Management Team
James Parauda, LSW
Chief Executive Officer
(908) 526-3900 x114
jparauda@tricountycmo.org
Aileen Arsenault
Chief Financial Officer
(908) 526-3900 x112
aarsenault@tricountycmo.org
Kimberly Camuso
Director of Human Resources
(908) 526-3900 x171
kcamuso@tricountycmo.org
Matthew LaRoche, MA
Chief Operations Officer
(908) 526-3900 x133
mlaroche@tricountycmo.org
Denise Linton
Director of Quality Assurance
(908) 526-3900 x115
dlinton@tricountycmo.org
Linda Zimmermann, MA
Director of Community Resources
(908) 526-3900 x120
lzimmermann@tricountycmo.org
Deborah Ramos, LCSW
Clinical Consultant
(908) 526-3900 x162
dramos@tricountycmo.org
Reginald Rosarion
Director of Organizational Development
(908) 526-3900 x113
rrosarion@tricountycmo.org
Board of Directors
- Leslie Brusser – Board Chair
- Melissa Fowler-Vice Chair
- Don Atkinson– Treasurer
- Erin Karl – Secretary
- Dan Kerr
- Lynne Eaton
- Lesly Schwarzman
- Pam Jacobs
- Dave Yazujian
- Avril Okeke
- Sakina Ladha
- Daphney Rene
What We Do
Our Mission
The Tri County Care Management Organization understands that the health, wellness, and safety of the family matters.
In affiliation with our system of care and community partners, we bring together resources to meet the current needs of children and their families with complex behavioral, emotional, social, and mental health challenges.
Our primary objective is based upon the principle of keeping families strong.
Our Core Values
- Services are child-centered and strength-based.
- Services are family-friendly and family-driven.
- Services are community-based and culturally-competent.
- Services have measurable outcomes.
- Ongoing identification and development of sustainable community resources enhancing family choice and independence.
- Commitment to continuous quality improvement.
Our Objectives
- Getting children the services they need – where and when they need them – without waiting lists or eligibility barriers.
- Building service plans that are child- and family-centered.
- Broadening the scope of services with a balance of formal and informal resources.
- Developing wraparound care plans comprised of child, family, and community strengths.
- Ensuring that services are responsibly authorized, delivered, and monitored, with documented positive outcomes.
How We Do It
Wraparound Process
Wraparound is a philosophy of care that is based on the strengths of the child/youth and family. It is a process designed to coordinate and organize the delivery of services to children and youth with emotional and behavioral disorders. It is a family-centered, needs-driven, individualized, culturally and linguistically appropriate approach based on the following principles:
- Strength-Based
- Focus is on assets rather than deficits. Human services have traditionally relied on the deficit model, focusing on pathology. Positive reframing to assets and skills is a key component of all wraparound planning.
- Unconditional Care
- Services are adjusted to meet the changing needs of the child and family.
- Normalization
- Plans are focused on what is normal within the family, community, and culture.
- Owned by the Parent or Legal Guardian
- The parent/guardian is an integral part of the team with ownership of the plan.
- Individualized
- Services are created to meet the unique needs of the child and family through the Child and Family Team meetings.
- Needs-Driven
- Services are not based on a pre-set “menu” of what is available. Services are a combination of existing or modified services, newly created services, informal supports, and community resources.
- Community-Based
- Services are provided in the community as much as possible.
- Culturally Competent
- Services are tailored to the unique values and cultural needs of the child, family, and culture that the family identifies with.
- Comprehensive
- Planning and services are comprehensive, addressing needs across all life domains. These life domains are:
- Family
- Living Situation
- Educational and Vocational
- Social and Recreational
- Psychological and Emotional
- Medical
- Legal
- Safety and Crisis
- Planning and services are comprehensive, addressing needs across all life domains. These life domains are:
- Crisis Plan
- Each family develops a crisis plan with their team.
- Outcome Measures
- These are identified, and the plan is evaluated and modified systematically and often.
The ultimate goal in Wraparound is for the child to live in an independent, fulfilling, law-abiding, and constructive life in the community with minimal special supports. The most challenging aspect of Wraparound planning is to design plans that are comprehensive and therefore effective. Team members strive to accomplish this by moving beyond conventional thinking to use their resources to support the child and family.
Many times children and their families have needs that cross agency boundaries. Therefore, interagency cooperation is an integral part of the Wraparound planning process. It is essential that all services are developed cooperatively and are coordinated in a Child and Family Team. The Team shares responsibility, expertise, and mutual support while designing creative services that meet an individual’s strengths and needs across home, school, and community. A Wraparound Plan is continually reviewed and modified based on the child and family’s developing strengths and evolving needs. Wraparound interventions are flexible because the approach is multi-faceted, taking all aspects of the child’s history and current life situation into account.
Child and Family Team
The Child and Family Team is made up of the people who know the child and family best. Team members are people who are willing to make a commitment to do whatever it takes to help the child and family make their lives better.
Tri County Care Management Organization (TCCMO) bases its coordinated care on the Wraparound Process of service delivery, whereby families and communities collaborate in identifying their strengths in order to meet the needs of children. From its inception in January 2006 to date, children are referred to TCCMO through other county agencies. The Care Manager first meets individually with the child and family to create a strengths inventory and establish who should be included on the team. A Child and Family Team (CFT) is convened to develop an Individualized Service Plan (ISP) containing measurable, immediate, and long-term goals. The CFT is comprised of both “natural” and “formal” supports who are integrally involved and play an important role in the child’s life. The strategies derived from the child’s needs and goals address all aspects of family, school, and community life beyond the treatment of mental health symptoms. Its ultimate objective is to develop, refine, and execute the ISP based upon wraparound values and strength-based planning. Care Management provides the framework and structure within which families help themselves achieve positive outcomes.
To support ISP goals and strategies, Tri County CMO organizes and manages a local system of care that blends professional or formal services with informal supports or resources, including civic or faith-based organizations, as well as community recreation programs. Child and Family Teams explore what works to meet the child and family/caregiver’s goals and also work to maintain family stability and community participation.
