Many families with multiple problems come to the attention of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) or Community Mental Health (CMH) and need ongoing services and support. Engaging home-based CHS Family Support Specialists, assists in improving family functioning and reduces the risk for child placement in foster care or hospitalized settings.  

 

CHS utilizes the solution focused therapy model in its Family Together Building Solutions Program, which is overarched by the question, “If you woke up tomorrow, and your family is perfect, what would be different?” This question guides individualized strategies that help families work toward improving areas contributing to risk of child placement. Examples of miracle answers could include less fighting, child making it through a school day, safer discipline strategies, home hygiene, housing, employment, to name a few.... This is a DHHS referral based programming targeting families at risk of losing their children to foster care. 

 

CHS also facilitates the Wraparound process for families with children who have a serious emotional disturbance. The process creates a multi-system child and family team, driven by the family with the assistance of a CHS Family Support Specialist. Its purpose is to make sure families have a voice, improve efficiencies of addressing multiple complex issues and engage service providers in cooperative planning process . Child and family teams could include traditional supports like CMH, DHHS, school administrators, non-traditional supports like neighbors or friends or natural supports like siblings, parents or grandparents. Referrals are made by CMH for families who struggle to make improvements and with increased risk of residential placement for their child. 

 

Several families of CHS fall in common with our substance use disorder treatment programs. Our  Family Recovery Care Team identifies with families in the throes of the consequences of addiction and are paired with individuals of lived experience. These Peer Recovery Coaches guide families through similar processes outlined above; creating a family voice, improve family safety, connecting families to resources, work towards recovery readiness and assist to reduce barriers associated with their chosen pathway to recovery – establish goals to preserve the unity of family. 

 

Call Catholic Human Services to learn more.