How Intact Family Services Can Help Break the Cycle

What is Intact Family Services?

Intact Family Services is a program within Children’s Home that works with families who have recently had an investigation with the Department of Children & Family Services (DCFS). The severity of their involvement with DCFS varies, but in all cases with Intact, their situation was deemed safe enough for the children involved not to be removed from their home or taken into foster care. Often, the families we work with typically have a need that isn’t being met, a concern that isn’t being addressed, or some combination of the two. The goal of our Intact program is to keep children safe and families together, which means providing support to the family that addresses their unique situation.

Thinking long-term

When a family participates in Intact, our immediate goal is to keep the children safe. In order to help a family maintain long-term safety, we have to take a look at the reasons why they came to be involved in the system. It is easy for others to judge a family from the outside without knowing more about them or their experience. We work with families who have experienced domestic violence, struggle with substance abuse, have mental health diagnoses, or have simply never been taught how to be a parent. Our team ensures we provide our families with the tools they need to succeed in life and as a parent. For example, we can refer a family to services that help them learn how to develop healthy communication skills or our Intact program has a Family Recovery Specialist to help them determine how to address substance abuse issues.

Progress over perfection

We do not expect perfection from our families in Intact – we want to help them make progress and to help them stay accountable. We want them to know that they can break free of the cycle of abuse and neglect that they may have experienced as a child and provide a positive and safe future for their family. Our team works hard to help families feel confident in their abilities as parents, so we can help prevent another DCFS worker from ever knocking on their door.