ENHANCE Services for Children in Foster Care

Program/Project Name

ENHANCE Services for Children in Foster Care

Affiliation Name

SUNY Upstate Medical University

Website URL

http://www.upstate.edu/psych/healthcare/psychclinics/enhance.php

Model Type

Medical Home

City

Onondaga

State

NY

State specific location

University Hospital Outpatient Department

How is program/project funded?

County Funding

Describe how it's funded

Medicaid dollars and funding from Onondaga County Department of Social Services

What services does it provide?

Entry to care health assessment

Where does it provide services?

County-based

Description of program/project

ENHANCE provides pediatric care and mental health services to all children in foster care in Onondaga County (Syracuse, NY). Two pediatricians, two Nurse Practitioners, PhD Child Psychologist see children 5 days/week and after hour accessibility. We are part of Academic Medical Center. Funded through county, we also have our own county caseworker on staff who is liaison between DSS and ENHANCE

How are patients tracked?

Commercial electronic medical record, Epic

Does the program provide special focus?

Developmental delay/issues, Mental health, Developmental Issues, Children in family foster care, Youth in group home/residential care, Young Children, Adolescents

Program/Project strengths

• As part of medical center we have easy access to all specialties.
• DSS Liaison makes communication and exchange of information more effective.
• We care for all children in county foster care.
• Funding is secure. We have been in operation > 20 years.
• We know all the county judges, attorneys so we have some opportunities for education.
• Voluntary agencies interact with us to improve care of their children.

Program/Project challenges

Educating judges, attorneys, caseworkers, foster parents, agency people is possible, but always challenging.

Contact Name

Steven Blatt, MD

Email Address

blatts@upstate.edu

Phone Number

315 464 5831