1. VIPS AT A GLANCE
Goals, Reach, Outcomes & Services

2. The VIPS program is based on Dr. William
McFarlane's research‐backed Portland
Identification and Early Referral (PIER) model.
 VIPS was the first PIER‐certified Family
Assertive Community Treatment in California.
 Funded by Ventura County Behavioral Health,
California’s Mental Health Services Act, and
Medi‐Cal/Medicaid
MEMBERS
25
OPENED
2010
AT A GLANCE
VIPS AND PIER

3. 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Functioning
Number of episodes
FUNCTIONING AS AN EFFECT OF
PSYCHOTIC EPISODES
What this means
in a nutshell:
If we can catch mental
illness early, we can reduce
loss of functioning. Early
intervention helps with
better results.
AT A GLANCE

4. HOPE & HELP FOR YOUNG
PEOPLE & THEIR FAMILIES
 Delay or prevent the onset of an acute
psychotic disorder
 Increase coping skills and decreasing /
managing stress for the client and the whole
family
GOALS

5. WHO WE SERVE
& AREA WE COVER
 Target population: 16‐25 year olds
 Families of clients (family is defined by the client)
 Prodromal symptoms or psychotic symptoms for no
more than 30 days
 West County (Ventura, Oxnard, Ojai, Port Huenemi,
Somis, Camarillo): population of 400,000
 Program participation lasts up to two years, followed by
one year of continuing care
REACH

6. OUR SHARED JOURNEY WITH VIPS
CLIENTS & THEIR FAMILIES
• When clients and families come to VIPS, they are often feeling very worried
and overwhelmed and are unsure what to do.
• At the beginning of our journey together, we focus a lot of our time and
effort on helping the family calm down, slow down, and reduce the stressors
that can make the symptoms and illness more pronounced. We help manage
crises as they come up.
• At the beginning, we focus heavily on education for everyone involved:
parents, kids, etc. We get psychiatric care in place and get medications going
if needed. We get kids stabilized with school. We work with teachers and
counselors to make sure kids don’t get too far behind and everyone is aware
of what’s going on. The goal is to ease stress, create a plan, and work
together.
SNAPSHOT

7. OUR SHARED JOURNEY WITH VIPS
CLIENTS & THEIR FAMILIES
• After kids and families are past that initial get‐started stage, we start focusing
on things like building health and creating connections. We look at nutrition
and exercise and other ways kids can take care of themselves.
• We work together in multi‐family groups to share experiences and advice and
problem‐solve together. We stay connected on a day‐by‐day, week‐by‐week
basis, to keep treatment and wellness efforts on track and learn from the
process. And we build in social time and social events for kids, to maintain and
build important friendships and connections.
• And we continue monitoring medications, symptoms, progress, etc. fine‐
tuning and adjusting as each kid and family needs.
SNAPSHOT

8. RESULTS
The VIPS program was evaluated as part of the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation‐funded Early
Detection and Intervention for the Prevention of
Psychosis in Adolescents and Young Adults (EDIPPP)
 Baseline = 21clients in VIPS program total
 Six months = 20 clients in program for 6
months min
 One year = 12 clients in program for 12
months minimum
OUTCOMES

9. OUTREACH & EDUCATION
From opening 2010 to summer 2014, VIPS had
completed more than 310 community outreach
presentations made to schools, healthcare
organizations, service providers.
OUTCOMES

10. SCHOOL & LIFE
ONE-YEAR OUTCOMES: BASELINE 6 MONTHS 1 YEAR
% working 14% 70% 83%
% in school 62% 80% 82%
% volunteering 10% 30% 42%
% graduated high school 43% 70% 75%
OUTCOMES

11. GAF
ONE-YEAR OUTCOMES: BASELINE 6 MONTHS 1 YEAR
Average GAF score 42 68 72
OUTCOMES

12. HOSPITALIZATION,INCARCERATION,
AND SUICIDE
Conversion/Incidents: We accepted those with psychotic symptoms as long as it
was less than 30 days of start of symptoms
* This is not a new crime, but a violation of probation of a previous issue.
ONE-YEAR OUTCOMES BASELINE
6
MONTHS
1 YEAR
% hospitalizations: 29% 0% 0%
% incarcerated: 14% 5% * 5%*
% suicides: 0% 0% 0%
% suicide attempts: 16% 0% 0%
OUTCOMES

13. CONVERSION TO PSYCHOSIS
ONE-YEAR OUTCOMES BASELINE
6
MONTHS
1 YEAR
% converted to Psychosis: 67% 0% 0%
OUTCOMES

14. PSYCHOSIS PREVENTION:
HOW VIPS COMPARES
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Controls Experimental
PACE
PRIME
OPUS
EDIE
PIER
Mean rate
VIPS=
0%
STUDY

15. PIER-CERTIFIED FAMILY ASSERTIVE
COMMUNITY TREATMENT
 Assessment and engagement
 Ongoing evaluation
 Psychoeducation
 Medications support
 Individual counseling
 Multiple family groups
 Education and employment support
 Support with school and work
 Cognitive support
 Crisis management
 Phone consultation
 Monitoring symptoms and medication
side effects
SERVICES
MODEL

16. MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TEAM
16
Program Director
Registered Nurse
Bilingual Clinician
(MFT)
Education/Employment
Specialist
Psychiatrist
STAFFING

17. EVIDENCE-BASED
• Assessments are conducted using the Structured
Interview for Prodromal Symptoms (SIPS) tool,
developed at the Yale School of Medicine’s PRIME
Psychosis Prodrome Research Clinic.
• All of Telecare’s clinicians were trained (with 100% inter‐
rater reliability) on the use of this tool.
PRACTICE

18. CONTACT
INFORMATION
Faith Richie, SVP of Development
frichie@telecarecorp.com