Community Services Board - How did it help?

[Anonymous]

DC is a high school - has depression and anxiety, recently hospitalized. Following hospitalization, FCPS approved homebound services. Homebound has been a challenge because DC had a learning disability and needs scaffolding, homebound is self-directed and cannot provide IEP services. She won't go to therapy; we've tried everything under the sun. Refuses partial day hospitalization. She is not taking her SSRI even though it was helping. She is not suicidal, and therefore, does not meet the criteria for in-patient hospitalization. She's very irritable and impossible to communicate with her. FCPS recommends that we request help from the Community Services Board. From what I have gathered so far, it's another layer of bureaucracy to navigate. Have you used CSB for a similar situation? I would appreciate feedback on your experience with CSB and what services they provided helped?

[Anonymous]

Bump

[Anonymous]

Going back a few years here, but there was a time when FCPS was pushing (requiring) us to go to CSB for help with our special ed kid (behavioral issues). It was a "go now or you can't come back to school" thing for emergency services, not make an appointment and discuss services.

Our experience was that we'd get there for intake only to hear "I don't know why FCPS keeps telling parents to come here - this isn't what we do."

Nice, well meaning people who tried to find us appropriate resources (not that they could find anything we hadn't already tried).

That said, offerings may have changed, but, I'd advise speaking with them about how they can help rather than assuming that since you were referred there that they must be able to help.

[Anonymous]

I had students who got professionals to come to the home to work with families through them, but this was some years ago. I think you need to try them to show you checked all boxes while asking for residential educational placement.

[Anonymous]

We went through them about 3 years ago, so hopefully they got better. It was frustrating for DH and myself because it was a lot of meetings and paperwork and more intake appointments for nothing. It didn’t result in anything we didn’t already know or any services or any kind. It just added to our meetings and frustration for DS during a difficult time.

They gave us the contact of a parent support person that we could contact if needed, to talk. We didn’t. Not a therapist, just a parent who supposedly could relate and listen. That was the only thing. DS didn’t qualify for residential or anything like that, which is not what we were looking for anyway.

We also felt that it was more that FCPS was checking boxes.

[Anonymous]

^ I should add we were already working with someone who came to our house, who we had stopped because they were ineffective with DS because not a good fit. This is the group that they recommended and said the only group they could offer to come to the house. So they would have offered that but we had already tried it.

[Anonymous]

CSBs are county-based offer specific mental health in the schools. It's a more low-level trauma and situational counseling. CSB emergency services is directed to crisis and suicidal/homicidal behavior. Your daughter is an intermediate candidate that is not well-served by the CSB if you have private insurance. Your school counselor may not know exactly what the CSB offers. The school mental health service is not for serious mental illness in youth.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thank you to all for the valuable feedback. I'd rather not add another layer of complexity to the situation.

[Anonymous]

THEY ARE USELESS. Waste of time. I don't even know why they exist or who they actually help.


You can request homebound services given by a teacher. They pretend like its not an option. No one should have to be educated by edmentum, its trash.

[Anonymous]

I will add that the private in home therapy company they contracted with would not let us select a therapist or see their qualifications. They required a meeting where my child --autism, PDA, and with severe mental health issues- agreed and consented to the services and worked on "goals"-before they would even come out. I laughed at them.

The entire system is absurd and just honestly seems like a bureacracy jobs program for useless people.

[Anonymous]

I just wanted to jump in here to say that for us, CSB was crucial in getting ongoing, well informed care for our child who experienced a psychotic episode.

I hear that they’re not a panacea, but they have a very targeted plan and protocol for 1st episode psychosis that for us really is working.

[Anonymous]

I'm glad they helped your dc. At least they aren't completely useless.