Centerstone awarded screening and support services grant

Centerstone, a national leader in behavioral healthcare, was recently awarded a grant from the Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation (ILCHF) for $99,960 in support of Screening and Support Services (SASS).

Through the SASS program, Centerstone provides crisis screenings for youth who may be at imminent risk of psychiatric hospitalization, who are returning from a residential treatment facility or who have been deflected from inpatient treatment.

Many of the youth who are impacted in a crisis, are reported in a school setting. During the pandemic, not as many kids have been in school and less numbers of crises are being reported. This grant will allow Centerstone to connect with and seek out children who need SASS services.

“During this time many children and families have extra stress, and yet due to the pandemic are more disconnected than ever from schools and services which might assist,” says Niki Grajewski, clinical manager at Centerstone. “The funding from ILCHF will assist with additional outreach to connect with and help stabilize families who may have experienced a behavioral health crisis.”

The ILCHF grant will also allow Centerstone to hire more staff not only for screening and assessment, but to ensure hospital transfers are made quickly and easily and that children in crisis are connected to the proper resources.