Redwood Community Services (RCS)

Specialty Mental Health - RCS established a counseling center in 2002 to improve the lives of children, youth, and families in our community through supportive and intensive services, including individual, family, and group therapy. The counseling center program has evolved into the Behavioral Health Services (BHS) program that it is today, offering specialized therapeutic and behavioral services to youth, adults, and families across the lifespan. Our clinical services are fully integrated with all of our residential treatment, emergency shelter, and crisis care services. During the calendar year, 2,156 clients were served and we provided 3,416,712 units of service.

Foster Family Agency - RCS has been providing foster care services since its incorporation in 1995. Our Foster Care programs are designed to create a supported living environment for youth in the foster care system. Youth are placed with approved resource families, who are educated through a multi-faceted training program in order to prepare them for meeting the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of the youth in their care. To address the differing needs of the children and youth within the foster care system and the complexity of family dynamics, RCS offers an array of foster care options. During the calendar year, 54 clients were served and we provided 7,468 days of care.

Family Social Services: Our goal is to strengthen families and empower our community's most vulnerable children by building a healthy and whole community, one child and one family at a time. We believe that through staff commitment and by providing a sense of community, we will assist our youth to develop healing relationships. Redwood Community Services strives to help our children gain power in their lives, believe in themselves, and ultimately trust others enough to give and receive love.Wraparound: Redwood Community Services became the provider of Wraparound services for youth and families in Lake County in 2010. Wraparound is a dynamic process of planning, implementing, and coordinating services and support to improve the lives of youth and families with complex needs. The process is community based, culturally relevant, individualized, strength based, and family centered. It utilizes both informal and formal supports and community resources, and always includes a plan for stepdown and transition from formal services.Emergency Support Staff (ESS): Redwood Community Services provides immediate, in-person response to Mendocino County Family and Child Service detentions. ESS Workers assess children and youth for immediate needs and provide emergency supplies such as food, clothing and personal hygiene products. This service allows the County Social Worker the opportunity to gather information for investigation while the ESS Worker provides immediate attention to the child(ren). Supporting children and youth during this detention period ensures there is someone putting them first and offering comfort through a traumatic event.Nurturing Education and Skills Training (NEST): The NEST program is a long-term residential program that opened in 2013 to serve homeless pregnant and/or parenting youth ages 18-21. The services offered are designed to help young adults make a positive transition to self-sufficient living and successful parenting. Our goal is that young adults complete an individualized life skills program and acquire the tools and resources to live independently and raise their children in the community.Birch House: Opening in October 2019, Birch House is a Center-Based Complex Care program that serves youth aged 7 to 17 who have severe symptoms and/or behaviors. The acuity of these symptoms, which are characterized as self-destructive and self-sabotaging, prevent these youth from being able to access Intensive Services Foster Care Programs or traditional STRTP milieu settings. Youth that require a Center-Based Complex Care placement need safety, structure, routine, clear expectations, and effective therapeutic interventions. Underlying these basic components of an effective treatment program must be a shared philosophy that values engagement and a positive relationship with youth. At Birch house, staff view a youth's problematic behavior as an attempt to survive and/or gain control of chaotic and scary situations and/or get their wants and needs met. Behavioral interventions focus on: 1) identifying with youth what is happening emotionally, behaviorally, and socially, 2) clarifying with youth what he or she is trying to accomplish and 3) offering options and support so that the youth can utilize more effective methods for getting their wants and needs met. Birch House holds the view that behavior problems are established and maintained by negative reinforcement in which dysfunctional externalizing behaviors by youth are inadvertently reinforced by negative parent & youth interactions and/or other shaping elements from their social environment.Our programs help each youth identify a supportive network of life connections that will help guide them towards making safe choices while healing from trauma and developing their independent living skills. Depending on the age of the youth, they are encouraged to attend community schools and colleges and are assisted along the way.Transitional Services: Redwood Community Services' Transitional Services continuum provides a supportive environment for youth to grow into adulthood and for adults to learn skills necessary to maximize their independence. With several programs available, we strive to meet the needs of our clients while supporting a positive independent lifestyle.Transitional Housing Placement Program (THPP): Redwood Community Services began offering housing opportunities to youth in foster care through the Transitional Housing Placement Program in 1997. This is a licensed program for youth 16-17 years old to teach independent living skills in a supported environment. Participants live in a host home with an adult who acts as a mentor. They receive a monthly stipend to cover their basic costs of living and are assisted with developing a budget.Transitional Housing Placement Plus (THP-Plus): The Transitional Housing Program Plus began in 2007. This is not a licensed program. Youth who were in foster care on their 18th birthday are eligible to live in single or scattered site apartments or can be given a stipend to assist with rent costs in their own apartment.Transitional Housing Placement Program Plus Foster Care (THPP-FC): THPP-FC allows foster youth who reach age 18 to remain in foster care and receive foster care payment benefits as long as they meet eligibility requirements for AB-12 extended foster care and participate in the programs expectations.TAY Wellness: The TAY Wellness housing program began in 2008. Youth are eligible by having a Full-Service Partnership approved by the county Mental Health Department. A Full Service Partnership is a marker that designates a client is eligible to access programs funded by the Mental Health Services Act due to a high level of need caused by their mental health diagnosis and need for extra support to keep them from hospitalization or jail. Participants live in a single site apartment complex that is owned by Redwood Community Services. Serving young adults ages 18-24, the program partners with our Behavioral Health Services to offer therapeutic support to assist participants with learning to work with their mental health disorder and develop independent living skills.Gibson House: Gibson House is an 8-bed mental health supportive housing program for young adults ages 18-25 who meet Full-Service Partnerships (FSP) with Stepping Stones staff on site 24/7. Gibson combines supervision and a therapeutic milieu with independent living and life skills training. Haven House: Haven House and Harmony House are both 8-bed supported living environment for Laura's Law Assisted Outpatient Treatment clients ages 25+ and LPS conserved beneficiaries of Mendocino County who require high levels of supportive services. With 24-hour staffing, supporting residents receive the least restricting setting possible.Substance Use Disorder Services: Redwood Community Services provides an integrated system of community-based substance use treatment prevention, intervention, counseling, and recovery services that embrace a well living model in order to promote healthy, safe and thriving families throughout the community. Our Substance Use Disorder Treatment (SUDT) programs promote recovery and well-being through prevention, supportive services, and intervention, as well as whole person care for clients experiencing co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorder challenges. Building Bridges (B2) is a 55-bed collaborative homeless resource center located in Ukiah designed to provide housing related services and safe shelter to people experiencing a housing crisis. Services are provided through a partnership of multiple community agencies. B2 operates from a low barrier perspective, meaning we help people where they are at and work to make resources accessible rather than make reasons to exclude people from resources. B2 contains a day drop-in center, emergency shelter, and supportive services.