Qualified Individual Fundamentals

Prerequisite: Participants will need to complete the webinar, The Qualified Individual - Understanding the California Children and Youth System of Care, in order to attend this training. Participants can either attend the webinar or watch the video recording thereafter. The webinar will provide an overview of a collaborative approach to supporting children, youth, and families involved in systems of care and explore cross-system partnerships for coordinated support and integration of services.

About the Course

The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), in partnership with the UC Davis Resource Center for Family-Focused Practice, invite you to attend a required training course on the role of the Qualified Individual (QI).

Who Should Attend:

This course is required for anyone who is or will be performing the QI activities pursuant to Welfare and Institution Code (WIC) 4096(g) and All County Letter (ACL) 21-113 Behavioral Health Information Notice (BHIN) 21-060 with child and family serving agencies who provide placement services, such as short-term residential treatment programs (STRTPs) and other therapeutic settings. The course is designed to provide an overview of the QI requirements and processes, generalizable across the State of California.

Training Goals:

The goal of this training is to equip participants with a thorough understanding of the QI's role and responsibilities including:

Assessing the behavioral health needs and goals of youth to support family-based care, recommending placement in STRTPs only when their needs indicate this level of care.
Collaborating with members of the Child and Family Team (CFT), including Tribes, to ensure quality and accuracy of the QI assessment process and report.
Understanding the stages of juvenile court process and the roles and responsibilities of the QI and other parties involved at each stage.

Enrollment Process

Enrollment in this course is contingent upon completing an Attestation Form. As part of the registration process, you will be required to upload a verification letter, which must meet the following criteria:

Format: The letter must be either on official county letterhead or a PDF of an email from a county Supervisor or Program Manager with an official county email address and signature block.
Content Requirements:

Qualified Individual Designation: The letter should clearly state that your agency has designated you as a Qualified Individual (QI) for the county.
Compliance Verification: The letter must verify that you meet all requirements outlined in ACL 21-113.

Please allow up to 5 business days for the verification process to be completed. Completion of these steps is necessary to finalize your course registration.

CEUs

1.65

Section Number

243FAM207

Instruction Method

Online class

Section Notes

Professional Credit

UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs. Approval of this course for continuing education credit is still pending at this time. If approved, the course may meet the qualifications for 16.5 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. Provider number 050148. Certificates of completion will be sent to participants within 4 weeks after the course after attendance and number of credits to be received are verified.

ADA Compliance

UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education is committed to assisting students with disabilities, including mobility, visual, hearing, communication and learning disabilities, to participate fully in our programs. Our website includes information on how students with disabilities can request reasonable accommodations to address their special needs: https://cpe.ucdavis.edu/student-services/disabilities. If you require special accommodations for promotional material, please call (530) 752-9726 or email resourcecenter@ucdavis.edu and we will be happy to assist you. UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education complies with all local, state and federal regulations including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Customer Grievance

UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education is committed to providing education, professional training and consultation services that are of the highest quality and consistent with the high standards of the University of California. UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education is fully committed to compliance with all legal and ethical responsibilities to be nondiscriminatory in promotional activities, program content and in the treatment of students and other customers. Complaints about course content or instructors are best directed to the specific center within UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education which is offering the course. For more information, please call (530) 752-9726.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: Participants will need to complete the webinar, The Qualified Individual - Understanding the California Children and Youth System of Care, in order to attend this training. Participants can either attend the webinar or watch the video recording thereafter. The webinar will provide an overview of a collaborative approach to supporting children, youth, and families involved in systems of care and explore cross-system partnerships for coordinated support and integration of services.

Enroll Now

Section Schedule

Thur., Mar 27th, 2025, 9:00am to 4:00pm

Tues., Apr 1st, 2025, 9:00am to 4:00pm

Thur., Apr 3rd, 2025, 9:00am to 4:00pm

Fees

Instructors

Jerelyn Bourdage

Jerelyn Bourdage, LCSW, M.S.W., is a public education specialist with the RCFFP. With over 22 years in child welfare, she has served in roles such as case manager, hotline screener, mental health professional, intensive care coordinator and field advisor for social work staff. She has also worked as a policy analyst focusing on mental health programs and as a practice coach supporting Safety Organized Practice implementation in Southern California. Her diverse experience reflects her dedication to supporting children, youth and families through direct practice, leadership guidance and policy development.

Gitanjali Raman Thiruvadi

Gitanjali Raman Thiruvadi, LMFT, has over 15 years of experience working in behavioral health across Contra Costa County, Orange County, New Hampshire and India. She has extensive training in working across the age span from children and families to older adults from diverse backgrounds, especially in the Child Welfare system. She is especially skilled in assessments for children and family needs from diverse backgrounds (including foster care, post-acute psychiatric hospitalizations as well as those experiencing the first signs of potential psychosis). Thiruvadi supports coordination of care across systems of care via Integration of Behavioral Health, Intensive Care Coordination, Wraparound, mindfulness-based stress reduction and other wholistic, trauma-informed care methodologies.