Mental Health for Children, Young Adults, and Families

The focus of the Office of Children, Young Adults & Families (OCFY) is to support Georgia’s System of Care (SOC) for uninsured children and young adults, or those with SSI Medicaid, and their families that are accessing the public behavioral health system. We accomplish this through the development of non-traditional supports for youth and families that support the traditional array of services available through Medicaid.

For help accessing these mental health services, contact your regional field office.

Core and Specialty Services:

Core and specialty services include evaluation/assessment, diagnosis, counseling and medication, therapy (individual, group, and family), community support services, crisis assessments, and physician services. These services are provided in clinics and other locations as needed, including homes, schools, detention facilities, and other community settings. 

If you need services for the deaf, hard of hearing or deaf-blind, please visit Deaf Services.

MATCH (Multi-Agency Treatment Team):
In 2021, the Georgia State Legislature passed House Bill 1013, “The Mental Health Parity Act”.  Included in this legislation was the establishment of MATCH (Multi-Agency Treatment for Children) within the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD).

Mobile Crisis Response Services (MCRS):
Mobile Crisis Response Services (MCRS) provides community-based crisis response 24/7 to individuals who are experiencing a crisis related to a mental health, substance use, and/ or intellectual developmental disability or Autism Spectrum Disorder.  MCRS services can be provided face-to-face in the community or by telemedicine in safe settings.  MCRS offers short-term crisis assessments to determine the appropriate level of care.  MCRS services can only be accessed via 988 or GCAL.

Crisis Stabilization Units:
There are five Child & Adolescent Crisis Stabilization Units (CSUs) in Georgia. Each serves youth from all over the state who are in need of short-term acute stabilization of behavioral health challenges.

Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTFs):
Georgia has six PRTFs contracted with DBHDD that serve youth from across the state when community-based services are not enough. They provide 24-hour, short-term residential mental health care for youth with serious emotional or behavioral needs who require a higher level of support. 

Georgia Apex Program:
The Georgia Apex Program focuses on three objectives:
1.  To provide greater access to mental health services for students,
2.  To provide for early detection of students’ mental health needs, and
3.  To create and sustain coordination between Georgia’s community mental health providers and the local schools and school districts in which they reside.

The program is anchored to the DBHDD provider network (enrolled Tier I and Tier II providers).

For additional information on schools participating in the program, please contact your regional field office.

Mental Health Resiliency Support Clubhouses:
Our Mental Health Resiliency Support Clubhouses seeks to support children and families coping with isolation, stigma, and other considerations associated with mental health disorders. The clubhouses provide educational supports, employment services, peer support, family engagement, social activities, and other initiatives geared to engage youth and assist them in managing symptoms.

Youth Peer Drop In Centers:
A youth peer drop-in center provides a supportive, stigma-free environment where young adults, ages 16-26, can spend time learning skills needed to make the successful transition to adulthood. Services include structured activities that assist young adults in obtaining goals related to education, employment, housing, understanding mental and behavioral health, coping skills, and living skills.

System of Care Legacy (SOC Legacy):
SOC Legacy is a continuum of care to include non-intensive outpatient services, case management, community-based services/supports and other coordinated services for children or young adults with or at risk of mental or behavioral challenges who are under insured, not insured, those with SSI Medicaid, or to gain access to needed services or supports not covered by CMOs or HMOs. SOC Legacy programming seeks to improve outcomes for children, young adults, and families, managing serious mental health challenges and substance use concerns, by focusing on social determinants such as education, employment, social connectedness, accessing behavioral health services, resiliency, and vocational/independence development. 

Supported Employment/Supported Education (SESEd or SEED):
Supported Employment/Supported Education (SESEd) is a support service that provides youth and young adults with MH challenges the help they need to achieve steady employment in mainstream competitive jobs that match their interests, skills, and abilities; and support youth and young adults in an educational program where they may receive the education and training, they need to achieve their learning goals.

High Fidelity Wraparound: Provided by Care Management Entities:
Statewide program provides Intensive Customize Care Coordination for youth (ages 5 to 17) and young adults (ages 18 to 21) with serious emotional and behavioral disturbances. The overall goal of the program is to provide High Fidelity Wraparound services and supports to safely divert youth who are at risk of admission to a Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF), and/or assist youth with remaining in the community and avoid readmission to a PRTF.