Nearly 50 people crowded into the Palmdale office of the Antelope Valley Child and Adolescent Program on April 1 to celebrate the grand opening of the County’s newest mental health clinic. The event, which premiered the County’s first children’s mental health program in the Antelope Valley, included a tour of the facilities and remarks from Theion Perkins, R.N., B.S.N., M.S.N., Sr. Deputy Director for Outpatient Care Services; Anders Corey, Health Deputy for Fifth District County Supervisor Kathryn Barger; James Coomes, L.C.S.W., Chief of Service Area 1; and Dr. Makesha Jones-Chambers, Mental Health Program Manager II.
Due to the rapid growth of the region’s population, there has been an increasing need for mental health services for individuals from birth to age 21. This new program will provide them and their families with client-centered and trauma-informed mental health services. The program offers individual, group, and family therapy; crisis evaluation and intervention; case management and community linkage; medication evaluation and support; and psychological testing.
Once fully staffed, the program will include 30 trained mental health providers, including marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists. The program also has medical case workers and community health workers for additional support, community outreach, and service linkage.
