WCCMHB Funded Programs
Program Year 2023-2024 Funded Programs (PY24) are on the new website. (Click the button)
Program Year 2022 - 2023 Funded Programs (PY23)
In Program Year 2022-2023 (PY23), Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board (WCCMHB) awarded more than $14.6 million dollars to new and renewal programs. The programs address the needs of the Target Populations and Priority Areas.
View the handout to learn more about the programs!
Renewal Programs from Program Year 2021-2022 are labeled with the coin logo shown to the right.
(Programs are in Alphabetical Order based on Lead Organization)
Boys & Girls Club - Youth Self-Regulation Program
Rockford Boys and Girls Club in collaboration with Rockford Barbell is proposing the creation of a Self-Regulation program that will target youth who have experienced trauma and focus on the first two key elements for trauma treatment: building a therapeutic rapport and self-regulation. This program, run by an experienced trauma therapist, will deliver group counseling three days a week to youth who have experienced trauma. The therapist will collaborate with family and community members to provide wraparound services for each child as part of an individualized treatment plan. The therapist will also work with a program lead to implement an outreach and education plan to provide content and trainings for families and community members to help youth maintain a trauma-informed environment. This program is aiming to serve 180 children and adolescents with diagnosed severe emotional disturbances, utilizing CBT and DBT therapies.
Website: rgreatfutures.org rockfordbarbell.com
Children’s Home and Aid (now Brightpoint) - Winnebago County Doula Program
The Doula Program through Children’s Home and Aid proposes adding two additional doulas, or trained professionals who provide continuous physical, emotional and informational support to a mother before, during, and shortly after childbirth to assist new, young mothers with attachment, regulation and other common issues that arise during the perinatal period. Children’s Home and Aid will work closely with Crusader Community Health facility to receive referrals of eligible pregnant mothers to the Doula Program. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Doula Program is looking to expand their virtual services and aims to serve 40 clients total.
Website: brightpoint.org/strong-families/parent-support/prenatal-services/doula-program/
Children’s Home and Aid (now Brightpoint) - Early Prevention in the Community (EPIC)
Children’s Home and Aid’s Early Prevention in the Community (EPIC) Program will provide trauma-informed individual and group counseling for students in Winnebago County, and in partnership with Harlem Unit School District 122, to reduce symptoms of trauma and allow students to fully engage in both school and community. All therapists at Children’s Home and Aid are trained in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP), and Theraplay. This program will aim to serve 120 individuals with diagnosed serious emotional disturbances within the school.
Website: brightpoint.org/strong-families/mental-health-wellness/school-based-services/early-prevention-in-the-community/
Children’s Home and Aid (now Brightpoint) - Therapeutic Response with Intervention and Outreach (TRIO)
Children’s Home and Aid is proposing The Therapeutic Response with Intervention and Outreach (TRIO) Program. This program will pair family case management with mentoring to meet the needs of children with severe emotional disturbances and their families. Case managers will work with the family to meet mental health needs, improve family interactions, and help family members connect to community resources. Mentors will work directly with children and youth to provide one-on-one social-emotional support, skill-building including social skills and life skills, and small groups. 60 children, adolescents, and their families will be served annually.
Website: brightpoint.org/strong-families/mental-health-wellness/school-based-services/therapeutic-response-with-intervention-outreach-trio/
Circle of Change - First Responders and Youth Classes
Circle of Change offers individuals [Veterans, First Responders and Youth (Ages 9-20)] suffering with a mental health diagnosis, primarily PTSD, a path toward wellness through free dog training/handling classes. Participants with a variety of mental health challenges, primarily PTSD, come to weekly dog training sessions, where they are either paired with a dog with behavioral issues or work with their own personal dog. Through a promising practice model, Circle of Change will aim to serve 240 clients.
Website: circleofchangeprogram.com
City of Rockford - Crisis Co-Response Team
The Crisis Co-Response Team (CCRT) program seeks to respond to 911 police calls for service in which the caller indicates someone may be experiencing a mental health crisis, as well as provide follow-up care to those individuals. The CCRT responds to police calls fielded by the City of Rockford and County 911 centers where mental health or substance abuse may be an issue. The CCRT hopes to reduce prosecution for those suffering from mental health or substance abuse issues. The City and co-applicants recognize that oftentimes criminal acts are merely symptoms of an underlying issue. The goal of the CCRT is to improve law enforcement’s current response to behavioral health crisis to promote safe encounters by partnering with behavioral health specialists. This program will aim to serve 1,800 Winnebago County residents and utilize the evidence based screening tool Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale.
Website: rockfordil.gov/co-responder-program
Additional collaborator’s logos:
City of Rockford - Mobile Integrated Health – Mental Health Program
The Rockford Fire Department and UW Health Swedish American are collaboratively seeking funding to expand the Mobile Integrated Health-Mental Health Program (MIH-MHP). The goal is to identify those in need of mental health crisis services and immediately intervene on scene. The MIH-MHP is a proven, evidence-based program that follows current best practices when assisting those with mental health concerns. The MIH-MHP focuses on treating individuals who have utilized 911 emergency services for non-police related calls or who have been hospitalized repeatedly due to mental health issues. By creating a more appropriate level of response, and a strategic way of dispatching assistance for those suffering from mental illness, there will be a decrease in 911 call volume and unnecessary Emergency Department transports. This program aims to serve 1,000 additional Winnebago County residents.
Website: rockfordil.gov
Additional collaborator’s logos:
Crusader Community Health - Crusader Behavioral Health Services Expansion - Combined
Through the Crusader Behavioral Health Services Expansion-Continued (PY23) grant, three full-time Behavioral Health Providers/Consultants provide increased behavioral health services for children, adolescents, adults, and families with behavioral health needs. Telepsychiatry provides diagnostic evaluation, medication management, in-service trainings, and consultation services for adult patients. A Behavioral Health case manager (who is also a Certified Medical Assistant) provides patient care, case management, and support for psychiatry and behavioral health staff, and another Behavioral Health case manager provides case management for patients with a substance use disorder and receiving Medication Assisted Recovery (MAR) services as well as providing coordination, collaboration, advocacy, and support for patients and families with behavioral health needs. Evidenced-based treatment interventions will be utilized to serve 1400 patients.
The New Crusader Behavioral Health Services Expansion (PY23) grant will add two additional Behavioral Health case managers to increase the in-clinic presence and provide case management services to additional patients and their families by physically placing Case Managers at additional clinic locations in Winnebago County.
Website: crusaderhealth.org/behavioral-health-services
Family Counseling Service of Northern Illinois - Service Expansion 2.0
Family Counseling Services is seeking WCCMHB funding to continue the expansion of increased therapists in a newly renovated space, and on-going training/professional development for staff. This includes therapists who see children, utilization of play therapy, the addition of an art therapist, as well as additional therapists treating adults, in addition to crisis counseling for both children and adults. Family Counseling Services is looking to expand services and space to employ additional therapists, in order to meet the ever-increasing demand for mental health counseling. This program will also provide therapy at various sites for people who cannot easily get to the facility, group therapy options both on and off site, along with education on mental health topics to the public. Plus, this program would grow and further develop the internship program to help train future mental health therapists for FCS and Winnebago County residents who need these services, regardless of their ability to pay.
Website: familycounselingrockford.org
Lifescape Community Services, Inc. - Senior Mental Health Program
Lifescape Community Services, Inc. will launch the Senior Mental Health Program to conduct outreach and identify older adults with depression and provide them case management services. The Senior Mental Health Program will implement the Healthy IDEAS evidence-based program which is proven to diminish depression and reduce suicide risk in underserved older adults within Winnebago County. Older adults will be connected to community mental health service providers for diagnosis and treatment and participate in behavioral activation activities. Older adults will also receive wrap around services, including but not limited to transportation, information & referral, family caregiver support, nutritional services like meals on wheels, and be connected with the retired senior volunteer program to reduce suicide risk factors and strengthen protective factors. The Senior Mental Health Program aims to serve 500 residents of Winnebago County.
Website: lifescapeservices.org/services/senior-mental-health-program
NAMI Northern Illinois - Support, Education, and Mental Health Advocacy
With WCCMHB funding, NAMI Northern Illinois will provide advocacy-driven, case management services for those impacted by mental illness aimed at eliminating barriers, reducing confusion, and increasing linkage with appropriate direct service, as well as individual, family, community support, and educational programming to improve the response to mental illness for all. This program aims to serve 200 Winnebago County residents using various evidence-based practices.
Website: naminorthernillinois.org
OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony Medical Center - OSF HealthCare STRIVE Trauma Recovery Center
Through the STRIVE Trauma Recovery Center, OSF is aiming to hire additional therapists, case managers, a project evaluator, and an outreach coordinator to keep clients engaged and decrease wait times within the Trauma Recover Center (TRC). The TRC serves survivors, age 14 and older, of violent crime who are experiencing post-traumatic symptoms but not receiving other mental health care. This includes people struggling with symptoms of anxiety, depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), or Complex PTSD after a traumatic experience such as gun violence, assaults, bullying, domestic violence, armed violence, or robbery in which they are the victim or witness. This proposed expansion will aim to serve 30 additional clients using evidence-based practices such as TI-CBT and DBT.
Website: osfhealthcare.org/mental-health/services/trauma
Regional Access and Mobilization Project, Inc. (RAMP) - Independent Living Services and Training
The Mental Health Services and Training program through the Regional Access and Mobilization Project, or RAMP, will partner with multiple community organizations to provide mental health training, services, and advocacy to support and assist families and the community. RAMP will also provide marketing and outreach to identify at-risk and underserved individuals and educate the community about mental health. The Mental Health Services and Training will aim to serve 400 clients total across all four WCCMHB target populations utilizing the Community Support System Framework.
Website: rampcil.org
Remedies Renewing Lives - Domestic Violence Program Therapy and Advocacy Project
The Therapy and Advocacy Project of Remedies Renewing Lives Domestic Violence Program includes a full-time therapist and advocate to provide immediate and on-going therapeutic and advocacy-based crisis support with survivors accessing the agency’s 24-hour emergency shelter and/or non-residential programming. Services will also address case management needs, linkage with area resources and safety planning. All services are confidential, free of charge, and will be provided in a manner that supports autonomy. It is projected that 100 adult survivors will be supported by funding in-part from the Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board. The Domestic Violence and Advocacy Project aims to serve 100 total clients using advocacy-based approaches for domestic violence survivors.
Website: remediesrenewinglives.org
Remedies Renewing Lives - Remedies Renewing Lives Behavioral Health Clinician Project
The Behavioral Health Clinicians Project of Remedies Renewing Lives aims to expand and enhance the agency's mental health and substance use disorder programming through increased therapeutic support, case management, and community intervention with the individuals and families we serve. The Behavioral Health Clinicians Project will utilize evidence-based practices such as cognitive-behavioral therapies, Illness Management and Recovery (IMR), the Matrix Model, and Najavits’ Integrated Treatment to treat 700 clients.
Website: remediesrenewinglives.org
Rockford Park District Foundation - Hope and Healing with Horses at Lockwood Indoor Equine Center
The Rockford Park district is being funded to develop an Indoor Equine Center at Lockwood Park to be utilized, in collaboration with Mental Health Professionals and qualified Equine Specialists, to provide Equine Assisted Activities and Psychotherapy program. Equine Assisted Activities and Psychotherapy (EAAT) focuses on the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of individuals. Participants observe and interact with horses at ground level through hands-on sessions with goals that focus on life skills such as: cooperation, leadership, coping skills, confidence, self-advocacy, self-esteem, patience, communication, self-regulation, anger management, resiliency, and empowerment.
Website: rpdfoundation.org/lockwood-equine-center
Rockford Sexual Assault Counseling - Outreach Therapist
Rockford Sexual Assault Counseling will provide outreach therapy to area schools to ensure that child and adolescent sexual abuse/assault survivors can receive free quality therapy services. Sexual abuse and assault cause severe emotional disturbances which can be helped by having trained professionals providing therapy. Since many children and adolescents have transportation issues, providing therapy in school allows survivors a safe, convenient, and consistent place for appointments. This program will serve 80 students and utilize trauma-informed play therapy.
Website: rockfordsexualassaultcounseling.org
Rosecrance, Inc. - Rosecrance Access to Care
Rosecrance Access to Care serves target population(s): Severe Emotional Disturbance (SED) children 3+, Serious Mental Illness (SMI) 18+ and Substance Use Disorders (SUD) of all ages. Access to Care offers rapid access to treatment, including “on demand” availability of interpreter services, expansion of evening service hours, reduction in wait times for psychiatric diagnostic evaluation and treatment coordination for individuals ages 3 to adult who are experiencing mental health and/or substance use needs. Rosecrance has added case managers that serve as care navigators to expedite access and meet individuals where they are at in their recovery to eliminate barriers and coordinate assessments with our community based access clinicians. Access to Care has increased medical providers for both adult/child psychiatry, nursing staff and medical assistants to significantly reduce wait times between initial and follow up appointments. Rosecrance specifically has increased the number of providers especially for SED children/youth to ensure access to medication, consultation between appointments and care coordination upon discharge. The expansion of services at the Rosecrance Mulberry Center will expand crisis response services to ensure adults experiencing a behavioral health crisis have access to crisis stabilization services 24/7/365 as an alternative to psychiatric hospitalization and to reduce risk of justice involvement. The overall goal is to increase number of individuals/families served and improve outcomes of symptom reduction, education, employment, criminal justice involvement and housing stability.
Website: rosecrance.org
Shelter Care Ministries - Jubilee Community Outreach and Housing Stability Program
The Jubilee Care Coordination program is designed to help individuals that are housed and those working on housing maintain and stabilize their mental health in all aspects of life by driving people to appointments, helping with basic skills around their home, and assist with applying for a variety of programs and benefits, all with the goal of stabilizing housing and mental health. This program aims to serve 50 additional clients through case management and housing services.
Website: shelter-care.org
Stepping Stones of Rockford, Inc. - Stepping Stones Counseling Center
The Stepping Stones Counseling Center provides options for individuals ages 6 and older in need of Mental Health counseling and case management services, with a focus on serving those receiving Medicaid or who do not have insurance coverage. The Stepping Stones Counseling Center provides compassionate, trauma-informed, value-based community mental health services to individuals and families facing mental and behavioral health barriers in Winnebago County. Mental Health Treatment Services and Case Management offered at the Center expands and enhances mental health recovery options in Winnebago County. Our goal is to provide Winnebago County children, adolescents, and adults with serious mental illness and serious emotional disturbances with Mental Health Treatment including Diagnostic Evaluation, Supportive Counseling, Psychiatric Services, Medication Management, and Case Management services in an individual, group, or family setting.
Website: steppingstonesrockford.org
Stepping Stones of Rockford, Inc. - Expansion of Supervised Housing for Adults with SMI
Stepping Stones of will expand supervised housing for adults with serious mental illness. By purchasing and remodeling a new residential facility, Stepping Stones will immediately increase access to eight or more individuals waiting for residential behavioral health service in the supervised setting. As consumers progress through mental health treatment, they are able to move to a less restrictive level of care. This, in turn, allows for more clients to move through the treatment continuum, starting with the agency's residential services. The Expansion of Supervised Housing with Adults project will serve a total of 12 clients and utilize evidence-based practices such as CBT, DBT, and MRT.
Website: steppingstonesrockford.org
University of Illinois College of Medicine - The CARE Program (Compassionate Appreciation for Recovery in Everyone)
The UI Health Mile Square Health Center (MSHC) - L.P. Johnson Rockford's CARE program will continue to provide transition to care services for formerly incarcerated people who receive mental health and substance use disorder treatment at the clinic upon returning to the community. This program will utilize the evidence-based Smart Recovery Program and will aim to serve 720 individuals residing in Winnebago County.
Winnebago County - Juvenile Detention Center - Reducing Isolation through Expanded Behavioral Health
With the support of the mental health sales tax, the Winnebago County Juvenile Detention Center seeks to reduce youth/adolescent isolation by addressing the behavioral health needs of detained youth through assessment, crisis intervention, therapeutic intervention, and coordination of services. This program will aim to serve 240 youth.
Website: wincoil.gov
Winnebago County - Juvenile Resource Intervention Center - Behavioral Health Implementation
Increasingly, youth exhibiting significant mental health and behavioral problems have encountered the juvenile justice systems. Among with cognitive-behavioral approaches, dialectic behavior therapy (DBT) has shown particular promise for application to corrections populations. As such, the Juvenile Resource Intervention Center seeks to intervene using the Dialectic Behavior Therapy (DBT) therapeutic model and individual and group therapy with highest risk youth. By expanding this program, DBT will be available to 100 additional youth.
Website: wincoil.gov
Winnebago County - Resource Intervention Center (RIC) - Behavioral Health Expansion
Winnebago County will expand of The Resource Intervention Center (RIC), which is a multiagency, multidisciplinary center where public and private agencies assign staff members to be co-located to deliver evidence-based, coordinated services to individuals on probation or pre-trial supervision in Winnebago County. Research indicates that focusing on high-risk individuals is the path to reducing recidivism. As such, RIC services are only available to those deemed moderate to high-risk based on an actuarial risk assessment results. Research also indicates to not mix high and low risk individuals in a treatment setting. Bringing service providers in-house supports both research findings and is the RIC strategy for delivering all services. This proposal seeks to expand evening programming and increase RIC service offerings to include dialectic behavior therapy (DBT) with individual sessions, and Seeking Safety, a therapeutic model for highest risk offenders suffering from trauma, substance abuse, and/or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This program will serve an additional 120 residents.
Website: wincoil.gov
Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office - Winnebago County Jail - Behavioral Health Program
The Winnebago County Jail Behavioral Health Program through the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office expands the number of mental health and substance use services within the County Jail, providing assessment and treatment services for incarcerated individuals. Additionally, the newly hired Behavioral Health Specialists help to connect individuals with community support and service providers upon discharge. The Winnebago County Jail strives to be a Gold Standard facility that other correctional facilities can model. The Winnebago County Jail will be participating in the Step Program and are also a part of the Illinois Supreme Court Task Force on Improving the Court and Community Response to Mental Health and Co-Occurring disorders workshops. This program will aim to serve 2,000 Winnebago County residents by utilizing SAMHSA’s evidence-based framework.
Website: winnebagosheriff.com
Winnebago County Health Department - Trauma Informed Community Care Coordination
With WCCMHB funding, Winnebago County Health Department (WCHD) will build a Trauma-Informed Community and expand the impact of the Trauma-Informed Workgroups by working with the Illinois Collaboration on Youth (ICOY) to complete a Trauma-Informed Capacity Building Tool with input from partner agencies to help assess Winnebago County's current level of trauma informed services. Informed by the assessment, a Trauma 101 train-the-trainer program will be offered to 30 organizations that will commit to offering a minimum of two Trauma 101 trainings in the community during the first year. While awareness and education efforts will continue, WCHD will focus on intervention and case management to improve the mental health and resilience of families and the community as a whole. This program is aiming to educate 19,833 residents while utilizing trauma informed practices.
Website: publichealth.wincoil.gov
YMCA of Rock River Valley - Protecting Youth Mental Wellness
It has been proven that mental wellness is necessary for success in school, for staying out of the criminal justice system, and for living a stable and fulfilling life, the YMCA, along with Rosecrance, intends to offer early intervention, support, and treatment services to youth in YMCA programs. These services will normalize seeking help to process and recover from situations that are traumatic and threaten psychological wellness. By embedding a mental health counselor in the day-to-day activities at the middle school after-school program, youth will have access to both education and supportive therapy, and the opportunity to overcome the stigma of and lack of access to receiving mental health care. Further, the staff members who work with youth on a regular basis are also traumatized by the situations in which the youth in their care are living and in their own lack of training and education to help. Staff members will receive support in dealing with their work and personal situations that affect their mental health. This initiative will aim to serve 70 children and adolescents within Winnebago County.
Website: rockriverymca.org
Youth Services Network - Youth Trauma Clinic (YTC)
Youth Services Network will continue to utilize the WCCMHB funds for the Youth Trauma Clinic. The clinic has provided trauma treatment through evidence-based therapies which include but are not limited to: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Play Therapy and Motivational Interviewing. Wrap around services are also provided to the youth and their family. The Youth Trauma Clinic assists families with Case Management services, crisis on-call services and transportation as needed. Funding will help to provide additional therapists and case managers. The need for crisis treatment has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and this program will help to provide care for youth in and out of the school through multiple evidence-based practices. The Youth Trauma Clinic aims to serve an additional 120 clients in the infant and early childhood mental health and serious emotional disturbance target populations.
Website: ysnkids.com
YWCA Northwestern Illinois - Mental Health Crisis Care Manager
YWCA Northwestern Illinois (YWCA) provides family and community support, crisis response services, and case management to more than 12,000 individuals, from a variety of cultural backgrounds and ethnicities, each year. One of the most fundamental roles is to remove barriers and assist people in achieving an improved quality of life and family structure. The creation of a Mental Health Crisis Case Manager at YWCA fills an existing gap that connects clients with mental health services. Cultural and language barriers are common in the agency’s diverse client base, even more so in mental health where stigma and ethnic beliefs may make seeking help more complicated. The case manager will work with clients on connections to mental health or substance abuse services, follow up, and ensure obstacles are removed, including transportation. This program will serve 100 clients.
Website: ywcanwil.org
Previous Funding Cycle Information:
Program Year 2021 - 2022 Funded Programs (PY22)
The Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board (WCCMHB) has awarded funds for the Program Year 2021 - 2022 grants. The total amount of funding is $8.8 Million to cover priority areas of mental health treatment, case management, crisis response services, and family and community support. The target populations are infant and early childhood Mental Health, Severe Emotional Disturbances in children, Serious Mental Illness in adults, and Substance Abuse Disorder in all ages.