Indiana Choices - Cross System Care Coordination

Best known as the Dawn Project in Marion County, Choices provides cross system coordination services for youth and their families throughout the state of Indiana. We coordinate and pay for services and supports for youth within the following eligibility categories:

• Youth with a case type of Informal Adjustment (IA) with moderate to high levels of risk and service needs according to the DCS assessment matrix;
• Children with a status of CHINS, including CHINS VI, and/or a juvenile delinquency/juvenile status;
• Youth who need placement stability, including infants, toddlers, and transition age youth; or
• All adopted children and adoptive families.

Choices care coordinators are trained to be experts in community-based resources. They assist family case managers, probation officers, teachers and all team members to streamline services and supports with the goal of achieving permanency and decreased need on formal system-supports. Care coordinators assist family case managers by:

• Accessing resources outside of the state approved service standards such as mentoring and supervision;
• Expanded access to flexible funding for purchases such as housing, utilities, transportation and child care (flexible funding must be tied to treatment goals, and approved by the team);
• Monitoring progress reports and outcomes on a monthly basis and reporting that information back to all team members via the child and family team;
• Seeking safety, stability and permanency for every child and family;
• Increasing family driven care to ensure individualized treatment planning.