Child and Adolescent Care Management Series - Supporting Families of Children with Complex Needs

Children with complex needs are defined as children with co-occurring intellectual/developmental disabilities and behavioral health challenges. Oftentimes, children with complex needs have higher recidivism rates to emergency departments and psychiatric in patient units and more frequent interactions with law enforcement than their more typically developing peers.

Complex behavioral presentations caused by the effects of trauma and vulnerabilities associated with their diagnoses can cause many stressors on their family units. Difficulty finding specialists who understand these vulnerabilities, qualified staff to support children through challenges, and few options for trained crisis intervention professionals can take a toll on the child and their family.

Children live and thrive in the context of their families. Supporting children with complex needs by more thoroughly supporting their family units leads to better outcomes and lower recidivism rates for high-cost specialized services. In this presentation, we will explore ways that providers and families can build capacity to support their loved ones with complex needs through a strengths-based approach. Supporting families is the first step to successfully supporting a child in crisis.

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This program is provided by MAHEC through a collaboration with the UNC School of Social Work and NC AHEC.