Rutland Mental Health Service’s Child and Family program, is a unique group experience designed to help guide teenagers through life’s challenges by exploring and working on the choices, goals and changes that are most important to them. Choices for Youth is led by a group of caring, knowledgeable and non-judgmental helping professionals (counselors and case managers) who are committed to meeting youth “where they are at” and providing supports that are respectful, inclusive, and effective. Click here for more information on Choices for Youth.