Family Based Services

Helping and Healing Families in Crisis

When families are healthy, children flourish.  But when families begin to fracture from social pressures such as joblessness, poverty, chronic illness, mental instability, domestic abuse, or substance abuse, children are often the first to suffer-and society ultimately pays the price.

To help heal families that have reached the breaking point-so that they can raise their children in a positive, safe, and nurturing environment-Hephzibah established its Family Based Services program in 1987.

Since that time, we have continued to expand our commitment to families.  Today, Hephzibah provides a wide range of support and intervention services for families in need.

Family Support Program

The Family Support program was established in 1987 to prevent or reduce the number of incidents of child abuse and neglect in Oak Park and River Forest. Through this program, Hephzibah provides crisis intervention services, information and referrals, coordination of service providers, consultations, and assessments.

Support services provided to families through this program include respite care, substance abuse assessment and referral, homemaker services, day care, funding for family necessities in times of critical need, training in parenting skills, and even an in-home visitor program for families with preschool children who are at high risk of abuse.

A Social Worker provides community consultation, training, networking and short term family assessments.

Intact Family Services

Sometimes, keeping a family together is the best way to help a child. When this is the case, Hephzibah provides a broad spectrum of Intact Family Services that are designed to help families in crisis as an alternative to removing the child from the home. These services include assistance with issues such as family stress, discipline problems, inadequate housing or homelessness, substance abuse, parenting skills, domestic skills, mental illness, and medical care.

Family Reunification Services

When it is in a child's best interests to return home, Hephzibah provides intensive assistance for parents to help them resolve the issues that led to the removal of a child, or children, from their home. Our Family Reunification Services are for parents who wish to regain custody of their children. Services offered to parents may include counseling; substance abuse programs; parenting classes; a homemaker program that helps parents develop skills in household budgeting, organization, and structure; and other services that parents need in order to form a successful family unit.

Family Assessment Services

This program enables Hephzibah to determine the best living situation for a child who has been a victim of abuse or neglect. To complete the assessment, a social worker analyzes how a family functions and determines if, and to what degree, a parent’s behavior might change if the appropriate training, counseling, and education services were provided.  This assessment enables Hephzibah to develop an intervention plan that will result in the best permanent living situation for the child. This program serves families whose children have been placed in foster care due to abuse or neglect, as well as families that are foster parenting children.