Our Services

Remedial Services

Families First offers an in-home service to individuals with Title 19 Insurance (Iowa Medical Card). These services, called Remedial Services, are designed to help individuals, children and adults, develop and enhance the skills needed to assist them cope with the day to day events.  

Children’s Services
Our Family Care Coordinators can work with children individually in the home providing skill based services such as communication skills, anger management, conflict resolution, coping skills, and decision making based on their age and the identified needs gathered in the assessment. Services can also include crisis intervention designed to deescalate volatile situations which involves the youth's struggle to manage his/her mental health symptoms.

Adult Services
Adult services are available to help enhance a person’s ability to handle day to day living by working on coping skills, anger management skills, decision-making, assertiveness, and communication.  Our goal is to enhance your life and give you the skills to deal with today’s challenges.

Family Services
Family assistance includes education and support in coping with the youth's mental health syptoms and management of the youth's behavior.

Initiating Services:
There are two ways you can access services:

1. You can call our office to schedule an assessment to identify what areas need to be addressed through Remedial Services.  OR
2. Click on the following link, complete the referral form, then email it or mail it to us at our Waterloo office.

 Once we receive your referral information, we will schedule an appointment with you at our closest location throughout Eastern Iowa.

If you would like to contact us through a self referral please click on the following link.  Fill out the form and either email it to us, print it and send it through regular mail or bring it to our Waterloo office in person.

LPHA Referral Form: Online Version [PDF Version] [WORD Version]

Child Welfare Safety & Permanency Services

Safety Services
Safety Services may only be referred through the Iowa Department of Human Services.  Safety Plan Services are designed to provide culturally sensitive interventions and supports to assure the safety of a child/children during the Department’s time limited child protective or CINA assessment process. The Department expects that the Safety Plan Services delivered in each case will vary in intensity depending on the individual Department Safety Plans for each case and the children in that case. The Department worker will determine whether Safety Plan Services are purchased and implemented during the child abuse or CINA assessment process. The Safety Plan will identify specific concerns and issues that need to be addressed to protect the child.

Family Safety, Risk and Permanency Services
Referrals may only come through the Iowa Department of Human Services.  Regardless of the setting in which a family’s children reside, Family Safety, Risk and Permanency Services are designed to deliver, in the family’s home and various other locations as determined by the family plan, a flexible array of interventions and supports to promote achievement of: child safety, preservation of the family unit, strengthening the protective capacities of the children’s parents or caretakers, reduction of risks of maltreatment to the children, placement prevention, and achievement of permanency for children in placement through: safe reunification with their family, permanency placement with a relative, placement in an adoptive or guardianship arrangement, or movement toward another planned permanency living arrangement (APPLA).

Group Counseling
Families First Counseling Services offers a wide variety of group therapy experiences to address at risk youth across Eastern Iowa ranging from two to five days a week.  Skill counselors have developed a specific curriculum to teach skills to help children and adolescents follow rules, respect others, and interact appropriately with adults and friends alike.  Below is a description of the groups that we currently provide.

Empowering Minority Youths

Juvenile Court Services

Supervised Community Treatment Services – 1st District Juvenile Court Services
Supportive services are provided to youth involved in the juvenile court system within Allamakee, Black Hawk, Buchanan, Clayton, Delaware, Dubuque, Grundy, Howard, Fayette, Chickasaw, and Winneshiek counties.  Supportive services include therapy, counseling, and skill development provided primarily in the home.  Parents with children involved with juvenile court within these counties should contact their county juvenile court officer to request services.

Enhanced Outreach Services – 8th District Juvenile Court Services
“Enhanced Outreach� means enhanced guidance and advocacy to the child and family.  Juvenile court referred youth receive skill building services focusing on social skills, recreational activities, employment readiness, independent living, and other areas related to their plan.   Services are intended to restore a child’s and family’s communication and socialization skills to solve problems, resolve conflicts, develop appropriate relationships with others and develop techniques for controlling behavior.  Interested parents whose children are under juvenile court supervision in Des Moines, Lee, and Henry Counties should contact their county juvenile court office to request services.

Other Services

In-Office Therapy
A variety of in-office therapeutic services are available for children, adolescents, and adults.  All of our therapists have at least a master’s degree in counseling, social work, or a related field and have or are working towards licensure.  The specialties of the therapists encompass a variety of issues and populations including ADHD, oppositional behaviors, impulse control problems and emotional issues such as depression in children and adolescents.  Adult services are also available to provide therapy for mood disorders, thought disorders, anxiety disorders, and personality disorders.

Child Mental Health Waiver
The CMH Waiver exists to meet the needs of children under 18 years old with serious emotional disturbance (SED).  Many children with serious emotional disturbances must leave their homes to seek support in a medical institution.  The parents of eligible children “waive” using services in an institution and choose instead to use services and individual supports to keep their children in their own home.  The intent of the CMH Waiver is to identify services and supports that are not available through other mental health programs/services. CMH Waiver services can be utilized in conjunction with traditional mental health services to develop a comprehensive support system for children with SED. 

To receive these services, within the past twelve months a child must have a diagnosis of serious emotional disturbance as verified by a psychiatrist, psychologist, or mental health professional.  Each child’s unique needs merit an individualized outcome achievement plan (OAP) or individual comprehensive plan (ICP) actively developed with the child and family’s collaborative input.  To apply for CMH Waiver services families need to call their county DHS office.

Success Street
Success Street is a grant program funded by the Waterloo Community School district to provide services in the Waterloo School District.  Professionals treat or provide resources for a variety of medical concerns, including mental health.  Families First provides individual counseling through Success Street at McKinstry Elementary School.

Community Circle of Care
Community Circle of Care Referral Form: [PDF Version]