In collaboration with the Dispute Settlement Center, who screens referrals from a number of community sources, Family Ties has expanded their family preservation program to do early intervention. These families have little or no insurance coverage, live in two targeted areas of the county, and generally have multiple stresses in their lives. Due to the stresses in Judy's life, she may have dropped out of school at age 16. Because referred families are in very stressful situations, they may have been unable to take advantage of the more traditional options that the community has to offer. It is difficult to attend reasonably priced counseling due to family work hours, lack of transportation, or maybe just because feeding the family and putting a roof over their heads must come first.
Problems multiply, and the family finds that one or more members is suffering.
The pastor or the Health Department nurse may call and find that the parent doesn't know where to turn for the extra help that he or she needs. Department of Social Services may have been called by a neighbor who has concerns that the children are being over-disciplined or neglected. School work for children declines, they have difficulty getting along with others, they quit coming to school, or they turn to a more negative peer group and drugs. These are the kinds of crises that families experience, when an agency makes the initial call to the Dispute Settlement Center for help. The same day that the referral is made and screened, Family Ties assigns a worker to contact the family within two days.