Children and Adolescents

While most of the services Family Life Center, Inc. offers are available to any county resident, the State of Kansas, Social and Rehabilitative Services, Health Care Policy - Mental Health Services has determined that a child/adolescent must have a serious emotional disturbance to qualify for certain intensive services. This is a requirement of FLC’s license to operate as a Community Mental Health Center. Because of this requirement some of our programs are available only to youth who meet the following definition of having a severe emotional disturbance.

Definition: Children/Adolescents must meet one of the following criteria to be determined as having a severe emotional disturbance:

1. Under the age of 18, or under the age of 22 and has been receiving services prior to the age of 18 that must be continued for optimal benefit.

2. The youth has a diagnosable mental, behavioral or emotional disorder of sufficient duration to meet the diagnostic criteria specified within the Fourth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association with the exception of “V” codes, substance abuse or dependence and developmental disorders unless they co-occur with another diagnosable disorder that is acceptable within this definition.

3. The disorder must have resulted in functional impairment which substantially interferes with or limits the youth’s role or functioning in family, school or community activities.