Non-Intensive Family Preservation Services

C. Services

Non-Intensive Family Preservation programs are required to provide the following services:

- Family assessment

- Family and individual counseling

- Client advocacy

- Case management/Referral to other services, as appropriate

- Development and enhancement of parenting skills

Optional services may include

- concrete services, parenting education classes, anger management classes, etc.

Non-Intensive Family Preservation Required Services:

1. Family Assessment:

Family assessment (North Carolina Family Assessment Scale) is an ongoing process which continues from intake through termination of services. The purpose of the family assessment is:

- to identify the family's strengths, resources, needs, and weaknesses;

- to help family members identify measurable, realistic, achievable, and time-limited treatment goals; and

- to help family members develop strategies for achieving their goals.

The family assessment is comprehensive and considers the family's strengths as well as needs within its entire social context (i.e. nuclear family, extended family, school, work, church, neighborhood, etc.). Family assessment information is gathered through:

- ongoing observation of family members in their natural environment;

- family and individual meetings;

- a social history gathered over time through interactions with family members;

- reports from other professionals; and

- assessment instruments completed by/with family members.

Specialized assessments are considered on a case-by-case basis. These may include referrals for neurological, nutritional, speech and language, developmental, offender, and psychological assessments; alcohol, drug, and toxic metal screening, blood chemistry and vocational evaluations, etc.

2. Family and Individual Counseling:

Counseling in this context means the therapeutic interaction between Family Preservation Services caseworkers and family members focused on problem-solving and skill-building. Counseling services may include individual, couple, family, and group counseling. During counseling, the worker and family members:

- establish a trusting relationship;

- define and clarify family issues and perceptions;

- assess the need for change and develop and implement strategies for making those changes;

- evaluate progress and make appropriate changes in strategies and goals; and

- effectively terminate the relationship.

3. Client advocacy:

This means providing the family with information about the services available to them in their community and helping the family to obtain them. The Family Preservation Services caseworker initially intervenes with other service providers as needed on behalf of the family and models advocacy skills for the family. The Family Preservation Services worker also helps the family to develop the skills needed to negotiate with bureaucracies and services systems to obtain needed help.

4. Case management:

Case management in this context means that the Family Preservation Services caseworker takes responsibility for assuring that the needs of the family as a whole are assessed, that service plans are created with the family and reflect their priorities and goals, and that the efforts of all service providers involved with the family are coordinated and consistent with the service plan. The goals of family-centered case management are:

- to develop joint service plans which delineate the roles and functions of all agencies involved with the family;

- to ensure that the efforts of all agencies are directed toward common goals;

- to ensure that methods and techniques of various service providers do not conflict or confuse family members; and

- to ensure assessment of a family's need for follow-up services, and to plan with appropriate agencies for follow-up services to be provided.

The worker provides family members with information on the array of useful community resources and helps the family access necessary services. The family makes its own decisions about which services it will use and participates in meetings with service providers.

5. Development and enhancement of parenting skills:

Through the assessment, counseling, and case management processes, parenting skill deficits will be identified. The worker offers instruction in these skills and provides support as parents implement newly learned skills. This involves a wide range of parenting activities and functions such as nurturing, age appropriate expectations, adequate supervision, acceptable discipline, behavior management, communication, anger control, child development education, etc.

6. Concrete services

Beyond these required services, it is expected that local Family Preservation Services programs will provide or help families obtain a broad range of therapeutic, supportive and concrete services to address the particular objectives in the families' own treatment plans. Concrete services are not required, but may be necessary and are often effective in Family Preservation Services interventions. Concrete services are tangible services provided by the Family Preservation Services worker or agency. Some examples are financial assistance, household chores or repairs, and transportation.