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Multidisciplinary Assessment Team
The Multidisciplinary Assessment Team (MAT) Program is a collaboration between the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and the Department of Mental Health (DMH). Counseling4Kids is a designated MAT provider for South and South Central Los Angeles, the South Bay, and the San Fernando Valley.
The MAT Program at Counseling4Kids provides comprehensive assessments for children, ages 0-18, who are newly detained by DCFS and placed in out-of-home care. The MAT assessment addresses a broad range of needs specific to each case. The assessor will evaluate mental health and family/caregiver needs, identify developmental, educational, speech/language, and vocational concerns, and gather information on the child’s medical and dental health. This information is used to determine which services are most needed by the child and what placement is most appropriate. The assessment process is completed within 30 days and ends with the therapist writing a comprehensive report that includes treatment, resource and placement recommendations. This report is then presented to the multi-disciplinary MAT team, which includes the family, DCFS, the public health nurse, and other professionals assisting the family, and is incorporated into the child’s Case Plan that is submitted to the court.
By providing enhanced early assessment of the needs of children newly placed in foster care, the MAT Program decreases the amount of time children wait without receiving treatment for their ongoing mental health problems. The MAT assessors’ detailed reports help the Children’s Court judges to ensure that each family member’s needs are addressed. The MAT Program’s ultimate goal is to reduce the amount of time children are separated from family through early identification of and linkage to the resources, treatment and interventions needed to facilitate family stabilization and reunification or permanent placement.
As in our other programs, all Counseling4Kids MAT therapists are licensed, experienced clinicians who conduct the assessments in the field using our “clinical without walls” model of in-home treatment. Bilingual MAT clinicians are available.
Referrals for MAT program services are made directly by DCFS.
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