Program Summary

Behavioral Consulting Services

We offer client-centered behavioral health consultation to caregivers of individuals with developmental disabilities with the overall goal to increase independence and decrease challenging behaviors.

Program Supervisor:
Monica Sunzeri, MS, BCBA
  
To Contact This Program:
Call (925) 825-1793. To leave a message after hours, dial extension 392.
 
This Service is Offered at:
Services are offered at Family Homes, Group Homes, and Day Programs throughout the Bay Area as well as at our Fremont and Concord Clinics.
 
Languages:
Services are available in English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Farsi.
 
Download our Brochure:
 
Eligibility Criteria:
Services are generally provided to people approved for services by the Regional Center of the East Bay, Golden Gate Regional Center, and San Andreas Regional Center. Services can also be provided through MediCal managed care plans, private insurances such as Kaiser and Anthem, and through self-pay.
 
Services are Provided by:
Consultants who are supervised by Board Certified Behavior Analysts or licensed psychologists.
 
Archived Headlines about This Program:

Behavioral Consulting Services

BCS 2016 Team Picture 640

Behavioral health consultation is a strength-building and problem-solving intervention implemented within a collaborative relationship between a professional consultant with behavioral health expertise and one or more individuals with other areas of expertise. Such individuals may include parents, special education teachers, group home administrators, case managers, social workers, or day program staff. Our services utilize a multidisciplinary and multimodal approach that offers our consumers an individualized consultation experience.

The program provides services based on applied behavior analysis (ABA) an area of study of Behavior Analysis. ABA is a methodological approach that identifies measurable related environmental variables that may influence relevant social behaviors in order to develop behavior change strategies. Our program conducts functional behavior assessments using observation, data collection, and interviews which helps to understand challenging behaviors, its antecedents, consequences, and functions, to then develop an intervention plan which includes preventive and response strategies, and skills training. BCS service providers begin the functional behavior assessment in collaboration with consumers and caregivers (e.g. parents, staff, case managers, home administrators, etc.) and develop the plan to increase independence and adaptive behaviors. Data is collected through collaboration between caregivers and consultants. Data is a fundamental component of this process because it helps to determine progress, evaluate the effectiveness of the current plan, and maintain progress.

Specifically, we provide the following services:

In-Home Parent-Training and Behavioral Health Consultation

Consultants meet with caregivers in the family home to conduct functional behavior assessments of challenging behaviors, create intervention plans, and provide training to caregivers with regard to implementing interventions., Following the initial assessment period, follow-up services can be provided to assist in the implementation of the intervention plans and maintenance of the skills learned.

Group Home and Day Program Consultation

Our consultants collaborate with group home administrators and staff to conduct functional behavior assessments and develop Individual Service Plans based on these assessments. The Individual Service Plan addresses each consumer’s challenging behaviors, skills training objectives, and community integration goals which foster independence and work to improve the consumer’s quality of life. On-going consultation and training is provided to staff to promote high quality of care for consumers.

Vendor Approval Number:

Adult Residential Facilities (ARF)

1000870-735-2

Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFE)

1000870-740-2

Group Homes (GH)

1000870-730-2

Staff

This program is staffed by highly trained behavioral consultants. The Hume Center is a recognized training site and services are provided by staff members and individuals in training (e.g. individuals who are receiving training as part if completion of their Board-Certified Behavior Analyst, Board-Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst, or Registered Behavior Technician certificates, etc.) ). All behavior consultants are supervised by Board Certified Behavior Analysts or licensed psychologists.

Training and Supervision Opportunities

Supervision can be provided for those who are seeking to become BCBA, BCaBA or RBT certified.

History of This Program

In 2003, in response to the need for behavioral health care services for developmentally disabled individuals, the Behavioral Consulting Services (BCS) program was founded to provide behavioral health consultation to families and residential facilities in Contra Costa County. Since then, BCS has grown to provide services in multiple languages (e.g. English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Farsi, etc.), in numerous counties (e.g. Alameda County, Contra Costa County, San Francisco County, Santa Clara County, etc.), and serve consumers of Regional Center of the East Bay, Golden Gate Regional Center, and San Andreas Regional Center.