Families First (since 1988)

The Families First program in an intensive, direct service program that keeps families together by diminishing or removing the risks of a child's out-of-home placement. Family strengths are identified and enhanced. Contacts are around the families' schedule, with a minimum of 10 hours of direct services provided weekly in the family home. All referrals are from Protective Services, and families are provided services on an average of a four-week duration. Services to children and families involved in the Families First program include:

• 24-hour on-call crisis intervention
• Short-term, intensive in-home intervention based on the State's Families First model
• Self-esteem building
• Problem-solving
• Flexible monies administration
• Flexible scheduling
• Reporting and follow-up
• Enhancement of skills which allow families to meet their own basic needs
• Treatment to improve interpersonal relationships within the family and community
• Specific goals designed jointly by the worker and the family to remove risk of out-of-home placement of children

Service Population: Families First is an intensive, direct service program that keeps families together by diminishing or removing the risks of a child's out-of-home placement as family strengths are identified and enhanced. The service population is families whose children are at risk of abuse, neglect, or delinquency as identified by Protective Services, Foster Care or Delinquency Services of Wayne County Family Independence Agency. Delinquent youth account for about 20% of the population. Families receive a minimum of 10 hours of direct services weekly in home and the average family involvement is a four-week duration.