The
Family Support Center
“It’s
about recollecting at some point in time in the child’s life,
when the parent had a good relationship with the child, identifying
that specific point in time and taking a closer look at what happened
(Lerner and Solow, 2007).
Centrally
located at the Jimmy Miller Center on 672 Congress Avenue, in New Haven,
CT, St. Francis Home for Children offers a Family Support Center that
functions as a “one-stop center” offering a multitude of
supportive services to Families With Services Needs (FWSN) juveniles
ages 11-15 and their
families who are referred by the New Haven Juvenile Court. In a nurturing,
supportive and strengths- based environment, the FSC expeditiously assesses
250 youth and their families annually. Diversely Staffed with an on-site
Program Director, Sr. Clinical Coordinator, Case, Education and Client
Service
Coordinators, the operational hours of the center is Monday-Friday 9am-8pm.
Weekend hours are scheduled as needed combined with 24 hour/seven days
per week on-call coverage.
The FSC
incorporates a gender-specific, cognitive-behavioral, strengths–based,
trauma-sensitive, approach to encourage significant positive changes
in families and youth served. This approach
provides the participants with the tools needed to improve relationships
with family, friends, neighbors, school and their community. Through
an integrated program of screenings, assessments, referrals and aftercare,
the FSC focuses on treatment readiness to help youth achieve their individual
goals and develop coping skills. Program Staff are trained in the following
evidenced and research-based services including Girls Circle, Motivational
Enhancement Therapy (MET) TARGET (Trauma Adaptive Recovery Group Education
and Therapy), and Voices (Dr. Stephanie Covington). Discretionary funds
are available to support families in crisis and youth in need while
they access services in the program.
