The Psychological Services Division provides a wide array of services to the Lake County Courts, Adult Probation Services, and Juvenile Probation Services. These services include conducting psychological evaluations, providing counseling to probationers and their families, consulting with probation staff, and coordinating referrals to and monitoring service contracts with community social service providers. More about the individual functions of the Division may be found here.
DIVISION HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2010
FACE-IT PROGRAM
Juvenile Domestic Violence Program:
The Juvenile Domestic Violence Offender Treatment Group was established within the year 2010 with the first group commencing on June 7, 2010. The group is held weekly for juvenile probationers within Lake County who have committed a Domestic Battery or Domestic Violence related offense. The population being served includes Lake County adolescent males who are between the ages of 13-17, have a domestic violence charge and are either referred or mandated to participate in treatment. The group operates as an open-ended group, indicating that participants can join and exit the group throughout the year. Group participants will be required to complete a minimum of 26 weeks of treatment.
Additionally, this in-house program includes an assessment component. The Domestic Violence Inventory (DVI) – Juvenile Version along with a number of assessment tools comprised the test battery for the domestic violence evaluation. Evaluations are done to assess level of risk for committing further domestic violence/criminal acts and to develop recommendations for treatment.
Over the course of nine months, the program has served 21 youth, completing 20 evaluations and treating 10 youth through the group. This initiative has drastically reduced our expenditure of outsource services thus allowing the families to receive services who otherwise may not have access to treatment.
Psychology Internship Program:
The psychology internship program continues to provide psychological assessments, psychotherapy, and consultation to youth and families of Lake County in the community, in the Detention Center, and the FACE-IT Residential program. Over the 2009 fiscal year, 42 psychological assessments have been completed compared to 2010 where 39 were completed. And as of March 8th 2011, seven psychological assessments have been completed.
Outpatient Services:
Historically, the FACE-IT Residential program only treated youth and families placed in the program. However, since the summer of 2010, the clinical team has engaged in providing services on an outpatient basis for youth and families on probation but not involved in the FACE-IT program. To date, this initiative has serviced 2 families and 3 individuals. Additionally, youth who have matriculated out of the residential program are seen in an outpatient capacity for three to four months. Also, career assessment services are rendered to the Juvenile Probation Pre-employment group.
Read Me a Story Program:
Hulse Detention Center/FACE-IT Residential Program
The Read Me a Story Program, initiated in 2010, is coordinated by the community resource liaison within the Division of Psychological Services in conjunction with the Detention and FACE-IT program located at the Depke Juvenile Justice Center.
The Read Me a Story Program provides detained youth a unique and meaningful way to develop a love of reading and maintain a sibling/child connection while they are detained. The underlying philosophy of the program is to break the cycle of incarceration and low literacy. Through the program youth discover the personal value and personal connections for both the sibling/child and themselves in developing and promoting literacy skills. Since its inception 41 youth have participated in the program and they have read 60 books to 54 siblings and 6 to children of teen parents.
Nicasa Grant for Adolescent Youth Intensive Outpatient Treatment:
In September of 2010, a newly funded federal grant was obtained by Nicasa to provide intensive outpatient drug and alcohol treatment to adolescent youth in Lake County. The community resource liaison from the Division of Psychological Services coordinates referral and feedback information regarding juvenile probation clients that are eligible for treatment. Nicasa was officially open for intakes into the program in January of 2011. The treatment will be initially provided at the Round lake location with intent to expand to the Waukegan area.
Youth Intensive Outpatient Treatment serves youth, ages 12-17, having significant drug alcohol issues or in need of continuum of care after discharge from a residential treatment program. The treatment model used for this program is called A-CRA (Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach) /ACC (Assertive Continuing Care Protocol), which has been shown in the scientific research to have positive outcomes.
Group Therapy Opportunities:
Women FIRST is a new group developed in December of 2010 and implemented in January of 2011. Women FIRST is designed to assist female probationers with their unique needs and issues. Program volunteers ensure that the probationer is following through with their referrals. The group meets biweekly and provides probationers with information including personal goal setting, stress and anger management, parenting skills, relationship tips, and ways to increase their self-esteem. Every session begins with working on problem solving and goals followed by resource information and occasional guest speakers.
Psychological Assessments Utilzing Group Testing:
The Division of Psychological Services conducts an average of 600 psychological evaluations per year generated by referrals received from the Court as well as the Division of Adult Probation. Clinicians that conduct these evaluations spend an average of four hours per individual providing the clinical interview, psychological testing, scoring, and interpretation of test data. In order to reduce the cost of these psychological assessments in terms of both person hours and expediting the turn around time of completed evaluations, group testing was initiated. Group testing utilizes one clinician to conduct the psychological testing, scoring, and interpretation of test data thus significantly reducing the number of person hours required if conducted individually. In 2010, the Division of Psychological Services group testing program was optimized to include computer-based assessment to further improve efficiency and reduce the cost of psychological assessments while continuing to offer the highest quality of diagnostic and treatment services to its clients.