Agency once again serving youth on full-time basis

The Youth Partial Care (YPC) program operated by Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, resumed full services June 14, making YPC the first partial-care program in Middlesex County to resume the full range of in-person services following the COVID-19 outbreak.

YPC is a highly structured, intensive day treatment program serving children from 9 to17 who live in Middlesex County and have mental health or behavioral concerns. The program recently welcomed new staff members Sonay Culpepper, LPC, clinical supervisor; and Destiny Cassell, BA, counselor.

Culpepper has a wealth of experience providing group, individual and family counseling at multiple levels of care, as well as previous management experience.

Cassell previously worked in child care and mentorship roles, and has leadership experience.  They join current YPC counselors Mary Davis, BA, and Jessica Coimin, BA, and case manager, Christine Lawless, LSW.

In March 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, YPC discontinued in-person services, and initially provided daily individual and family phone counseling sessions, as well as case management services to all enrolled youth. Packets containing clinical and psychoeducational materials, family activity ideas, self-care guides and tools to assist youth and their families with maintaining routine and structure were sent to each youth’s home on a weekly basis.

YPC also initiated a 24/7 on-call service in anticipation of increased mental health crises. When it became clear that the state shutdown was going to last longer than anticipated, Youth Partial Care pivoted to a virtual platform, providing daily virtual group therapy, as well as weekly individual and family sessions. YPC staff creatively formulated developmentally appropriate therapeutic activities to engage youth in a virtual platform, including creating virtual therapeutic board games, showing psychoeducational video clips, and using the virtual whiteboard feature for interactive activities. Staff members also hand-delivered materials to each youth’s home at the beginning of each week so that the youth would have the materials needed to participate actively in group.

In November 2020, YPC pivoted again and brought teen clients back into the office for in-person services. A hybrid model was offered, so that teens and their families had a choice regarding in-person or virtual services based on their own comfort level.  Because of space constraints with social distancing, as well as staffing issues exacerbated by the pandemic, YPC was only able to provide in-person services to a portion of program participants.  Groups for 9- to 12-year-olds continued to be held virtually. The teen group and youth group had staggered start times, which enabled staff to conduct each group consecutively.

Finally, on June 14, YPC opened its doors to all program participants for in-person services.  Participants were welcomed back with a luau-themed celebration, complete with games, special snacks, festive decorations, and music. The rest of the week was rounded out with clinical activities related to family dynamics. YPC continues to take precautions to prevent the spread of Covid-19 within program.

“Returning to program was the first step in normalcy!” Davis exclaimed “I was so happy and glad that I could connect with the youth in person. The youth really struggled with virtual. They were tired of being on technology. I could see such a difference when we were in person.

“The youth are now able to work on their goals and we have better communication, and they are able to get out of the house and engage with their group peers whom they had never even met in person.”

YPC parents also expressed a similar sentiment, voicing their relief that their children can receive in-person counseling services, as they saw their children had been struggling overall with a lack of routine and structure, and had not been able to engage in telehealth services as well as they can with in-person services.

Participants in the Youth Partial Care Program are provided with group therapy 12 hours weekly, in addition to psychiatric services, individual and family counseling, and case management services.  Door-to-door transportation is offered to all program participants.

For more information or to make a referral, please call the Catholic Charities Edison Family Service Center at (732) 738-1323.