Pediatric psychiatry in Illinois
June 13, 2011 7:35 PM   Subscribe

Is there a really great pediatric psychiatric inpatient facility in Illinois, or outside Illinois that will accept IL Medicaid?

A friend of mine is having trouble with her five year old daughter, Claire. Claire had a rough start in life and has been treated both inpatient and outpatient for psychiatric issues, with and without medication, and is now living at home and having behavioral problems both with her mother and at daycare. Claire fails to respond to attempts to re-direct her behavior, to the point where she finds attempts at punishment to be hilarious.

Claire's background includes a junkie father who at best did not understand how to care for an infant. During her visitations with him, she was inadequately fed and clothed. She's described to her mom having found syringes, and visitations have since stopped. However, Claire has lingering issues - including the belief that her mother and stepfather hate her. Her acting out has gotten to the point where her mother fears for the safety of Claire's toddler half-sister as Claire has a pattern of lashing out physically by hitting, biting, and kicking other children in her day care program. Claire appears to lack empathy and has shown a history of manipulation - being sweet and angelic to hospital workers in her inpatient program and saying that she wants to run away and kill herself when she's with her mother. She has actually physically tried to choke herself several times. She is now repeatedly trying to run away, whether leaving home or running away from her mom in stores.

Claire and her mom are in Illinois and have Medicaid for insurance. My question is if anyone has experience with a facility that accepts Medicaid that has a reputable inpatient child psych program to help get some treatment for Claire's behavioral and emotional issues.
posted by IndigoRain to Human Relations (4 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I'm sorry I don't have any direct experience, but I would direct her to a place like Rush University Hospital which has a pediatric program or Children's Memorial Hospital. I don't know if either of these places accept Medicaid, but they would probably be among the better pediatric psychiatric programs.
posted by la petite marie at 8:39 PM on June 13, 2011


Wraparound services, which provides services in the home/community/school rather than inpatient hospitalization may be a good option for your friend and her daughter. It's often a better way to offer services to families as it's more cost effective and provides the assistance right where the child and family are struggling most. You don't say where exactly in Illinois you are located, but from what I can tell it looks like funding is often provided through the local Department of Child and Family Services. Here are a couple of links that may help get you started. You can also contact your local DCFS or google your local county and "system of care." to find your local resources.

Another option would be behavioral therapy, in which case Rush or Children's Memorial might be good places to start.

Good luck to your friend and her family. It's wonderful that they have a supportive friend helping them through this.
posted by goggie at 4:18 AM on June 14, 2011 [1 favorite]


Check out UIC, they have a pretty extensive psychiatric department.
posted by gjc at 6:16 AM on June 14, 2011


If your friend is in the Chicagoland area, she should call C4 SASS (Community Counseling Services of Chicago's Screening, Assessment, and Support Services) and request an in-home assessment and referral for other services. C4 SASS offers 24-hour crisis intervention services and will come out the same day if there is a question of Claire's safety or her sister's safety. They are a state-funded agency and do accept Medicaid.
posted by timeo danaos at 7:50 AM on June 14, 2011 [1 favorite]


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