Follow-up

After linking youth to resources and supports it is very important to follow-up to make sure the youth is engaged with the linkages and supports.

Some of the reasons services and supports do not work:

  • Youth or family not always ready to receive services, personal factors related to mental and cognitive functioning of individual or family
  • No service available within a reasonable distance, dropped services
  • Practical factors such as insurance, cost, transport, child care, eligibility rules or program scheduling
  • Cultural factors such as language, citizenship and status
  • Negative experience/bad rapport with provider
  • Stigma and labeling
  • Lack of cultural competency

To improve engaging youth and following-up, we need:

  • Understand the limitations youth/young adults face when they access services both in and out of the school environment
  • Raising awareness of the barriers youth/young adults face when linked to services.
    • Cultural Competency
    • Insurance
    • Negative relationship with provider of service
    • Transportation
  • Basic knowledge of levels of care for mental health and substance abuse services in the linkage guide can assist in linking them with other services/supports
  • Need for revision of linkage if the initial link was unsuccessful
  • Helping youth/young adults and their caregivers develop alternative plans
  • Why linking supports and services do not always work
    • No service available within a reasonable distance
    • Dropped services
    • Bad rapport with provider/negative experience
    • Insurance/cost barriers
    • Stigma
    • Lack of cultural competency
    • Lack of readiness for youth and/or their guardians