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About Us
The Vermont Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health exists to support families and children where a child or youth, age 0-22, is experiencing or at risk to experience emotional, behavioral, or mental health challenges. The Federation is committed to:
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Providing families needed emotional and informational support.
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Advocating for families and children to receive needed supports and services.
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Promoting the creation of a full array of easily accessible, high quality, family-centered services needed on a state and local level.
The Federation collaborates with schools, communities, governmental, and private
agencies, and other advocacy organizations to achieve these ends
VFF Vision:
Our vision is that children, youth, young adults and families experiencing or at risk to experience social, emotional or behavioral challenges are:
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Connected to Peers for support
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Receive practical information
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Have access to and get the resources they need
and want
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History
The history of the Vermont Federation Of Families for Children's Mental Health is more of a "her" story. Judy Sturtevant is our "Founding Mother. It is also a "his" story as this story speaks of Judy's son. When Judy's son was under 5 years old, it became clear that he needed some help that his family was not able to give him, and his family needed support to understand how best to help him.
Judy had to search for a doctor who felt competent to meet the needs of her son, and then had to travel quite a distance from her rural home to get services for him and the family. Her doctor directed her to another doctor, this time a psychiatrist, in a town even further away from home. Between the 2 doctors and hard work on the whole family's part, things started to slowly improve for the young boy and his family.
At this point, Judy had questions that she needed answers to. She felt she was the only parent going through the struggles she had encountered, and wanted to know if there were other families with similar struggles. Both doctors assured her she was not alone. Her question was the beginning of a grassroots movement to support families that were struggling with finding appropriate services for their children and youth. These families began calling Judy for help and support and some joined her in her efforts to reach out to more families.
As sometimes happens, Judy was in the right place at the right time for her efforts to become fruitful. The state of Vermont was in the process of creating a system of care for children and youth with emotional, behavioral and mental health challenges and their families. Judy and several other parents traveled around the state with some folks from the Department of Mental Health to hear from other families about the challenges and needs they faced , and to seek ideas of what would work best to help them.
During this time, Judy was invited to go to national level meetings that were focused on the same issues across the country. From these meetings the national Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health was founded. Vermont became one of the first statewide chapters and was incorporated as a nonprofit family support organization in 1993.
The Federation of Families continues to offer families information, support, and systems navigation. The most important things the Federation of Families offers are hope, encouragement and the knowledge that you are not alone in your struggles. The Federation also brings the family/parent perspective and voice to discussions about child, youth and family mental health at many tables including meetings with schools, mental health, child protection, and the legislature. Over the past several years, the Federation has supported over 700 families each year.
Vermont can take pride in our rich heritage of including family and consumer voice in all of our system of care development over the years. We hold strong to our values of "nothing about us without us". Through many initiatives, including two previous System of Care grants, Vermonters have come to understand that families "know their children best" and with support can "partner" with the system of care to help achieve healthy and positive outcomes for their children with special needs. This "including" and "partnering" with families has led to the current language of "Family Centered Care".
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Our next journey to "Family and Young Adult Driven Care"
Vermont's third System of Care (SOC), grant is for Young Adults in Transition (YIT), and we have national guidelines of "Family and Youth Driven". This directive originated with the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America which states that Mental Health Care Is Consumer and Family Driven. Click here for the detailed description of "Family Driven Care"
What does this really mean? How is this different from Family Centered Care?
Family-driven means families have a primary decision making role in the care of their own children as well as the policies and procedures governing care for all children in their community, state, tribe, territory , and nation.
consensus building and teaming that we are all more familiar with.
Not every family will want to "drive" the services that meet the needs of their children and youth. Families know their own strengths and capabilities; and there is no wrong choice. Choosing to drive the services is a personal choice, which should be available to families as we transform Vermont's system of care.
Also, not every young adult has a strong connection to their family of origin. One of the goals of this transition grant is to help young people have strong family and/or ally connections. Our role is to encourage, where appropriate, strong family relationships and build skills in young adults and their families. Child protection statistics show that most children in custody at age of majority return to their family of origin. It is a delicate balance to move forward in strength as family youth/young adult driven, but we believe Vermont is up to the challenge!
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