Community Services Group, 1000 Commerce Park Drive, Suite 110, provides a range of care for community members, including children and youth, mental health patients, the elderly and those with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism.
While the organization has been around since 1972, the Lycoming and Clinton counties branch started in the mid-80s, Carole A. Gilberti, regional director, said.
There are 19 different branches throughout the state.
For people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the group provides community homes with a customized residential living arrangement, based on the individual's level of support needed.
The group also provides them with vocational skills to help them find a job.
"The goal is to get them out there and work," Gilberti said. "There are 350 folks employed in Lycoming and Clinton counties."
Community Services Group also features a family-based children's program, she said.
The behavioral health rehabilitation services feature goals that focus on interventions that support the continued participation of at-risk children in the community, thereby preventing a placement into a more restrictive setting.
The family based mental health services program is an intensive service program in the family home and community for youth up to the age of 21 in jeopardy of being hospitalized or referred to out-of-home placements because of a mental health diagnosis or family challenges.
Outpatient treatment is one of the services offered for those with mental health problems. Those services include psychiatric assessments and medication monitoring, psychological evaluations, employee assistance programs and therapy for individuals, couples, families and groups.
Outpatient programs also provide dialectical behavioral therapy, parent-child interaction therapy and telepsychiatry. The telepsychiatry offers psychology services through a televised screen.
"Here in the rural (area), it's hard to find psychologists," Gilberti said.
Traditional psychologists also are available.
For autism, the intensive case management program provides services that include coordinating, linking, monitoring, accessing community services and building a natural support network.
Several different services exist for behavioral health consultation for elder care.
Behavior management helps decrease problem behaviors. Case consultation assists staff in responding to behavioral needs.
Staff support alleviates stress levels among staff members. Training enhances services and expertise. Therapy to clients helps improve the quality of life for residents.
Outside of the services Community Services Group provides, the staff trains to be better leaders through the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce.
Eight of the staff members graduated or are currently enrolled in the Leadership Lycoming program that trains members how to understand the needs of the community they serve, Gilberti said. The program also educates and motivates potential leaders to commit themselves to address those needs through a variety of community leadership roles.
One of the challenges Community Services Group faces is budget cuts.
"It's a tough time financially for human services," Gilberti said. "It's a really different time for us. ... This is one of the toughest budgets I've been through. Everyone has been hit."
