Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio

Implementation of the Circles of Care (COC) grant project - funding through Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA):

Launched in 1998, COC was designed to give tribes and urban Indian organizations a three-year grant to identify and analyze community needs systematically. The grant provides funding to develop culturally appropriate strategies that can be put into action effectively to serve young AI/AN people with serious behavioral health challenges. Notably, the families and communities of the AI/AN youth are brought in to participate in these processes – cultural appropriateness.

Snapshot:

- Infrastructure development project
- Three-year planning grant
- Prevention focused
- Tailored to be culturally specific for AI/AN
- AI/AN youth, family, and community focused
- Strongly characterizes the relevancy of AI/AN cultures and traditions as being vital components to promoting “wellness”

Goals:

GOAL 1: To enhance the infrastructure and capacity of our local system of care to provide youth-guided, family-driven, evidence-based behavioral health interventions to AI/AN youth and their families living in Ohio

GOAL 2: To comprehensively assess the behavioral health and social support needs of AI/AN youth and their families living in Ohio

GOAL 3: To comprehensively assess the local system of care for AI/AN youth and their families to identify system needs, gaps, potential resources, and cultural competency

GOAL 4: To develop a consensus-based community plan to enhance the local system of care for AI/AN youth and their families living in Ohio that is data-driven, evidence-based, culturally appropriate, and outcome-focused