Comprehensive Community Support Services - Overview
What is Comprehensive Community Support Services (CCSS)?
The purpose of Comprehensive Community Support Services (CCSS) is to surround individuals and their families with the services and resources necessary to promote recovery, rehabilitation and resiliency.
Community support activities address goals specifically in the following functional domains:
- independent living
- learning
- working
- socializing
- recreation
Who is Eligible for This Service?
Comprehensive Community Support Services is available to any adult diagnosed with a Serious Mental Illness (as defined by the Behavioral Health Services Division) and other risk factors like:
- Significant current danger to self or others or presence of active symptoms of a Serious Mental Illness (SMI).
- Three or more emergency room visits or at least one psychiatric hospitalization within the last year.
- Individuals with a Substance Use Disorder (SUD) that complicates a SMI and results in worsened intoxicated/withdrawal complications, bio medical conditions, or emotional/behavior/cognitive conditions.
- Individuals experiencing trauma symptoms related to sexual assault, domestic violence or other traumatic event.
Or, individuals experiencing other co-occurring disorders, like:
- A Substance Use Disorder diagnosis and any mental illness that affects functionality.
- A SMI or SUD and potentially life-threatening chronic medical condition (e.g., diabetes, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis).
- A SMI or SUD and Developmental Disability.
Individuals might also be eligible if time limited CCSS would support their recovery and resiliency process.
Who Provides the Actual Services?
Comprehensive Community Support Services are provided by a Community Support Worker (CSW). The Community Support Worker provides coaching, primarily face-to-face and in community locations, to support the development of interpersonal community coping and functional skills including adaptation to home, school and work environments including:
- Socialization skills
- Developmental issues
- Daily living skills
- School and work readiness activities
- Education in co-occurring illness
Community Support Workers encourage the development and eventual succession of natural supports in workplace and school environments. They assist in learning symptom monitoring and illness self-management skills (e.g., symptom management, relapse prevention skills, knowledge of medication and side effects and skill development in taking medication as prescribed) in order to identify and minimize the negative effects of symptoms which interfere with the individual’s daily living. The CSW also supports individuals to maintain employment and school participation. They also provide support and coaching to the individual to obtain and maintain stable housing.
Comprehensive Community Support Services also includes:
- assistance with identifying and coordinating services and supports identified in an individual’s treatment plan,
- supporting an individual and family in crisis situations,
- providing individual interventions to develop or enhance an individual’s ability to make informed and independent choices,
- assistance with discharge planning from higher levels of care like residential treatment centers and hospitals.
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