
Jamboree, in partnership with the Child Guidance Center, has launched a pilot program that focuses on expanding children’s access to outpatient mental health services. Funded by a $450,000 grant from CalOptima, Jamboree was selected for its ability to leverage an existing network of community service partners through its Community Collaborative at our Clark Commons community in Buena Park, where this new onsite program is based.
Additionally, residents living in the neighborhoods who are CalOptima-eligible clients – including students at the adjacent Mabel L. Pendleton Elementary School – will also be eligible for the onsite services. Aimed at serving nearly 1,000 CalOptima members, this pilot program supplements services Jamboree already provides at Clark Commons, including an after-school program, resident leadership training, food and nutrition workshops, and computer classes.
Jamboree is managing the overall pilot program and recently hired Shadey Galvan, Peer Navigator, and Teresa Rivera, Community Services Coordinator, to ensure residents and program participants feel safe and understood in a culturally relevant manner. In addition to behavior management and teen groups, the program will offer parenting workshops to educate parents on how best to support their children and prepare them for a lifetime of strong behavioral health while also decreasing the stigma traditionally associated with seeking behavioral health care. Child Guidance Center has employed a mental health clinician who is trained in prevention and early intervention and is proficient in parent coaching, parent training and skill building, and other evidence-based behavioral health practices.
With support from CalOptima, Jamboree and Child Guidance Center have outlined a comprehensive plan with the eventual goal of implementing a self-sustaining model at other Jamboree communities and surrounding neighborhoods. Highlights for the two-year pilot program include: