Intensive Home Services

What are Intensive In-Home Services?

Intensive In-Home Services are home-based mental health services that are designed to meet each child and family’s unique needs through crisis management, intensive case management, counseling, family therapy, and skills training. It is a time limited service, which aims to provide youth and their families with assistance diffusing current crises, improving coping skills, and strengthening relationships. The primary goal of the service is to prevent out-of-home placement or provide transition services from out-of-home placement back into the home. Intensive In-Home services are designed to provide assistance to parents with learning effective discipline techniques and parenting skills. Additionally, these services assist families in developing stronger relationships and communication skills. The purpose of the service is to help families solve problems within the context of their families rather than through placement outside of the home. Services are based on the belief that the family is the most powerful social institution and that families should be supported and maintained whenever possible. Intensive In-Home services seek to develop, support, and empower the family unit by teaching problem-solving skills, assisting parents in becoming advocates for themselves, and coordination of available community resources. Intensive In-Home Services require complete family involvement and cooperation by all family members as well as the family’s dedication to the service for the most favorable outcome. Families must be willing to commit to the length and intensity of the service. The Intensive In-Home Service staff is available to families for crisis response 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

What are the Phases of the Program?

  • Phase I: The IIHS team begins working with the family and assessing their strengths and needs. The team assists with crisis planning, stabilization of the living environment, and begins skills training.
  • Phase II: The IIHS team continues assessing needs and providing tools to strengthen family skills and abilities. The team will provide therapeutic counseling and interventions. The team also empowers the family through education and skill building.
  • Phase III: The IIHS team encourages and supports the youth and family as they practice what they have learned and as they build social and community supports. The team assists the family with transitioning to less intensive services.

What Services are provided by Intensive In-Home Services?

  • Crisis Management
  • Individual and Family Counseling
  • Skills Training
  • Intensive Case Management
  • Substance Abuse Intervention
  • 4-Hour Crisis Response

What Can my Family Expect?

  • Services will be structured and provided primarily in the home with a focus on the family.
  • Typically, services will last 3-5 months. During the first month of services, at least 12 contacts will occur (usually 4-6 sessions per week). During the final months of the service, the intensity and amount of contacts will decrease to an average of 6 contacts per month.
  • IIHS sessions will last up to two hours.
  • Services will be delivered primarily by face to face contact with your family.
  • Your family will need to be committed to the service expectations and demands.
  • We will coordinate Child and Family Team meetings as needed which will usually occur monthly to assess progress and plan.
  • The child’s Person-Centered-Plan and crisis plan will be updated at the beginning of service. Additionally, this individualized plan will include specific interventions to be used by the IIHS team and ways you can help attain the goals in the plan.
  • We will constantly be assessing you and your child’s strengths, needs, preferences, etc. to assist us with providing the best possible treatment services.
  • Services will be individually designed for your child and family, in partnership with your family.
  • You and your child will be asked to practice the skill-building strategies that the team will provide you with and to complete therapeutic homework assignments.
  • Participation in the service should include all people in your family’s life who are important to you and your child.

What can my Family do to get the Most out of this Service?

  • Be open and honest about your family’s needs and challenges as well as information that will be helpful to the IIH team.
  • Practice and apply the skill-building strategies that are provided by the team to work towards successes.
  • Participate fully in the service including attending all sessions, taking part in all activities, and completing homework assignments to achieve greater gains.
  • Always remember that parents are the experts of knowing their child’s needs, preferences, and strengths; professionals are only partners with parents in addressing child and family goals. Please tell the IIHS team when a treatment approach is not effective or interventions are not working.
  • Consistently talk with the IIHS team about how you are feeling about the services and how to make it fit your family’s needs better.

Referral Form

To access referral for services, please complete and submit the below form. Referral forms can be submitted by fax at 252-439-0900 to the attention of Sarah Wheeler-Taylor.
PDF: IFS_-_Referral-Form_-_In-Home-Services