The bulk of our referrals are made by agencies prior to any determination of potential RTC or out-of-home placement. The LCT functions as a true prevention initiative in that most of our agency partners now recognize that many families can be served in their communities if they have an opportunity to meet with the CRICT team before issues escalate to a point of crisis. Due to this approach, numbers for youth diverted from RTC will always appear low as these cases are not presented to the group for review or approval of a potential RTC placement.  

That being said, there were three VPA cases heard by the LCT: two were able to be alternatively served in a community-based setting but the third absolutely needed that RTC placement. This family had been to the CRICT team on two other occasions and community-based services had all been exhausted. The RTC was the appropriate setting for this particular youth at this time. 

There are no actions to be taken in response to this measure. The outcome is reflective of the unique needs of specific children. There are several issues/diagnoses that require very specialized treatment that is often not available in a community setting or is only available through one or two very specific providers nationwide. While that certainly leads to an argument for an increase in the availability of those services writ large, it does not generate anything specifically actionable by the LMB.