JFCS's Low-Income Counseling (LIC) program

Health Care Access

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

In the greater Long Beach community, JFCS's LIC program addresses mental health access. According to a Long Beach's Health and Human Services report in late 2021, 42% of adults in Long Beach reported recent anxiety or depression; 37% of youth ages 13-17 said they needed help for emotional or mental health problems; and 31% of CA youth ages 18-24 reported suicidal ideation at some point in their lives - an increase from 24% in 2020. Adults, youth, and children are dealing with a wide range of circumstances that have resulted in depression, anxiety, and antisocial or destructive behavior. Many children / youth have a parent/caregiver with a mental illness and/or substance abuse problem; be the victims of abuse, neglect, or family violence; have behavior challenges at school; emulate maladaptive behaviors of parents in crises or are at risk of being removed from their home by the DCFS. Recently, JFCS has experienced an uptick in suicidal ideation in younger children.

Under professional JFCS supervision, LIC services are provided by MSW and MFT graduate and post-graduate level clinicians whose cultural diversity mirrors our community's. At the start of LIC's program, clients self-present or are referred to JFCS. Clients are then referred to an intake team. A team member gathers more information about the client's presenting problem. Coordinator then assigns client to a student clinician who then evaluates the severity of the client's symptoms. After assessment, the clinician, client, and parent/guardian mutually agree upon an intervention and treatment plan, which may include special treatment. Clinicians look at each client, child, and family holistically, evaluating all their needs. Once the client begins counseling, clients complete 2 surveys that measure their behaviors. Surveys are conducted at the first, midpoint, and last sessions. They help evaluate clients' measure of success in therapy. Outputs: - Provide cost-effective intervention to 500 low-income, uninsured, or indigent clients with 6,000 hours of individual, couple, and family therapy over 12 months. - Provide 300 hours of group therapy to low-income, uninsured, or indigent clients over 12 months. - Provide 80 - 100 women, children, and their families with appropriate safety plans, intervention, and counseling services over 12 months. - Provide 30 - 40 female abuse survivors with specialized ongoing group education as part of their continuum of care over 12 months.

JFCS' vision is to see a community healed, one person, one family, at a time. Last year, JFCS served 2,118 people with immediate safety plans, intervention, and counseling services. During this 2023 - 2024 grant period, JFCS hopes to serve 2,400 individuals in Long Beach and surrounding communities. Of note is our plans to re-launch our refugee resettlement program in late 2023 with funds from the federal and state governments. The program will potentially serve an additional 300 Ukrainian, Afghan, Syrian, or Eritrean refugees through our greatly expanded Refugee Resettlement and Assistance program. Our JFCS social workers and other staff will assess the needs of these refugees and assist them with food, emergency housing, and transportation, only made possible through the financial support of foundations, corporations, and generous donors. Additionally, we will provide them with mental health support and information, referrals, and linkages to other identified service providers.

Once clients begin counseling, they complete 2 surveys (Individual Self-Survey and Cross-Cutting Scale) that measure current behaviors contributing to their presenting problem and their current satisfaction in life. These surveys that help evaluate the clients' measure of success in therapy are completed at the first session, midpoint, and last session. For children, success is measured by an improvement in the Children's Global Assessment Scale, which rates the functioning of youth under 18 years. Columbia Impairment Scale (CIS) survey is also used for children and is completed by the child's parent(s)/guardian(s). CIS addresses interpersonal relations, psychopathological domains, functioning in schoolwork, and leisure time. Comparisons are made between the client's and clinician's evaluation to determine if the intervention and treatment plan met the mutually agreed upon therapeutic goals. All evaluation results are documented by clinicians and assessed by clinical supervisors.