East Bay Agency For Children

Target demographics: Children, Youth and Families

Geographic areas served: Alameda County

Programs: School-based behavioral health services programs:ebac mental health therapists, who work on-site at schools, counsel children and youth from mainstream classrooms who have been referred by their teachers, principals, parents, and themselves because they are struggling with issues like anxiety, depression, or aggression. Through art, play, and other therapeutic tools, ebac clinicians help these children develop ways to self-regulate their emotions and behaviors. Additionally, clinicians work with teachers and administrators to create trauma-informed school environments and support a positive school climate. Ebac school-based behavioral health staff work on over 40 elementary, middle, and high school campuses in oakland, fremont, hayward, san lorenzo, newark, and san leandro. Each year about 1,000 children receive vital mental health support through ebac's school based behavioral health services.

intensive behavioral health services programs:ebac's intensive behavioral health services provide safe, accessible, and supportive places for children and youth suffering from severe emotional difficulties while they restore abilities to return to mainstream school settings. These programs provide sanctuaries during times of crisis and act as alternatives to hospitalization and residential treatment centers. Intensive behavioral health services programming includes: intensive counseling enriched classrooms' therapeutic nursery school; and, youth empowerment services. Each year ebac typically serves about 125 children and youth through our intensive behavioral health services. Programs include: intensive counseling enriched classrooms: therapeutic classrooms enable children that require more support than available in mainstream classrooms settings to learn techniques for self-regulating their emotions and behavior while receiving academic instruction. An ebac behavioral health therapist works with each child based upon their individualized treatment plan. Behavioral coaches shadow the children all day long in the classroom providing real-time intervention and affirmation to support positive behavioral changes and self-regulation. Nearly 100 children receive these intensive behavioral health services from ebac annually in 6 classrooms in the san leandro and oakland unified school districts. Therapeutic nursery school- the therapeutic nursery school provides early childhood education and comprehensive mental health services for children ages 2 to 6 who need additional support with social, emotional and learning difficulties. Children are referred to the program if their behaviors make it difficult for them to succeed in their current preschool or day care settings. They may have difficulties with aggression and disruptive behaviors, experience sadness and fearfulness, or have had family difficulties. Teaming with the parents, guardians, and community support is an essential component of our comprehensive program. Youth empowerment services (yes) - youth exiting the juvenile justice system require specialized support to give them the best possible chance of success in their transition back to school and home life. Ebac case managers are paired with teens leaving the alameda county juvenile justice center. These case managers work in tandem with the teen to ensure he or she abides by the terms of probation, enrolls in school and attends, receives necessary and/or court mandated counseling, and integrates into a safe family environment.

family and community wellness servicesa strong and stable family is critical to the long-term wellness of children. East bay agency for children provides several types of services that strengthen families and children, building resiliency to face future adversity and, where possible, increasing the potential of preventing exposure to trauma in the first place. Ebac serves over 10,000 children, youth and family members annually through our family and community wellness programming. Programs include:- afterschool programs- ebac operates four afterschool programs atelementary schools in the oakland unified school district. Our comprehensive afterschool programs provide academic support along with enrichment activities, such as arts & crafts, cooking, gardening and music. Often, our program provides the only alternative for children in under-resourced neighborhoods to spend the afterschool hours in a safe and supervised environment. Family engagement activities are a part of our afterschool programs as well and include potlucks, events and showcases as well as educational workshops for parents/guardians on topics they choose, such as nutrition, saving for college, and helping with homework. - child assault prevention ( cap)- cap services teach children and youth how to recognize and respond to situations that are unsafe and abusive, addressing the preventable aspects of child abuse, neglect and other forms of violence. Child assault prevention (cap) workshops are conducted in school classrooms to children and youth from preschool through high school with other specialized trainings offered to parents, care givers, school staff, youth serving professionals, and the community at-large. Grief and loss- our "circle of care" grief and loss program supports children and their families coping with a life threatening illness or the death of a loved one. The program helps children heal and learn to cope with this traumatic experience through specialized support groups, individual and family counseling, crisis support, community trainings and outreach. - family resource centers- ebac operates family resource centers inhayward, oakland, san leandro and fremont. Family resource centers offer convenient, inviting, and helpful places for parents to come for assistance in accessing a myriad of public benefits important to their family's health and wellness. With multilingual and multicultural staff, ebac-run family resource centers help local families access the support services available to them so their children can thrive. Our family resource centers provide services such as: healthcare insurance enrollment and retention (medi-cal and covered california); application assistance for calfresh (food stamps), calworks, social security, in home support services, etc. ; emergency food and clothing; information and referrals for child support, child care, housing, mental health services, etc. ; case management; assistance with school enrollment; and translation and interpretation. Our family resource specialists speak 11 languages and generally come from the communities they serve. - school-based health center - the frick school health & wellness center is a community resource for convenient, high-quality health services for students and families of frick middle school and the surrounding east oakland community. Services include: medical services, dental services, health education, counseling, case management, health insurance enrollment assistance, school nurse, and youth development. Ebac operates the frick school health & wellness center in conjunction with native american health center. Services are provided at no cost and the health center serves children, teens, and adults.