Intensive Family Intervention (IFI)

Family Works, Inc., operates an intervention program that provides stabilization, promotes preservation of the family by providing services to the child in their natural environment.  This mainly includes the home, but services are also provided in schools, courts, as well as other community based organizations.  In-home services include consultation with the individual, parents, or other caregivers regarding medications, behavior management skills, and dealing with the responses of the

individual, other caregivers and family members, and coordinating with other child serving treatment providers. Services are also provided to family members in various environments, such as homes (birth, kin, adoptive, and foster), schools, jails, homeless shelters, juvenile detention centers, or street locations while maintaining the youth’s and/or family’s right to privacy and confidentiality when services are provided in these settings. 

Services are funded primarily through Medicaid reimbursement and authorized by Georgia Department of Human Resources (DHR).  Intensive Family Intervention (IFI) is designed to serve youth 5-17 years of age at high risk of out of home placement or is currently being considered for reunification.  Typically, the youth referred is experiencing severe emotional disturbances, with a known mental health or substance abuse disorder. 

Family Works, Inc. builds upon current individual and family strengths to help families blossom.  The program is designed to equip the consumer, parents/guardians, and other community members involved in the family system with tools to enhance relationships, manage conflict, and promote health for the consumer.  Family Works staff accompanies clients to psychiatric appointments, court, as well as to other needed services.  The staff is in constant communication with the referral agency, and provides weekly progress reports. 

Services are provided using cognitive behavior approach.  The interventions provided to youth and their families utilizing DBT, skill building, crisis intervention, family counseling, substance abuse counseling.  The program also provides parenting skills training, anger management, grief and loss, and many other therapeutic interventions. 

We partner with other providers in the life of the child and the family to ensure optimal provision of services.  Some of our partners include Schools, Department of family and children Services (DFCS), Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ).

Services are provided by a Team of professionals, which consists of fulltime Team Leaders who are licensed, Two to three paraprofessionals per team, who work under the supervision of the Team Leader.  Services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, through on-call arrangements with practitioners skilled in crisis intervention.