Mission

The mission of Alta Care Group is to support the social, emotional, behavioral, educational, and physical well-being of children, adolescents, young adults and their families.

History

In the course of 45 years, Alta Care Group has provided care to over 20,000 children and families in Mahoning County.

Our roots stretch back to 1976, when the Diagnostic and Evaluation Clinic (D&E), an evaluation and referral program, was chartered in the State of Ohio. The organization experienced an ever-increasing involvement in the community as a direct provider, and in 1993 became known as D&E Counseling Center.

In July 2015, D&E assumed the administration of the Head Start/Early Head Start program for the City of Youngstown and Mahoning County.

In March 2016, D&E Counseling Center became Alta Behavioral Healthcare, and is now a part of Alta Care Group along with Alta Head Start.

Overview

Alta Care Group, the area’s leading expert in strengthening vulnerable children, is the parent organization of Alta Behavioral Healthcare, a contract agency of the Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board; and Alta Head Start, the county’s provider of Head Start and Early Head Start services.

With the help of local, state and federal funding, Alta Care Group has developed into a multi-service behavioral health care treatment and comprehensive preschool organization.

Our Staff

Alta Care Group staff, consisting of nearly 250 people, offers a full range of behavioral health services to children, adolescents, young adults and families, as well as comprehensive pre-school, including health, nutrition and disability services . The Alta Head Start Program employs 145 full-time, part-time and contracted staff, while Alta Behavioral Health employs 95 staff.

Who We Serve

Exclusively a child, adolescent and family behavioral health and comprehensive preschool provider, Alta serves a yearly average of over 3,000 children, adolescents, young adults and their families up to the age of 21. Roughly 85% of individuals and families served fall within the federal guidelines for poverty and are comprised of a racially and ethnically diverse population.

The Alta Head Start Program serves 760 children birth through age five and their families.

Our Services and Programs

Services and Programs currently provided directly or through affiliation by the Alta Care Group include:

• Intake/Diagnostic Assessment Services
• Pharmacologic Services
• Crisis Intervention Services
• Counseling and Psychotherapy Services
• Community Psychiatric Support Services/Case Management
• Prevention Services
• School-Based Consultation Services
• Early Childhood Mental Health Services (“Upstream”)
• Trauma Treatment
• Head Start/Early Head Start
• Peer Recovery Support Services
• Respite Services
• Mental Health Day Treatment Services
• Supported Employment Services
• Transition to Independent Program (TIP)
• FIRST Program
• Camp Challenge Summer Program
• Baby Bump Program
• Youth Mental Health First Aid Program
• Incredible Years® Classroom DINA Program
• Incredible Years® Parent Preschool Program
• Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation
• Early Childhood Professional Development
• Therapeutic Garden Program
• Art Therapy Program
• Adventure Therapy Program
• Yoga Calm® and Mindfulness
• Mental Wellness Counseling
• Parent Support Program

We support the growth and development of others and we believe that our staff have skills and expertise that should be shared. We have partnered with local university’s to be a training site for physicians, nurse practitioners, social workers, and counselors.

Our Facilities

Services and Programs are provided at six of our state-of-the-art facilities, at Alta Head Start locations, and within a wide variety of community settings and homes. All facilities are compliant with the American Disability Act standards for accessibility, and are fully staffed with clinical, administrative, support and clerical personnel.

Accountability and Certification

The Alta Care Group maintains a finance and accounting office which, in addition to other responsibilities, focuses on the monitoring of internal fiscal control policies. Alta successfully participates in frequent audit oversights — including but not limited to the Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board, Worker Compensation audits, Unemployment Compensation audits and Medicaid audit controls.

Our national certifying body, The Council on Accreditation (COA), engages in periodic audits of all Alta Behavioral Healthcare operations. Alta Head Start meets all of the performance standards and auditing requirements of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Head Start.