System of Care

Sandusky County has convened a team of local partners who meet monthly to ensure a comprehensive Systems of Care approach is in place. 

A system of care is a coordinated network of community-based services and supports that are organized to meet the challenges of children and youth with multiple needs and their families. System of Care is family driven, youth guided, culturally competent and community based.

Every family deserves a certain level of expectations in the way they are treated. This is true for all interactions, including identifying, selecting, and connecting to community supports and services. All actions with families should be grounded in these principles:

• Strength-Based: All resources, services and supports should be selected and identified based on the unique strengths, talents, assets and resources of the youth, their parents, and other caregiver(s). In all circumstances, every family should have their strengths and interests considered when examining a range of community service options. This will require seeking information about family preferences, capacities, and history to facilitate the right match of community resource.
• Needs Based: Families deserve to have helpers get to the root of the challenge. If a Service Coordinator is responding to a simple request for assistance, the responder should slow down to build an understanding of the underlying concern. Taking the time to build an understanding ensures families get matched to the right resource in the right way at the right time. 
• Collaborative: All decision-making should be made by authentically collaborating with the family. At a minimum, this involves the helper providing transparent information, holding a stance of openness about the family’s preferred option, and following through on accessing services and supports that reflect the family’s perspective. 
• Family-Determined: Armed with an understanding of the types of services and supports available and preferred by the family, as well as how effectively and efficiently the service or support is likely to address the particular situation, the youth and family are in a position to determine which services and support strategies are right for them. Helpers should be prepared to not only provide information but make adjustments based on family preferences.