The Family Support Center of Metro Jackson

Services

 

Since 1981, The Family Support Center has provided direct services to families that have experienced, or are deemed "at risk" to experience, child abuse or neglect.  The Center seeks to prevent abuse or neglect through intervention with families in the following ways:

• Parent Education Classes/Child Enrichment Program
• Case Management
• Supervised Visitation
• Day Treatment Program
• Specialized Support Groups for Parents
• Community outreach programs to provide training on recognizing signs of abuse, mandated reporting laws, and child abuse prevention activities

The Center's services are offered at no charge to anyone interested in learning more about parenting children in a positive, nurturing and effective manner.  Parents may be referred by other professional agencies (Department of Human Services, County Youth Court, mental health centers, hospital-based social workers, etc.) or self-referred.  Office hours are 8:00-5:00, Monday through Friday.

PROGRAMS: 

Parent Education Program--Adults participating in parenting classes receive appropriate instruction on positive and effective techniques for disciplining their children as well as relevant information on child development, anger management and stress control.  The service mix consists of a twelve-week parent education session and direct supportive contacts between staff and program clients.  Classes meet once per week for approximately 90 minutes and are a combination of instruction and self-help supportive services.  A master's level staff member or contract worker instructs and leads the class.  Sessions are held on a quarterly schedule, providing up to 48 class meetings in a year at each referral location.  The Center currently provides five ongoing parent education classes in the metro area.

Sessions follow a structured curriculum with each class building on the previous session.  Topics include:

Class One:        Introduction to Parent Education
Class Two:       Child Development
Class Three:     Communicating More Effectively with Your Child
Class Four:       Introduction to Behavioral Principles
Class Five:       How to Use Rewards Effectively
Class Six:         Behavior Modifications--Shaping Behavior Using Active Ignoring
Class Seven:    Discipline of Moderate to Severe Misbehaviors
Class Eight:     Methods of Mild Punishment
Class Nine:      Helping Children Participate in the Behavior Change Process
Class Ten:        Stress Management
Class Eleven:   Role-Playing and Behavior Modeling
Class Twelve:  Summary and Post Session Testing (Parent Opinion Questionnaire)

Child Enrichment Program (C.E.P.) is offered in conjunction with the parenting classes.  The C.E.P. coordinator and volunteers provide daycare and child enrichment activities--reading, tutoring, art and crafts instruction, and educational games--for children whose parents are enrolled in parent education classes at the Center.  Healthy snacks are also provided, and a party is held for the children at the end of each class cycle.

Supervised Visitation Program--This service provides visitation for parent(s) and child(ren) in out-of-home placements.  The supervised visits are normally scheduled between 9:00-5:00, Monday through Friday, but the Visitation Coordinator makes every effort to offer flexibility in arranging visits, and provides transportation to and from the visit for the children.  The Center is equipped with a room designed as a home environment, with couches and chairs for the visitors and age appropriate books and toys for the children and parents to utilize.  The goal is for the parent and child to have a positive, fulfilling time together, and for the focus to be on the child and the relationship with the parent.  In most cases, the visitation coordinator sits in the room with the family during visits but, if circumstances warrant, the facility is equipped with an observation room that has one-way glass and a sound system to allow for unobtrusive viewing and listening.

The supervised visitation program allows the opportunity for the interaction between parent and child to not only be observed, but also studied, regarding the manner and tone of that interaction.  The visitation coordinator conducts, observes and documents each visit, and compiles a monthly report to the referral source, as well as a final
report at the end of the visitation period.  Home visits are provided as needed.

Case Management Program--Parents referred to either the Parent Education Program or the Supervised Visitation Program are also eligible for Case Management services.  Initial assessments and interviews by program coordinators determine the need and appropriateness of a particular client for case management.  Upon identification the case manager will conduct an extensive assessment that surveys the client's status in the following areas:

• Employment/Employability
• Education
• Housing
• Transportation
• Money Management
• Health
• Personal Support System

    
The case manager then works with the client to prioritize the needs identified and establish a plan of action to address them, in association with the client's Department of Human Services service plan (if applicable).  The existence of a service plan is determined for each client and a copy requested from Human Services.  The case manager then works with the client, through home visits and transporting and accompanying them to appointments, to accomplish the requirements of the service plan or address the needs identified via the initial assessment.  The case manager teaches and models problem solving approaches and supports the client as he or she learns to carry them out.  As parents begin to resolve the needs identified and/or meet the requirements of the service plan, the case manager provides valuable feedback to the Human Services social workers charged with making recommendations regarding the family's status.  This can have the effect of expediting the process of intervention with the family, especially critical for cases in which the child has been placed out of home.

Day Treatment Program—Day Treatment is a behavioral intervention program, provided in the context of a therapeutic setting, which provides children ages 3 to 6 with serious emotional disturbances an alternative to hospitalization.  The goal is to maintain the children in their homes/schools by helping them to learn acceptable behavior.  The program is designed to nurture the physical, cognitive, and psychological development of the preschool participants to prepare them to be successful in social and academic settings.  Classrooms provide a structured environment with individualized goals and activities to best meet the needs of each child.  Each class has 9 children and 2 staff members (a behavioral specialist and a program aide). Classes are held Monday-Friday, 5 hours per day, with transportation, a morning snack, and lunch provided.  All children referred for service are screened by a master’s level therapist to determine their need for the service.  At the recommendation of the therapist, the child is then screened by a licensed psychiatrist.  The referral is then sent to the Day Treatment Coordinator for admission to the program.