Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) - A therapy based on the science of learning and behavior. ABA focuses on how behavior is affected by the environment. The goal is to increase behaviors that are helpful and decrease behaviors that are harmful. 

 

Base Service Unit (BSU) - local community agencies responsible for assessment and coordinating, locating, and monitoring services to meet the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities. They provide mental/behavioral health support, including recovery coaching/case management, treatment, and medication management. 

 

Behavior Analytic Services (BA) - Services that provide support in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy. They help increase and maintain communication and language, intellectual function and socially important behaviors, including attention, situational awareness, adaptive skills, interaction and relationship management, and academic performance in children. 

 

Behavioral Consultative Services (BC) - Provides on-site observations, consultation and individualized services for children experiencing difficulties in school. Aim is to address academic, social, or behavioral problems. Interventions are provided indirectly by a consulting school psychologist to a consultee - a teacher or other school professional - to directly apply them to the student in need. 

 

Behavioral Health (BH) - describes the connection between a person’s behavioral habits and their mental and physical well-being. Aims to promote strong mental health and wellbeing. Behavioral health Includes factors like eating and drinking, exercise, and addictive behavior patterns. 

 

Behavioral Health Technician (BHT) - A mental health professional, normally working under the direction of psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses. They help with the treatment of patients who have various behavioral problems, developmental disorders, or mental illness. They assist patients with daily living and self-care. 

 

Blended Case Management (BCM) - a service which will assist eligible individuals with mental illness, including children with a serious mental illness or emotional disorder, in gaining access to needed medical, social, educational, or other services. 

 

Case Management (CM) - the coordination of community-based services by a professional or team to provide people the quality of mental health care that is customized accordingly to an individual’s setbacks or persistent challenges and aid them to recovery. 

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Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) - A peer support specialist is a person with “lived experience” who has been trained to support those who struggle with mental health, psychological trauma, or substance use. The person must have received specific training in the role to become certified. Their personal experience of these challenges provide peer support specialists with expertise that professional training cannot replicate. 

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Community Care Behavioral Health (CCBH) - The largest non-profit managed behavioral health care organization in the U.S. They focus on behavioral healthcare services, including drug rehab and other forms of treatment related to substance abuse and addiction. They serve policyholders across Pennsylvania and in parts of New York. 

 

Community Residential Rehabilitation (CRR) - provides transitional housing and support for adults age 18+ with mental health disorders. Offers a home-like atmosphere and strong sense of community to help residents develop relationships and improve life skills. Family-like atmosphere of group homes is a major therapeutic tool, providing increased quality of life and continued growth. They help people repair self-esteem, develop core life skills, and learn to manage their mental health symptoms.

 

Community Supports Program (CSP) - assists individuals with mental health issues in achieving and sustaining the highest quality of life consistent with their abilities, needs, and personal ambitions. The Community Support Program (CSP) of Pennsylvania is an alliance of mental health consumers, family members, and professionals working together to aid adults with severe mental illnesses and co-occurring disorders to live successfully in the community. The statewide coalition connects national CSPs with regional and local CSPs throughout the state. 

 

County Assistance Office (CAO) - offers assistance and other services to people and families in need. Receives applications and renewals from residents - caseworkers are available at the CAO to help you and answer questions in-person or over the phone, if the office is closed to the public. Available benefits and services include: 

 

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

• Cash Assistance

• Health Care Coverage (Medical Assistance) 

• Home Heating Assistance (LIHEAP)

• Family Planning Services

• Help with Child Care

• School Meals

• Long-Term Living Services

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Department of Human Services (DHS) - A national or subnational umbrella agency responsible for providing public assistance programs to the population they serve. The Pennsylvania DHS administers services that provide care and support to Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable individuals and families. 

 

Early Intervention (EI) - Identifying and providing effective early support to children and young people at risk of poor outcomes. Effective early intervention works to prevent problems, or to tackle them head-on, before they worsen. 

 

Family Based Mental Health Services (FBMHS) - Provides family therapy, crisis intervention, or prevention services. The primary goal is to help parents and caregivers to care for their children who have a behavioral health diagnosis and reduce the need for a higher level of care. They work to strengthen and maintain family relationships through therapy, teaching coping skills, and teaching family members how to provide support for their child. 

 

Family Support Services (FSS) - Community-based services that assist and support parents in their role as caregivers. Their overarching goal is to help parents enhance skills and resolve problems to promote optimal child development. 

 

Home-Based Waiver (HBW) - A program that provides support for individuals who live at home. Home-based support can range from assisting individuals with household chores, cooking, teaching daily living and social skills, or helping them to get involved and connected with their community. 

 

Intellectual Disability (ID) - Involves problems with general mental abilities that affect functioning in two areas: intellectual functioning (such as learning, problem solving, judgment) adaptive functioning (activities of daily life such as communication and independent living). 

 

Intensive Case Management (ICM) - A community-based package of care aiming to provide long-term care for severely mentally ill people who do not require immediate admission. The goal is to help clients achieve an optimum quality of life through developing plans, enhancing life skills, addressing health and mental health needs, engaging in meaningful activities and building social and community relations. 

 

Intensive Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) (formerly known as the “Wrap Around” program) - Supports children, youth, and young adults with mental, emotional, and behavioral health needs. They offer a wide array of services that meet the needs of these individuals in their homes, schools, and communities. 

Loophole (for child Medical Assistance) - A common misconception about medical assistance (MA) is that income of the parents is considered; however, this loophole allows qualified individuals to obtain MA without consideration of the parents’ income. 

Student Assistance Program (SAP) - A systematic team process used to mobilize school resources to remove barriers to learning. SAP is designed to assist in identifying issues including alcohol, tobacco, other drugs, and mental health issues which pose a barrier to a student’s success.

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More Information is Available in our Resource Guide