Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board Awards Medical Evaluation Response Initiative Team Funding for Mental Health Services
Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board Awards Medical Evaluation Response Initiative Team Funding for Mental Health Services Heading link
Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board (WCCMHB) has awarded the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford’s Medical Evaluation Response Initiative Team (MERIT) Program $136,597 to provide enhanced services and community prevention education to the existing child abuse and neglect programming at MERIT.
A social worker has been hired to provide mental health treatment, crisis response and case management services for Winnebago County children suspected of being abused or neglected who are referred to the MERIT program. In addition, the social worker will collaborate with other community agencies to enhance education on prevention and identification of child abuse and neglect in Winnebago County as well as additional education to local medical professionals, educators and other community organizations.
“We are grateful for the support of the Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board and the opportunity to provide additional vital resources to the most vulnerable victims in our community,” said Shannon Krueger, director of MERIT. “With this funding, we can continue to make a positive impact on the lives of children who have been victims of abuse in Winnebago County who require mental health, crisis intervention and case management services.”
As a funded partner of the WCCMHB, the MERIT Program joins an integrated network of programs that share a commitment to providing quality mental health and substance use services and programs to the children and adults of Winnebago County. WCCMHB invests in local nonprofits and governmental entities that provide mental health services and substance use treatment in Winnebago County through a voter-approved half-cent sales tax.
For more information about UIC MERIT and its services, please visit go.uic.edu/MERIT. For more information on WCCMHB, their partner organizations, or how to get involved in their funding process, visit http://r1planning.org/wccmhb.