Partnership With Families

F.A.C.T. provides the Parent Partners for the P.W.F. Program, which is designed to keep families together and reduce the stigma of mental illness. Crider Health Center provides Care Coordinators and Family Assistants.

P.W.F. engages children and youth who have serious emotional disturbance (SED) or who are members of families at risk into a holistic system of care that incorporates family, youth agencies, schools and mental health professionals.

The Partnership With Families program was designed as a way to prevent long term residential treatment and involvement in the juvenile justice system with a population at risk of family breakup, expulsion, and crime. The program is a partnership with numerous child serving organizations, but was spearheaded by F.A.C.T. and Crider Health Center.

The PWF Team Members and Role

Parent PARTNER The Parent PARTNER’s role is unique, as they are parents of children with a serious emotional disorder who have successfully navigated multiple systems in support of their children and others. They support families in a number of ways: attend school meetings with the family, locate resources, assist in setting goals and developing plans to achieve them, effective communication, and provide a shoulder to lean on and an ear to listen during stressful times.

Care Coordinators
The role of the Care Coordinator has two important parts:

to coordinate services, supports, and providers working with the family
to provide direct clinical care and skill building opportunities while working on program goals selected by the child and family.

Family Assistants
Family Assistants support children in PWF by modeling appropriate social skills, building upon strengths of the youth, empowering youth involvement, creating a relationship of mutual trust, respect,and understanding.

Program Goals:

Empower children, youth, and their families.
Keep children and youth at home, in school, and productively living within their community.
Keep children and youth free from law enforcement involvement.
Support children and youth in educational pursuits.
Keep children and youth from experiencing multiple psychiatric hospitalizations.
Advocate for and with consumers to improve the service delivery system.

Criteria for Participation: