VANCOUVER, Wash. – The Clark County Department of Community Services today introduced a breakthrough Web solution for individuals, families and agencies concerned with mental and emotional wellness.
The Network of Care for Behavioral Health & Community Services (www.clark.wa.networkofcare.org) is an online resource for individuals, families and agencies concerned with mental and emotional wellness, substance abuse, developmental disabilities, public health, weatherization and housing. The site provides critical information, communication and advocacy tools with a single point of entry. It ensures there is “No Wrong Door” for those navigating the system of behavioral health and community services.
The launch, held at the Center for Community Health, featured comments from Clark County Commissioner Marc Boldt; Cheri Dolezal, Deputy Director, Department of Community Services; Sandy Gregoire, Parent Advocate, DSHS; Erin Peterschick, Coordinator, Washington State Mental Health Transformation Project; and Jim Rogers, Clark County Mental Health Advisory Board.
The Network of Care for Behavioral Health & Community Services provides a comprehensive Service Directory of the approximately 50 service providers in Clark County, putting people in touch with the right services at the right time. The Network of Care also provides easy-to-search libraries and vital information about specific disorders, pending legislation and advocacy, as well as daily news articles from around the world concerning behavioral health, mental retardation and substance abuse.
To increase accessibility and accommodate the Network of Care’s users, the site’s innovative technology provides near-universal access, regardless of literacy or income level, to Web-based services through a text-only version of the site and other adaptive technologies. The site is fully ADA-compliant and Bobby-approved. Network of Care also is available in multiple languages.
Service providers can share challenges and ideas, as well as create powerful new mechanisms to better serve people with mental illness, mental retardation and substance abuse, by embracing Network of Care’s communication tools such as message boards and community calendars. Service providers can even build their own free Web sites in the For Providers section.
Trilogy Integrated Resources LLC of San Rafael, Calif., created, developed and maintains the Network of Care for Mental/Behavioral Health and all of the other Network of Care Web sites, including the Network of Care for Seniors and People with Disabilities; the Network of Care for Kids (ages 0-5); the Network of Care for Children & Families (ages 0-18); the Network of Care for Developmental Disabilities, and the Network of Care for Domestic Violence. Based on requests from across the nation, Trilogy is also developing Network of Care sites for public health and probation services.