UCPC Behavioral Healthcare

Last updated on June 10, 2011

UCPC's mission is to help individuals and families struggling with mental illness, addiction issues, traumatic events, and many other life circumstances, to improve their level of functioning and their quality of life, by providing support in the form of high quality affordable treatment services, delivered by a compassionate professional staff.

Description:
The agency provides a range of interventions based on an individual’s needs as determined in a comprehensive bio-psychosocial assessment. These interventions include psychiatric evaluations, medication management
services, individual, family and group therapies, Partial Care (a wellness and recovery program for seriously and persistently mentally ill adults), MICA ( a recovery program for adults with both mental health and addiction problems), and an IDRC
(Intoxicated Driver Resource Center) program.(A psycho-educational program targeted for individuals who have been charged with driving under the influence.)

Through these treatment interventions, symptoms can be reduced or eliminated and clients enabled to develop problem solving, coping,interpersonal and behavioral skill sets to improve his/her level of functioning
and improve personal satisfaction, as well as integration into the communities in which they live.

The agency receives consistent high marks with respect to it's client satisfaction surveys, and utilizes a measurement tool which demonstrates the effectiveness of treatment as per client self report.

UCPC Behavioral Healthcare is supported in large part by DMHS, revenues attained from Medicaid and Medicare clients, and to lesser extents by DAS, several United Way organizations, individual municipalities, it’s Board of Trustees, and the community itself. In addition, the agency’s staff is one of its greatest resources and assets as they are a group of exceptionally compassionate and dedicated professionals and individuals who strongly
support the mission of the agency.

Some of the key players at present in the agency include: Richard L. Rodgers, Executive Director,Josephine DiMeo,Partial Care Coordinator; Jessica Zucker, MICA Coordinator, Julie Krupinski,Clinical Director, and Carol Bailiff, Finance Director. These individuals, both independently and working as a team, provide a sound, competent and creative leadership base for the programs and responsibilities which they oversee as well as the goals and objectives of the agency itself.

UCPC works hard to recruit staff and board members from the communities it serves and which are reflective of the populations we serve. In fact, in order to be a Board member, an individual must reside within our service area. In addition , the agency embraces the concepts and goals and incorporates this into all aspects of the agency’s care including the
services we provide, who provides them, the training and education of the providers and the environment in which the agency provides services. Each staff member also receives on-going cultural competence training and annual cultural competence testing.

UCPC is accredited by DMHS, DAS as well as the Joint Commission and it's ongoing accreditation speaks to the level of care and proven history of delivering services.

History:
The roots of UCPC are deeply embedded in the early 1940’s when a few members of the community recognized the need for education, support and treatment of emotional and psychiatric problems of children and their families residing in Plainfield and surrounding townships. In October 1944 they established, with their own personal funds, the Mental Hygiene Clinic to provide these services. During its formative years the need and value of these services were recognized by others and additional funding came from various local Boards of Education, and municipalities throughout the County. We still receive funding from Linden and Scotch Plains.

In 1955 the Clinic leadership decided the Center should divide its functions of treatment, education and advocacy. This gave birth to Union County Psychiatric Clinic, Inc., a private, non-profit organization governed by a voluntary Board of Trustees, and the County Mental Health Association. UCPC would provide treatment services for children and their families, and the County Mental Health Association would provide education, advocacy and supportive services to mental health consumers and their families. Continuing with its mission, UCPC became well known in its early years as a child guidance center and for its child psychiatry residency program. The Summit Board of Education provided rent-free space enabling UCPC to establish a satellite office to provide services there.

By the early 1960’s more effective psychotropic medications were available. Around that time more than 20,000 NJ residents were housed in state psychiatric hospitals. The medical community and President John F Kennedy recognized the need to move mental health consumers to productive lives in the community. In 1963 President JFK created the Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act. The NJ DMHS started funding the existing OP Psychiatric Treatment for Adults in Union County. In the mid-‘70’s, the State also recognized the need for more community based services to support the recovery of those being discharged after years of hospitalization. Thus, funding from the State Division of Mental Health was granted to existing community centers to provide the treatment and support needed. We were pleased and proud to be a recipient of this award which allowed us to provide an Adult Partial Care Program to further support their recovery and enable them to successfully remain in the community and improve the quality of their life.
In 1993 the NJ DMHS also gave us funding for 1 &1/2 MICA Clinical staff. A FT MICA Clinician was hired in October, 1993 to provide Outpatient MICA Treatment and supervision of a Part Time MICA Counselor in Partial Care. This was the beginning of our MICA Treatment program. In 1997 a new Director of Partial Care was hired who also was a certified addiction clinician. After working together, the two MICA Clinicians developed a MICA Intensive Outpatient program in 2001. The PC Director became the Director of Intensive Services which had oversight of Partial Care and the MICA Intensive Outpatient programs.

During the ‘6o’s, while the focus on the needs of the seriously and persistently mentally ill adults increased, the school systems were developing their Child Study Teams and related services. The need for previously sought children’s services such as psychological testing and other related evaluations from UCPC for children declined. Thus, while UCPC still provides a Children’s treatment service, the scope of services for adults has grown significantly. The Adult services include Outpatient, Intensive Outpatient for Co-occurring Disorders, and Partial Care.

Contact people:

Richard Rodgers, Executive Director, (phone), (email) Julie Krupinski, (phone), (email) Yasmin Acosta, Administrative Assistant, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: (908) 756-5566

Address:

117-119 Roosevelt Avenue Plainfield, NJ 07060 (See a map)

Web Site: http://ucpcbhc.org

Directions:

DIRECTIONS TO UCPC BEHAVIORAL HEALTHCARE 117-119 Roosevelt Avenue, Plainfield, NJ 07060 908-756-6870 From South Ave. South Avenue to Richmond Street. Right on Richmond. Left on Second St. UCPC parking lot will be on your right before the end of the block.. . . (more)   Nearest Bus Stop: 59, 65, 66, 114, 117, 5 minute walk

Last updated on June 10, 2011