Mental Health Services
School-Based Partial Hospitalization Program
A unique feature of Pace School is its School-Based Partial Hospitalization (SBPH) Program. SBPH enables children and adolescents with pre-existing or developing behavioral, emotional and/or mental health disorders to receive a level of care that is more concentrated than outpatient services and less intrusive than in-patient care.
Students in this program receive mental health services and interventions as part of their compulsory school program, and as a special education related service.
Pace School meets all of the unique regulatory requirements of a SBPH Program:
- Meets licensing requirements of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare.
- At the county level the program meets credentialing requirements of Community Care Behavioral Health (CCBH) and Value Behavioral Health (VBH).
- Provides one full-time clinical staff member for every five students.
- Provides two hours of psychiatric time per week for every five students of program capacity.
Transition Planning
Transition planning occurs for students who are either ready to return to their district or who require the next level of care.
Assessment - The Pace Advantage
Pace School's assessment services include comprehensive clinical assessments that enable the school to identify and differentiate behavioral health symptoms from learning and educational issues. Assessment also helps to determine what motivates a youngster's behavior, taking into consideration physical health and other matters that influence or trigger behavior and symptoms.
Master's level clinicians, in collaboration with child psychiatrists perform the assessments. The psychiatrist also conducts a mental status examination, symptom review and medication assessment.
The assessment process involves both the child and family. Other participants may include, but are not limited to, agencies providing services to the child/family, including:
- Case management
- Foster parents
- The home school
- The Office of Children, Youth and Families (CYF)
- Juvenile Probation Office (JPO)
- Primary care physicians
Every assessment includes a comprehensive trauma history. By specifically identifying "what happened" to a child, treatment can focus on ways to support recovery and healing.
