Youth Community Support Program (YCSP)
- NOTE: This program is only available with a referral from Alberta Health Services Child and Adolescent Addictions, Mental Health, & Psychiatry Program (CAAMHP) or Children’s Services.
The Youth Community Support Program (YCSP) provides a step-down service for youth and their families who are exiting acute inpatient mental health settings or formal treatment environments.
This program is meant to fill a gap in the continuum of services for a specific group of youth 13-17 years of age with complex mental health diagnoses, who are continuously accessing tertiary services with no stable resolution. Youth are required to have an existing community “home” placement identified prior to admission. Operating under a ‘transdisciplinary’ approach, YCSP offers wrap around services from one location.
A unique feature of this program is that program staff consist of both Alberta Health Services staff and Wood’s Homes staff. Case management and decision making are shared to ensure a comprehensive, individualized service is provided to each youth and caregiver.
Youth Community Support Program is run in partnership with Alberta Health Services (AHS), as part of the AHS continuum of mental health care.
The Program Consists of 2 Components:
- Treatment Bed: Intensive, campus-based mental health treatment that serves up to 6 youth, ages 13-17 and their caregivers at any given time. While in program, youth attend an on-site school classroom with behavioural supports run in partnership with the Calgary Board of Education.
- Community-based intervention: Available for up to 15 youth, ages 13-18 (must be 17 at time of referral) and their caregivers at any given time. The community component supports youth in family-based care, as well as supporting the successful transition of the youth back to the community from the campus-based setting or acute inpatient mental health setting.