Families First FAQs
What services can my child get?
Services will be based on a comprehensive assessment and the identified needs and goals of the family. We value family voice and choice in identifying goals and pairing families up with the appropriate services. Some examples may include:
- Therapy
- Medication Management
- Diagnostic Evaluations
What are the criteria?
Families First youth are required to have a mental health and/or substance use diagnosis. In addition functional and financial eligibility is required. Our team will assess this with your help. Functional eligibility is an assessment tool that determines eligibility for Wisconsin Department of Health Service community-based programs and benefits. The youth is required to be a Kenosha County resident and under the age of 18.
How can you get connected with Families First?
Families or their formal/informal supports can help with the referral process. There is a referral form which helps provide useful information on the current diagnoses and functioning of the child. The referral form can be completed and sent into the program or a phone call can be made to initiate the process.
How can you provide support to my family?
We utilize a strength-based, person-centered, wrap-around approach to service facilitation. This includes individualized needs and strengths of all family members and working with formal and natural supports.
Can you help my child with issues in school?
Our goal is to help build strong collaboration and teamwork between the family and the school to help your child meet their academic and behavioral goals. We can help address barriers to academic progress through services, such as therapy and skill development to help strengthen emotional regulation, coping skills, time management, self-advocacy, and peer interactions. We are able to accompany families to school meetings and IEP reviews if the family chooses.
What does involvement in the program look like?
Call us and if found eligible, you will be assigned to a service facilitator who will help you to enroll and understand which programs you’re eligible for after information sharing. It is important to understand what your child’s needs and strengths are.
From there, your service facilitator will help you create a service plan that contains the goals for your child to work on and choose which services to help you meet the goals. Your service facilitator will coordinate services. Every family has a safety plan to help guide you on what to do and who to call in crisis situations.
Once services are in place, you will start meeting monthly with your team to track progress and discuss any issues or barriers that come up.