Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016 | 2 a.m.
More Coverage
- Part One: How Nevada struggles to help children battling mental illness
- Part Two: On mental health, do Clark County schools make the grade?
- Part Three: ‘The polio of our generation’: Mental health troubles often land kids in emergency rooms
- Part Four: Why one of Clark County’s largest mental health providers is juvenile justice system
- Part Five: On pediatric mental health, here’s how we can do better
- The Sun's Children in Crisis section
Suspect your child is dabbling in drugs? Behaving poorly at school? Struggling with depression, anxiety or a poor self-image?
For many parents, the next step — figuring out how to get a child the appropriate help — can be more vexing than realizing a problem exists. That’s where a new community resource comes into play: Aptly named The Harbor, it’s designed as a safe place where at-risk youth and their families can receive an array of services.
The juvenile assessment center is located, at least temporarily, within the Family Court and Services Center, 651 N. Pecos Road. It’s a one-stop shop where staff will assess incoming children and teens and then pair them with services such as mentoring, drug education, cognitive behavior therapy, counseling, anger-control classes and social-skills training.
“This is not a place that is looking to further your child into the system,” said Jack Martin, director of Clark County’s Department of Juvenile Justice Services. “We’re not looking to engage your child in the juvenile justice system. We’re looking to divert you and your child from escalation in systems.”
The Harbor celebrated its soft launch Oct. 17 and, within the first week and a half, had served 20 young people and their families, Martin said. The youngest child was 8; the oldest, 18.
Some had been referred from community partners, and others walked in with their parents or guardians. Their needs are broad and often complex, Martin said, ranging from low-level substance abuse and behavior problems to family dysfunction and trauma.
The center’s common area boasts plush sofas, a television and board games as well as private meeting rooms. On a recent day, Martin walked into the center to find one staff member holding a baby, another making peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches for a hungry family and a third talking to a child in a private room. The scene, he said, illustrated how The Harbor intends to assist entire families — not just the at-risk child or teen.
That’s why staff members are busy collecting toys and baby supplies: They quickly realized that parents would be bringing younger siblings to the center.
“This is exactly why we all got into this business … to help them with meaningful, tangible services,” Martin said.
The assessment center has been years in the making and represents significant community collaboration. Juvenile Justice Services has partnered with the Clark County School District, Metro Police, the county’s Department of Family Services, the state Division of Child and Family Services and Mobile Crisis, among other organizations.
About 60 percent to 70 percent of children and teens in the county’s juvenile justice system have mental health-related issues, said Cheri Wright, manager of clinical services for Juvenile Justice Services. If officials can provide help to those youngsters sooner, the goal is to keep them in school, on path to graduation, and avoid arrests and detention.
In essence, the assessment center serves as a bridge of sorts, breaking down barriers and connecting these children and their families to services free of charge, Martin said.
“This isn’t about handing out a phone number,” he said, explaining the center’s face-to-face approach.
The staff has been training community partners to identify at-risk children and teens and refer them to The Harbor, which is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information about the center, call staff at 702-455-6912.
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