
ACES (At Risk Counseling and Education Services)
Is a school-based program for at-risk youth identified by teachers, school counselors and parents. Goals include improving school behavior, social skills, social/emotional problems, cognitive functioning and parental involvement. ACES is offered in designated Chicago Public Schools.
Adoption Preservation
Provides home-based intervention to families formed through adoption or subsidized guardianship. Adjustment, grief/loss resolution, attachment, educational and emotional issues are addressed through counseling, crisis intervention and 24-hour on-call assistance. Therapeutic respite services and related referrals, psycho-educational and support groups, workshops and help with securing resources also are provided. The program is supported by DCFS.
African American Initiative
Is a community-based prevention model for African American males ages 10-16 and their families. Developmentally focused as well as strength and empowerment based, AAI holds weekly support groups for parents and children to facilitate caregiver involvement, involve larger system issues, and provide information and experiences to enrich youths' lives. home visits, supportive counseling and case management are also provided to meet families' needs.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Promotes healthy growth and development through psychiatric services and individual, family and group counseling and community support services to help children and adolescents address problems which may interfere with daily functioning and school performance.
CLASS (Community Leaders Achieving School Success)
Serves cadets at Carver Military Academy, targeting at-risk youth with chronic truancy, suspensions, expulsions and academic challenges. CLASS provides school-based counseling services including family and group services.
Community Schools
Focus on improving academic grades and standardized test scores in reading, math and language. Community Schools operates during non-school hours to expand positive choices and opportunities for youth while achieving academic success. Activities include tutoring, homework help, recreation, cultural opportunities, life skills and case management services.
Counseling
Builds on individual strengths and capacity for change, while addressing special needs, behavioral and situational problems or mental illness. Counseling services are offered for children, families, adults and seniors. Psychiatric services are available at certain centers.
Extended Family Support
Provides wide-ranging services for relative caregivers who face issues that threaten the safety, stability and placement of the child within the home. Extended Family Support helps relative caregivers obtain guardianship, apply for public aid grants, advocate with the schools, and access other community resources and referrals. The program is funded by DCFS.
Family Violence Intervention Program
Is an early intervention service program for survivors of partner abuse and their children. The program also offers services to teens and children who have witnessed domestic violence. Staff provides outreach, education, counseling, safety planning, information and referral and case management. Also provides legal services.
Family Works
Provides case management, employment readiness services and counseling to families on Chicago's South and Southeast Sides as they make their final move under the City of Chicago's Plan for Transformation. Family Works focuses on workforce development and preparing families for success in maintaining current housing and obtaining their optimal permanent housing choices.
Legal Aid
Provides legal assistance in the areas of domestic violence, family and elder law, housing and consumer issues to low-income individuals.
Mentors of Mothers (MOMs)
Is a school and community partnership that delivers services to pregnant and parenting teens in Chicago Public Schools. Mentor moms and teens meet for group sessions to enhance healthy parent involvement with their children, prevent child abuse, avoid unwanted second pregnancies and to support academic success.
MOMs Plus
Is offered to pregnant and/or young mothers ages 13-21 who are DCFS wards. The program provides home-based counseling services and support groups to help increase the mother’s knowledge of parenting skills, promote healthy child development, create supportive networks among young mothers, address trauma that may impact emotional and/or behavioral functioning, and link foster families and caregivers to resources.
Parents Plus
Promotes healthy child development and helps strengthen the parent’s role as their child’s first teacher. Parents with children ages birth to 3 years participate in a drop-in program which includes parent-child play activities, field trips, parent education, skill building and resources. Parents Plus also helps promote literacy for parents.
Project STRIVE
Assists at several public schools with stabilizing at-risk students who are wards of the state; by reducing truancy, suspensions and expulsions; improving academic performance; addressing emotional/behavior problems, and increasing parental and caseworker involvement. Project STRIVE is a collaboration between MFS, DCFS and Chicago Public Schools.
Safe Start
Provides services to children 0-6 and their families who have been
exposed to violence, including media violence, community violence, domestic violence and abuse/neglect. Family support groups, mental health services, case management, referrals and outreach are provided. Safe Start is funded by IVPA.
School-Based Services
Provides classroom workshops for students, teachers and parents to enhance skills such as conflict resolution, violence prevention and communication. School-Based services may include individual and group counseling.
Senior Caregivers
Helps mobilize support services for older caregivers who are raising children and assists in future planning. Also provides assessment, referrals, support and educational groups, and in certain instances family and individual counseling.
Seniors Homeowners Program
Serves low-to-moderate income homeowners, age 60 or older, who are experiencing difficulty in maintaining their homes. A comprehensive in-home assessment includes referrals to reputable home repair contractors, assistance in exploring options to increase income, reduce property taxes and links to city departments and programs that assist seniors in maintaining their property. Workshops on topics such as reducing consumer fraud are also conducted.
Systems of Care
Is a DCFS-funded program which provides weekly home-based
individual and family therapy to DCFS wards and their foster families to stabilize foster placements. Case management and support are provided along with school intervention. Services typically span 9 - 12 months and include a psychiatric evaluation, medication monitoring, foster parent support and group activities.
Upward Bound
Recruits eligible students at Corliss High School based on US Department of Education standards and provides educational and supportive services with the goals of helping first generation, college-bound students successfully complete high school and enter college. Partnership involves the U.S. Department of Education, Metropolitan Family Services Calumet and Corliss High School.
Urban Systems of Care
Is a DMH-funded program that provides case management and supportive counseling services to children ages 3-12 and their families residing in the Dearborn, Hilliard and Ickes housing developments.
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