KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Officials at the Johnson County Mental Health Center say helping teens in crisis is one of the biggest gaps in mental health care.
They say that young people who need psychiatric help are too often sent to detention or hospital.
But now there is a safe place for young people to turn to when they are going through a mental health crisis.
The establishment of a center to stabilize youth in crisis areas in Johnson County is intended to help close the gaps in care.
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“We are excited to house the children here and provide them with treatment and care,” said Kevin Kufeldt, director of addiction and residential services in Johnson County.. “The stay will be three to five days. That’s enough time for us to get her here, stabilize the emotional behavioral issues, work with the family and talk about the discharge plan back home.”
According to Kufeldt, studies have shown that 65 to 70 percent of minors in juvenile detention have a diagnosable mental illness and 65 percent also have a substance-related disorder.
The Youth Crisis Stabilization Center, 920 W. Spruce St., Olathe, provides early intervention services and focuses on treatment and rehabilitation as an alternative to incarceration.
The center is a short-term, safety-focused new option for youth experiencing a mental health crisis.
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Molly Graves, the center’s program director, said a treatment team will work with the youth and their families during their stay, with goals including returning home and developing a plan for continued care.
The residential program takes place at the Johnson County Youth and Family Services Center in Olathe.
The center’s staff includes a clinician, a case manager, a nurse, an admissions coordinator, and several behavioral health specialists.
The staff provides treatment and care around the clock.
Intensive care with case management is possible, as is group and family therapy.
Graves will lead the program, which she says is a proactive service.
“The hope would be that this would come in a little earlier and catch things a little earlier,” Graves said. “I hope this is just a more proactive service. I think a lot of people are at their wits’ end, whether it’s the kids, the families or the service providers. Whether it’s external behavior, committing aggression, a law enforcement officer or internally someone trying to hold it in and letting it boil over.”
For children ages 10 to 17, it is immediate help.
“If this service had been available earlier, your son or daughter might have been able to avoid hospitalization or a stay in juvenile detention,” Kufeldt said.
In Sheila Albers’ case, this may mean that a life was saved.
Sheila Albers’ 17-year-old son John was killed by an Overland Park police officer in 2018 after he made a 911 call asking for welfare after posting a disturbing video on social media.
Sheila has been a champion of many changes in policing and mental health services. She sits on the Youth Corrections Advisory Board and helped create this new care space.
KSHB 41 news reporter Megan Abundis spoke with Albers about the new space.
“These services weren’t available six years ago,” Sheila Albers said. “Now there are places parents can go with their children to get services, and families have options, which is dramatically changing the landscape of mental health services in Kansas City. That gives me such a sense of peace.”
“She knows that there are children like her son who would benefit from such services,” Kufeldt said. “Every intervention can save lives.”
Graves said they will work closely with the Johnson County Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center (JIAC), which is operated by the Johnson County Department of Corrections.
School districts, police officers, CIT officers and other emergency services in the region are also informed about the new center.
“The school districts that meet with the school resource officers and talk to the school principals and social workers are also our first point of contact,” Graves said. “So when they see the behavior boiling over, we can step in and offer that early intervention as well.”
Graves said the goal of a young person leaving the facility is to be safe for themselves and others and to have a plan for how to help them in the future.
The Youth Crisis Stabilization Center provides care for young people between the ages of 10 and 17.
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Graves said teens can expect to stay in treatment for three to five days with their parents’ consent.
In February 2024, the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners approved a $1,480,750 grant from the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services to establish the Youth Crisis Stabilization Center.
The center hopes to open to families by the end of August.
