Northern Key Community Care

Since 1966, northkey has provided mental health, substance use and developmental disabilities services as the Regional Community mental health center for the eight county Northern Kentucky region. Northkey's volunteer Board of directors consists of professionals, business representatives, and Northern Kentucky leaders who share the vision and passion for a high-quality, effective, accessible continuum of Care available to all individuals who live in the region. Each county in the region has a northkey office delivering mental health and substance use disorder services. Developmental disabilities services are delivered in the Community by case managers and paraprofessionals who provide a wide variety of supports. Northkey services are built on a foundation of access and inclusion. Mobile crisis services are available to the Community 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Mental health services range from outpatient therapy, through supported employment, supported housing, and case management, to therapeutic rehabilitation for clients with severe mental illness. Substance use disorder services are primarily delivered as group and intensive outpatient treatment. In fy 2022, northkey was in therapeutic contact with over 16,000 individuals in the region. Services cover the entire life span, with the first steps program assessing for developmental delays for children zero to three, all the way through therapeutic supports and medication management delivered by psychiatric practitioners with training in geriatrics.

Northkey's jail services provides assessment and training services for jails and other components of Northern Kentucky's justice system. Jail triage assesses local inmate risk of harm to self or others and provides some inmate crisis counseling. Consultative feedback is provided to the jails, which enact protective protocol or engage other inmate assistance. Northkey also conducts evaluations to assist courts in determining whether a person alleged to be incompetent requires a court-appointed guardian or conservator. Assessments aid criminal courts to determine a defendant's competence to stand trail and/or criminal responsibility at the time of an alleged offense. The northkey collaboration continues with law enforcement in the Northern Kentucky police crisis intervention teams (cit) effort. Cit is an internationally recognized model used to improve safety and overall interactions between law enforcement and individuals in behavioral health crises. Northkey and Regional officers conduct two 40 hour cit trainings per year.

For more than 30 years, northkey Community Care has partnered with Northern Kentucky school districts by placing therapists in schools to provide the social, emotional and behavioral help students need. Currently, northkey serves over 24 schools in eight counties. Northkey therapists integrate with the school team and become a valuable resource for the students, parents and school personnel. Once on-site in the school, the therapist provides treatment and support for students including consultation and resources for parents and school staff. School based services make it possible to reach and provide services to clients who might otherwise go untreated because of transportation or scheduling conflicts.