Family Support Services

Family Guidance Service (FGS) provides in-home therapy to families who have school-aged children with serious mental, behavioral, or emotional challenges. Typically, the children have difficulty functioning in their everyday life and are at risk for needing psychiatric hospitalization or other mental health placements. Our goal at FGS is to help parents safely maintain their children in their homes and communities, providing children the best opportunities to achieve healthy and productive lives.

Our therapists use a strength-based, family-guided approach to treatment. Outcome studies and other research have shown that Family Guidance therapists are exceptionally effective in helping children with serious mental health problems. In our model, therapists partner with families to design and implement service plans which build on family strengths. Services are provided in children’s homes, schools, and other community settings. When appropriate, therapists work as a team with other service providers and community agencies to assist families in meeting their goals for their children. Services may be provided several times per week and generally last nine to twelve months.

Several other evidence-based practices are also used by specially-trained FGS therapists to address specific emotional and behavioral needs of children:

• Parent Management Training – Oregon Model: a structured in-home intervention to help parents manage their children’s behavior
• Parenting Through Change: a skills-based group for parents that teaches techniques to deal with children’s behavior problems and to improve the parent-child relationship
• Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: an in-home treatment for children who are having significant difficulties related to traumatic experiences
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy: individual, family, and group treatment for teens and parents who want to learn coping skills to address distressing emotions and self-destructive behaviors
• The Seven Challenges: an intervention for teens who have both mental health and substance use problems
• Aggression Interruption Training: a skill-based program which helps youths develop pro-social behaviors

Because all families are unique, a variety of additional services and supports may be utilized during treatment, depending on families’ needs and choices. They include:

• psychiatric medication management
• in-home behavior management consultation
• parent-to-parent mentoring and support
• social-recreational services
• overnight respite
• community living supports for children
• Love and Logic Parent Training which helps parents raise responsible children and is taught by parents with specialized training
• Trauma Informed Parenting, a psycho-educational group for parents of children who have experienced trauma

The Family Support Program is operated through Community Services For The Developmentally Disabled, a division of The Community Mental Health Authority of Clinton, Eaton and Ingham counties.

The following services are offered through the Family Support Program:

• The Family Support Subsidy
• Respite Care Services
• Special Needs
• Support Coordination/Case Management
• Children’s Waiver Program
• Family Skill Development
• Community Living Supports
• Clinical Services: O.T, Speech, Nutrition, Psychiatry, Nursing, Psychology

To be eligible for services, an individual must be under the age of 18, and have a developmental disability as defined by the Michigan Department of Community Health Code, and their families. Each individual must be a resident of Clinton, Eaton, or Ingham county.

For those who are not Medicaid eligible, a sliding fee scale exists, so that families may obtain services based on their ability to pay. We provide assistance in applying for Medicaid, Medicare, and other benefits. In some circumstances, the agency will bill private insurance.

The Family Support Subsidy Program is a state wide program designed to assist families who care for their children with severe disabilities at home. The Family Support Subsidy Program can pay for special expenses the family has while caring for their child with severe disabilities. It is financial support that may help may prevent or delay placements outside the family home.

This program gives families flexibility in purchasing special services, special equipment, special food, transportation, in-home care, respite, counseling, even general household expenses. This is not all-inclusive. A unique feature of the program is that the family decides its use to suit their needs.