Children’s Therapeutic Services and Supports (CTSS) is a flexible range of mental health and rehabilitation services for children and youth with emotional disturbance and their families. The services are for children and youth who need higher levels of service than standard outpatient therapy.

CTSS services aim to help children:”

  • Recover an age-appropriate level of mental and emotional development that had been disrupted by a psychiatric illness
  • Self-monitor, compensate for, cope with, counteract, or replace psychosocial skills deficits
  • Develop psychological, emotional, and intellectual processing abilities and personal and social functioning skills

Specific services provided to a youth and their family are based on:

  • Diagnostic and functional assessment
  • Child’s therapeutic and support need
  • Family needs
  • Family culture
  • Availability of clinic, home, and school based services

CTSS services can be basic community-based therapy services, such as in a home or school. They can also be more intensive site-based services, such as day treatment. For families with complex needs and multiple providers, services must be coordinated with other providers or agencies working together.

CTSS services may include (depending on need and availability):

  • Therapy – Individual, family, and/or group psychotherapy
  • Skills training – Individual, family, and group skills training
  • Mental Health Behavioral Aide (MHBA) Services – One-to-one service that helps youth manage behavior problems and symptoms at home or school
  • Crisis Planning is the development of a written plan to help the child’s family to contend with a potential crisis
  • Children’s day treatment combines psychotherapy and skills training for three hours per day.

    ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for CTSS, three conditions must be met. The youth must be:

  • Enrolled in Medical Assistance (MA) or MinnesotaCare
  • Diagnosed with a mental health disorder that meets the criteria for emotional disturbance (0 to 18) or mental illness (from age 18 to 21)
  • Require rehabilitative mental health services to address their mental health needs, as documented in their diagnostic assessment.