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Department of Human Services Map

Department of Human Services Map
Use the map to help navigate services
     

Internships

Lehigh County Department of Human Services, including Lehigh County Integrated Services, offers a variety of internship opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students.
For questions regarding an internship in any of the Human Services departments, please contact the Director of Integrated Services, Mary McGonigle, at 610-782-3201 or via email at MaryMcGonigle@lehighcounty.org.  

     

Lehigh County's Main Mental Health Page

     

Items of Interest

Community Resources

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Magellan's Behavioral Health Matters Podcasts

Suicide Prevention

Kid Connector Helpline--helpline for kinship resource 1-866-KIN-2111

Teen Central--a website powered by KidsPeace as a free and safe prevention resource, offering information on a number of topics.

Resilient Lehigh Valley--trauma-informed care practices and strategies for parents, professionals, educators, and more.

     

Medical Assistance

*To apply for PA Medical Assistance, call or visit the Lehigh County Assistance Office/Pennsylvania Public Welfare
610-821-6509
555 Union Blvd.
Allentown, PA 18109
  

If your child (under the age of 18) has a severe disability, behavioral, or Autism Spectrum disorder, view link here to find out how to apply for Medical Assistance through the loophole.
     

Comments/Suggestions

     

Lehigh County Integrated Services

Lehigh County Integrated Services

Lehigh County Integrated Services was created to support Pennsylvania’s 2012 Systems of Care Initiative to increase collaboration with children and families involved in multi-systems, including all Department of Human Services offices and Juvenile Probation.  Integrated Services supports this initiative by providing mental health case consultation, leadership, and coordination, while identifying and bridging services and ensuring communication between the child-serving systems.  Integrated Services also expanded this support to the adult mental health system in 2019. Lehigh County Children’s Mental Health and the Child and Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP) are housed under the Office of Integrated Services.
     

Lehigh County Children's Mental Health Unit

Children's Mental Health Unit

It is very difficult and emotionally stressful for families when their child has been diagnosed with a mental health illness.  Families’ main concerns are keeping their children safe while seeking appropriate treatment.  Therefore it is important that families are aware of the mental health services that are available in their county as well as how to obtain funding for these services.  
View the Children's Mental Health Unit brochure in English 
View the Children's Mental Health Unit brochure in Spanish

Young Adult Administrative Case Management Services--The Children's Mental Health Unit provides a Children's Mental Health Program Specialist service to assist youth between the ages of 16-21 in finding the most effective services to meet their mental health needs.  This Program Specialist will provide advocacy and leadership to ensure cross-system collaboration and communication in identifying and securing community services to meet the youth's needs including vocational goals, employment, housing and securing benefits and entitlements.  The case manager will facilitate meetings to develop and oversee the success of the youth's identified service plan, coordinate and facilitate transition to the Adult Mental Health System and other Department of Human Services offices as well as participate in Individualized Educational Planning with the youth to ensure a good transitional plan while exiting school.  View The Young Adult Resource Guide for helpful information.

     

Children's Mental Health Funded Programs

LC Children’s Mental Health Funded Programs

High Fidelity Wraparound
HFW is a team-based, collaborative process for helping children and youth with special mental health needs and their families identify and use their strengths and community resources.  
View the brochure for Pinebrook Family Answers High Fidelity Wraparound.
 

     

Magellan Behavioral Health of Lehigh County


Magellan Behavioral Health of Lehigh County
 

Magellan manages behavioral health services for Lehigh County residents who are enrolled in the Pennsylvania HealthChoices program. 

*View the Magellan Behavioral Health of Lehigh County Homepage here.
*View information on Getting Care through Magellan.
* Find a  Magellan Provider.
*View information on Medical Necessity Criteria for Services.


Magellan's Medical Assistance Programs and Services for Lehigh County

Blended Case Management – this service assists youth with identifying and achieving vocational goals, coordinating services and helping to secure benefits and entitlements.  It also provides a 24-hour on-call system. 

Certified Peer Support-this program is for youth ages 16-26 and provides individual advocacy, education, skill training and assistance with the development of natural supports.  It also provides peer support for work and other meaningful activities in addition to crisis management and linkages to other programs.   

Transition to Independence Program-this program is also for youth ages 16-26 and provides a 24 hour on-call system with trauma-informed staff who provide peer support.  It offers assistance with the implementation of individualized service plans which can include vocational, educational and housing goals.  

Outpatient Treatment – site based clinic that provides counseling and medication management.

In School Partial Hospitalization – daily treatment including individual and group counseling and psychiatric care provided in the school setting.  The Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit #21 provides the educational portion of the program.

Acute Partial Hospitalization - site-based program, generally lasting 4-6 weeks, that provides six hours of treatment, including psychological evaluations, medication monitoring and therapy (individual, family, group) care five days a week.  

Intensive Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) Individual – home and community services for individuals through the age of 21 which may include a Mobile Therapist, Behavior Consultant or Board-Certified Behavior Analyst and a Behavioral Health Technician.  Mobile therapists address trauma, parenting and family dynamics.  Behavior Consultants and Board Certified Behavior Analysts provide expertise in behavioral management and direct the implementation of individualized behavior modification support plans.  Behavioral Health Technicians implement a behavior modification plan and provides modeling for caregivers.  Watch a video about IBHS.

Intensive Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)-home and community services for individuals through the age of 21 that provide direct observation, measurement and functional analysis of the relationship between the environment and behavior.  The Behavior Consultant-ABA enacts a behavior modification plan in which the Behavioral Health Technician-ABA implements.  This service also provides modeling for caregivers.  Watch a video about IBHS.

Intensive Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) Group Services-these services are available to school-age children that are on the Autism Spectrum.  Psychiatric evaluation and medication management are provided, as well as therapeutic intervention at the treatment site location.  Groups generally occur after school and over the summer.  Watch a video about IBHS.

Functional Family Therapy -this service is for youth ages 11-18 who are at risk, or present with, delinquency, aggression and/or substance abuse.  The program can be used with runaway or truant youth as an alternative to detention for first time misdemeanors.

Multi-Systemic Therapy – a five-month program which provides a 24 hour on-call system for youth ages 12-17.  It provides intensive family therapy and targets violent and/or substance abusing youth at-risk of an out-of-home placement.

Sexual Issues Treatment and Education-this in-home service is for youth ages 4-21.  It provides flexible hours as well as a 24 hour on-call system.  The team assesses the nature and acuity of the sexual offender's issues, clarifies socially accepted values, provides treatment and helps the victims of the abuser.

Family Based – a 6 to 9 month trauma informed in-home service which includes a 24 hour on-call system.  It is focused on family therapy and is used to divert children from higher levels of treatment or to assist in the adjustment to lower levels of treatment.

Community Residential Rehabilitative (CRR) Host Home-this service provides mental health evaluation and daily treatment, including intensive therapy, to children and adolescents who have serious emotional and behavioral challenges. The CRR Host Home provider trains the host home parent(s) to anticipate and appropriately respond to the children's needs and behaviors. Children receive services from a psychiatrist, therapist, mental health worker, and/or case manager according to their individual needs at the host home and, when necessary, at the provider agency. Services are also provided to the child’s family of origin to increase their capacity to be a secure resource for their child. It is a less restrictive alternative to RTF.  The level of care must be prescribed as medically necessary by a psychologist or psychiatrist.

Residential Treatment Facility (RTF)-A six-month to one-year program providing 24-hour residence for youth with severe emotional and behavioral problems.  Education is provided on-grounds.  This level of care must be recommended by a psychiatrist as being medically necessary.

Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Hospitalization-intensive, short-term psychiatric 24-hour care for the acute stage of mental illness or behavioral difficulties.  It provides treatment and medication management and helps to stabilize those in this level of care .  The average length of stay is a few days to a few weeks.

     

Child and Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP)

Lehigh County Child and Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP) 

CASSP is an acronym for Child and Adolescent Service System Program and was developed as a comprehensive system of care to help children ages 3 to 21 with severe emotional disturbances gain access to needed services.  

CASSP is committed to the development of a comprehensive, coordinated, and collaborative system of services for children and adolescents and their families with multi-system needs.  Services are planned collaboratively with the child’s family, school, mental health providers and other involved agencies.  CASSP assists in the communication among all those who serve children and it supports the core CASSP principles.

Lehigh County CASSP provides System Coordination Meetings (SCM) free to all LC residents.  This process assists in identifying the child and family’s goals and concerns, as well as any systems involved, while ensuring that communication amongst the identified team is occurring.  This process ensures system collaboration while the team brainstorms potential resources, services and solutions to all concerns.  A joint service plan is developed while helping the child and family gain access to the services identified. 
See CASSP System Coordination Meeting Brochures: 
CASSP Systems Coordination Meeting (SCM) brochure (English)
CASSP Systems Coordination Meeting (SCM) brochure (Spanish)

Lehigh County CASSP also provides Placement Authorization Meetings (PAM) for PA Medical Assistance enrolled children and adolescents in an effort to secure PA MA funding when referrals are made via a psychiatric recommendation for an out of home mental health placement. This process assists in the communication among the child’s identified team while supporting the core CASSP principles and best practice guidelines.  
See CASSP Placement Authorization Meeting Brochures:
CASSP Placement Authorization Meeting (PAM) brochure (English)
CASSP Placement Authorization Meeting (PAM) brochure (Spanish)
Best Practice Guidelines for Children in Mental Health Placements brochure (English)
Best Practice Guidelines for Children in Mental Health Placements brochure (Spanish)
Building Bridges Family Tip Sheet for Children in Mental Health Placements (English)
Building Bridges Family Tip Sheet for Children in Mental Health Placements (Spanish)