A Quasi-experimental Longitudinal Study of Adolescents' Well-being in Community-based Treatment Versus in a Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF)

Excerpt from the Partners Child ACTT service definition in North Carolina (Revised 5-23-19): Program Requirements: Child ACTT (Assertive Community Treatment Team) is a team-based multi-disciplinary approach to serve children in their homes, kinships placements, foster homes ... The team will have daily meetings to prioritize activities, share information, and discuss individual members. The team will be available to respond 24/7 for crisis de-escalation and assessment, inclusive of availability by phone within 15 minutes and face to face within no more than 2 hours. This will include face-to-face assessment by a clinician, or nurse if this is determined to be needed for the individual. The psychiatric provider will be available minimally by phone 24/7 for consultation and treatment recommendations. The team will assess the overall needs of the family to ensure that all necessary treatment and supports are in place for entire family system.

Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTFs) are non-hospital facilities intended to provide inpatient services to Medicaid-eligible individuals who are under the age of 21. A PRTF's mission is to either improve residents' condition or prevent further regression to ultimately remove the need for such services. PRTFs provide a range of comprehensive services intended to treat residents' psychiatric conditions under the supervision and direction of a psychiatrist. The core components in a PRTF program include at least weekly medication management, 24 hours nursing services, high staff-to-client ratio with awake staff during night hours, individual, group, and family therapy, intensive psychoeducation, behavioral model of care designed to teach new functional skills, and comprehensive assessments as needed.