Services

• Team Services

• Transportation and Translation

• Goals

• Life Skills

IFSI Case Managers, DHS Case Workers, DHS Family Reunification Workers (in reunification cases), Child Advocates, mental health professionals, and a host of other staff all work together as a team to provide family preservation services to clients. Case Managers engage families in the following:

• a thorough exploration of service needs, and discussion with the participants of available and acceptable service options;
• arrangement for the provision of needed medical, functional, behavioral, social, or vocational diagnostic assessments;
• access to needed services (i.e. child care, food, clothing, housing, health, employment/training, substance abuse treatment, etc.); and
• continuous follow-up to assure that the participant actually receives services to which he/she as been referred, and to advocate for such services.

Case Managers or Family Advocates also accompany and/or transport families to appointments when necessary, translate and interpret in the case of non-English language speakers, and advocate for family needs.

Family Preservation Case Managers concentrate on accomplishing the following with families:

• introducing structure;
• mutual goal setting;
• teaching problem-solving skills to family members;
• teaching coping-skills to family members (i.e., tension reduction, use of social skills, self-disclosure, catharsis, assertive response, etc.);
• teaching positive conflict resolution strategies to family members;
• teaching alternative disciplinary techniques and other management methods;
• teaching families how to cope with future crises without relying on harmful behavior;
• empowering families to solve their own problems and avert crises; and
• model skills so that clients can learn by example.

They also focus on developing the following life skills:

• budgeting;
• household management; (i.e. maintaining a clean/sanitary home environment, etc.)
• family planning;
• resource management;
• consumerism;
• meal planning, preparation, and food purchase;
• preventive health;
• vocational planning;
• decision making and self-reliance; and
• (in the case of immigrant families) American customs.