North Carolina Launches Two-Year Pilot Of Crisis De-Escalation As Restraint Alternative For Child Psychiatric Residential Care

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) announced the launch of a two-year pilot program in which 22 youth Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTFs) will begin using a system called Ukeru to de-escalate crises and provide alternatives to the use of restraints and seclusion as behavioral management tools. The method is part of an NCDHHS effort to improve the quality of residential interventions for children with complex needs.

This program represents a component of the state’s $835 million funding commitment to establish a mental health care system in the state that effectively serves all . . .