By Shannon Lukens.
A team called Child First is now serving families in Routt and Moffat counties, whose children may have experienced trauma. Colleen Quinn is a Care Coordinator.
“The parents might be dealing with things like mental illness, incarceration, domestic violence, things like that. We’re reaching out to those families and we are going into the homes and doing in-home therapy with the caregivers and their children. And the focus is to strengthen the bond and attachment between the caregiver and child.”
The Child First program is through Paragon Behavioral Health Connections which is throughout Colorado, and now in Moffat and Routt counties. They specialize in rural communities.
Quinn says the service is free.
“We take all insurance. We take Medicaid. But if a family is uninsured, we take them as well. There is no cost associated with this service at all.”
- Families receive visits twice per week during the assessment period (first month) and then once a week or more, depending on the needs of this child and family.
- Families are involved with the program for a period of 9-12 months but can cease services whenever they choose. Families may be involved longer than 12 months based on the individual family needs.
- The intervention begins with engagement and trust building. The Child First team members serve as family partners and advocates.
Summary of Home Based Intervention Components:
- Engagement of Family
- Comprehensive Assessment of Child and Family
- Development of Child and Family Plan of Care
- Parent/Child Psychotherapy Intervention
- Enhancement of Executive Functioning
- Mental health consultation in early care and education
- Care Coordination
Contact information is at ParagonBHC.org
Or contact directly:
Colleen Quinn, Care Coordinator, CQuinn@paragonBHC.org; 970-846-02909
Brittney Gibbs, Child First Clinician, BGibbs@paragonBHC.org; 720-335-5993
