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Baltimore Child & Adolescent Response System (BCARS)
Providing comprehensive community-based services for children in mental health crisis.
24/7 hotline: 410-433-5175
Providing comprehensive community-based services for children in mental health crisis.
24/7 hotline: 410-433-5175
Our Purpose
We provide comprehensive community-based services for children in mental health crisis. BCARS provides brief and intensive community-based services for children in psychiatric crisis to divert or shorten in-patient hospitalization and to link clients to community providers that will serve them for ongoing care.
Who We Serve
BCARS works in partnership with the Baltimore City Department of Social Services (BCDSS) to provide supportive stabilization and crisis intervention services for children in traditional, kinship or treatment foster care. The array of services are offered to foster families and services are accessed by referral from a DSS caseworker and/or a family can request services themselves.
There are two aspects of the BCARS program.
Traditional BCARS Program
In the case of the traditional BCARS program, the goals of treatment are to avoid an inpatient hospitalization, stabilize the crisis, and link children and families to services that will help them long term. The goals of the DSS Stabilization partnership include the above as well as the goal of providing assistance to avoid any placement disruptions.
BCARS/BCDSS Stabilization Partnership
Since 2009, BCARS and the Baltimore City Department of Social Services have partnered so that children experiencing difficulties in their foster care placement can receive quick supports and counseling geared toward stabilizing their placements, so that disruptions do not occur.
Program services are similar to our traditional BCARS response but have some important differences:
• Urgent 24/7 response is possible, with expected response time under 2 hours
• Services are individualized and can include phone referral or direct face-to-face supports anywhere from 1-42 days.
Traditional BCARS Program
In the case of the traditional BCARS program, the goals of treatment are to avoid an inpatient hospitalization, stabilize the crisis, and link children and families to services that will help them long term. The goals of the DSS Stabilization partnership include the above as well as the goal of providing assistance to avoid any placement disruptions.
BCARS/BCDSS Stabilization Partnership
Since 2009, BCARS and the Baltimore City Department of Social Services have partnered so that children experiencing difficulties in their foster care placement can receive quick supports and counseling geared toward stabilizing their placements, so that disruptions do not occur.
Program services are similar to our traditional BCARS response but have some important differences:
• Urgent 24/7 response is possible, with expected response time under 2 hours
• Services are individualized and can include phone referral or direct face-to-face supports anywhere from 1-42 days.
Services
- Emergency Department Diversion
- Community-Based Crisis Services
- 24/7 Hotline
- Urgent Care Clinic
- Short-Term Intensive Individual/Family Therapy
- Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services
- Psychiatric Assessment
- Medication Management
- Crisis Response to Baltimore City Public Schools
Access to Services
Contact
For general inquiries, please call or send a message.
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