How We Help Montgomery County’s Children

• Early Care and Education
• Youth Development
• Children with Intensive Needs
• Strategic Plan
• How Are We Doing
• Programs
• Trainings
• RFP
• Success Story
• Local Access Mechanism
• Equal Justice for All Youth
• Making Services Better

		Healthy Children
		Young Children Ready for School
		Stable and Economically Secure Families
		Children Safe in their Home, School and Community
		Communities That Support Family Life

> Children with Intensive Needs Success Story

The Collaboration Council makes a difference in the lives of children with intensive needs using a spectrum of services and programs. Our definition of “intensive needs” is broad, including children who are:

• Medically fragile
• Developmentally disabled
• Severely emotionally disabled
• Behaviorally disabled
• Some combination of these conditions

Here, we explain how a child with intensive needs, and his mother, received vital assistance with “wraparound services,” designed to meet a vast variety of family needs.

Charting a New Course for an Out-of-Control Child and His Family

What a difference one year-and direction to the right combination of services-can make in the lives of one family.

Before being referred to Maryland Choices, David’s life was chaotic. He had been hospitalized twice in a three-month period for his uncontrollable behaviors, which included extreme aggression toward his mother and two sisters.

David was on a modified school schedule, attending only two hours a day. Even that proved too much, and his school year was cut short two weeks early due to his behavior.

David, his sisters and his unemployed single mother lived with her mother, David’s grandmother.

Maryland Choices worked with David and his family from his enrollment in April 2007 until his successful discharge from the program one year later.

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Through wraparound services, David and his family were connected to a variety of community and educational resources:

• Weekly home-based individual therapy sessions
• Monthly medication management
• Family therapy
• Weekly mentoring
• Social and recreational activities
• After-school programs like the Math Homework Club
• A children’s divorce group at the school; at times the group included his siblings.

These have made a dramatic change in David’s life. Behaviorally, David has greatly improved in his ability to cope with change, frustration and anger.

Over the past year, David has not only attended school for the full day, but also had perfect attendance and avoided being sent to the principal’s office for behavior-related issues.

David has improved his peer relational skills and has emerged as a leader. The school reported that David was nominated for the Crossing Guard Patrol team for this upcoming school year. In addition, the school put a 504 plan in place for David to allow for smaller group instruction and more time during tests. This has been extremely successful and it is likely David will not require this support for this next school year.

Beyond David’s accomplishments, his mother has made significant gains as well. She was able to enter the Arbor program and gain funding for childcare. She has also been accepted into the Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) subsidy, and the family is moving into a new, larger apartment.

With the right wraparound assistance, one year can make all the difference to a child with intensive needs.

Telephone number for Children with Intensive Needs : 301-610-0147

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