Contact:

Christine Miller, LMSW
Program Director
31 Main Street
Hempstead, New York 11550
Telephone 516.485.5976 x2259
Facsimile 516.565.6095
 

The HCBS Mission

The HCBS mission is to provide home and community-based services to children between 5 and 18 years of age who face the likelihood of residential placement or hospitalization due to a serious emotional disturbance (SED). Our objective is to coordinate an individually tailored plan of care which is designed to meet the needs of the child and his/her family by using their strengths and building a supportive home and community-based environment.
 

How We Work

An Individualized Care Coordinator (ICC) is assigned to work intensively with the child and family to determine what it will take to allow the child to remain at home and in the community. The process is "family-driven", meaning the family is completely involved in every stage and every aspect of the process.

Together we identify individual and family strengths and create a plan of services which will meet the needs of the family.

Family and Children’s Association is working with several other community-based agencies to ensure adequate services are available to each family. This collaboration also offers the family a choice of provider (for all services except ICC).
 

HCBS SERVICES

Under this program, NYS is able to "waive" some of the customary rules which govern Medicaid reimbursement. The most significant of these is the ability to consider only the child’s income (not the parents’) and the addition of the following services:

• Individualized Care Coordination to ensure the development of a customized plan of services; designed to meet the specific needs of each child and family. The Coordinator’s role is to guarantee the fullest measure of child/family participation in the process and the smooth linkage to all available/pertinent sources of help.
• Respite Care to provide needed temporary relief to the primary care giver(s) as well as companionship and positive role-modeling for the child.
• Family Support Services designed to enhance the child’s ability to function as part of a family, and the family’s ability to care for the child in the home.
• Crisis Response Services to help stabilize situations whenever and wherever they may occur.
• Skill Building Services to assist the child to acquire and develop the specific skills needed to function more successfully in the community.
• Intensive In-home Services to provide on-going interventions in the home when a "crisis response" is not enough.

Who We Serve
Eligibility is determined by the following factors:

• Age: The child must be at least 5 but not older than 18.
• Illness: "Serious Emotional Disturbance" is defined by current or extended impairment of functioning (CGAS of 50 or less), and a DSM IV diagnosis (excluding substance disorders, organic brain syndromes, developmental disabilities and social V code conditions.)
• Placement Risk: The child must meet the eligibility criteria for placement in a residential mental health facility.
• Capability: The child must be capable of being cared for in the community if provided appropriate services.
• Voluntary Participation: The child has a viable and consistent living environment with parents/guardians and both child and family are willing to participate in intensive in-home services.
• Medicaid Eligibility: The child’s income and resources (without reference to parents) must meet Medicaid eligibility.
• Fiscal Eligibility: The child must be capable of being served in the community at the federally approved average yearly cost.

Parents or professionals working with the child/family can make referrals by contacting:
SPOA Unit/Children’s Services
Nassau County Department of MH/MR/DD
60 Charles Lindbergh Blvd.
Uniondale, NY 11553
(516) 227-7057
Fax (516) 227-7076 

 Click here for SPOA Brochure
Click here for SPOA Application
(both in pdf format)

"We are Family and Children's Association, the human service network of Long Island.
We protect and strengthen children, youth, adults, families, seniors and communities."

Adolescents, At risk of institutional care, Children, Community Services, Family preservation

In Home care, Preventive services, Psychiatric care, SED, Severely emotionally disabled children