Youth Crisis Center

The Family Link program provides professional and compassionate short-term outpatient counseling services to families with children ages 6 – 17 who are experiencing any concern that disrupts the health and stability of the family. Our therapists provide counseling to a minimum of 500 youth and their families annually. Services are provided at no charge to the family. Family Link services are offered in Baker, Clay, Duval, St Johns, and Nassau counties.

Specifically, Family Link therapists have master’s degrees and extensive experience in a wide range of family and youth concerns including running away, poor academic performance, truancy, homelessness, depression, anxiety, bullying, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and chronic behavior problems. Our therapists provide counseling services in the child’s school, in the community, or on our campus. The average length of services is 16 weeks.

Family Link therapists meet students at school, libraries, community centers, coffee shops, or anywhere that is convenient for the family outside the home. The majority of the time, youth are seen at school or in a study room at the library. In addition to one-on-one counseling services, family group therapy sessions take place once per month.

Our Outpatient Behavioral Health program serves children ages three and up, along with family members of any age. This program provides counseling for a myriad of behavioral and mental health concerns through individual, family, group, and couples counseling. Licensed mental health therapists, Board Certified Psychiatrists and Psychiatric ARNP’s provide care for a variety of concerns, such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, behavioral issues, and trauma. Individual, family, and group therapy, psychiatric evaluations, and medication management are provided onsite. YCC’s Outpatient Behavioral Health program accepts Medicaid, most third party insurances, and offers a sliding fee scale as needed. Approximately 90% of program participants are at or below the poverty level.

SNAP®, which stands for STOP NOW AND PLAN, is an evidence-based, cognitive-behavioral model powered by the minds at Child Development Institute (CDI). SNAP® helps troubled children and their parents learn how to effectively manage their emotions and ‘keep problems small’.

The gender-sensitive SNAP® program is designed for children ages 6-11 who are engaging in aggressive, anti-social behavior and/or have come into contact with authority figures at school or in the community. Experienced and highly trained staff work with each family to assess challenges and problems and develop an action plan. Children and families work towards the goal of preventing future anti-social behavior and reducing the chances of conflict with family, peers, and authority figures.

Children attend gender-specific weekly group sessions for 13 weeks. They learn how to use SNAP® in different situations through engaging activities including discussions, role-playing and interactive games. A variety of topics, including dealing with angry thoughts and feelings, self-control, problem solving, and bullying are addressed.

The parent group meets concurrently with the SNAP® children’s group. Parents learn effective child management and SNAP® strategies. The group also provides parents with an opportunity to make connections with other parents facing similar challenges.

Touchstone Village provides transitional living services to young adults ages 18-21 that may be homeless or in a variety of other situations which limit self-sufficiency. Each resident lives in their own efficiency-sized apartment for a nominal monthly fee.

Touchstone Village was developed out of a community need. According to the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients, approximately 12% of the homeless population is 17-24 years old. Within three years of aging out of the foster care system, the Annie Casey Foundation reports that 37% of individuals formerly in foster care will be incarcerated and 50% will be homeless at some point, becoming our new homeless and “disconnected” population.

In addition to an efficiency apartment on the Youth Crisis Center campus, Touchstone Village provides each resident with: life skills training; academic monitoring and support; career development training; mental health therapy; and psychiatric services. Touchstone residents will establish personal goals and learn to build healthy, trusting relationships. The program’s ultimate goal is to assist youth by providing them with the tools for a new beginning of the rest of their lives and setting them up to be a fully functioning, self-sufficient, productive member of society.

House of Hope is the newest program at Youth Crisis Center, set to begin services in early 2020. House of Hope will operate as a unified housing and homelessness system dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness through the provision of a comprehensive system of care to clients in a safe environment dedicated to meeting needs of the LGBTQ community. The designated shelter space will offer low-barrier, culturally competent access for LGBTQ homeless young adults. The program is developed around several key principles of care, such as utilizing: 1) a trauma-informed approach to care; 2) youth/young adult development approach; and 3) evidenced-based practices, screenings, and assessments with an evaluative component to ensure quality and sound practices are delivered with positive results to all residents in the program. Results from programming include: a) resident stabilization; b) development of skills leading to self-sufficiency; c) ability to develop community connections by developing trusting relationships with others; d) improved social/emotional well-being by providing interventions that develop coping skills around negative experiences; and e) feeling safe and secure in their surroundings while receiving program services. Additional Case management services will be provided by a JASMYN Case Manager to include JASMYN's health clinic, which will include screening for sexually transmitted diseases and other medical concerns. Services provided by YCC include: 1) screening, intake and assessment; 2) emergency housing and meals; 3) individualized goal plan development; 4) educational planning, monitoring, and support; 5) life skills training; 6) psychiatric services; 7) discharge planning; and 8) aftercare and follow up. The shelter space will be gender-neutral and each resident will be assigned to a private room. Completion of the program is determined when the resident has gained skills for transition in the community and has a safe, stable plan to transition to community housing, which can include YCC's Touchstone Village.