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CHILDREN AND
FAMILY SERVICES
The Children and Family Services Unit
provides a broad range of services. These services are provided both
on a voluntary basis as well as by Court Order (involuntary basis).
The funding for services provided come from a myriad of funding
sources including the State of Wisconsin, Iowa County, grants,
donations, and fees charged for services. The functions provided
include:
Child abuse/neglect investigations. Receive and
document all reports of child maltreatment. Screening of the
reports in accordance with Wisconsin Standards. Reports screened in
are assessed in accordance with Standards set forth by the state.
This sometimes includes interviewing with law enforcement.
Ongoing case management services. These include
direct family counseling, school and family liaison services, family
assessment and service planning, monitoring of Court ordered
services coordinating and working with the sub-contracted service
providers, coordinating community services for the children and
their families, providing information and support regarding Court
processes, referrals for alternate care placements, coordinating
services with the family and the alternate care provider and other
services necessary to provide appropriate services to children and
their families to meet their needs and to keep families intact.
Referral and monitoring of sub-contracted in-home family
therapy and parent education services. In-home family
therapy for children 13 years of age to 18 years of age is provided
by Orion. The in-home teams work individually with the child
identified as having personal, family relationship, social, and/or
school problems as well as working with the entire family. Parent
education is provided by Lutheran Social Services.
Foster care, group home care, or child caring institutions
are alternate care sites for children who are determined to be in
need of placement outside of their parental/family home. We assess
and coordinate placement of children, when necessary, outside of
their parental home and develop the permanency plan for these
children and work toward family reunification when possible.
Foster home recruitment and licensing. Foster home
license renewal is also provided as well as training of new foster
parents and ongoing training for foster parents currently licensed.
Foster Care Fact Sheet  PDF
Custody,
visitation, and physical placement studies. These are
provided as a service to the Court and the community although these
are not mandated services. A fee is charged for these studies.
Intake, information and referral services are
provided for anyone who calls in or walks into the Agency and is
seeking services or information with regard to available services in
Iowa County with regard to children, adults, elderly, and families.
On call, 24-hours, seven days per week, coverage is
rotated among the social work staff in order to provide emergency
information and services to children/families and adults after hours
and on weekends and holidays.
Coordination and collaboration with the District
Attorney and Corporation Counsel regarding cases requiring Court
action. These include alleged sexual assault investigations or
severe child abuse/neglect investigations, as well as issues of
confidentiality change in out-of-home placements, and all other
child related issues that may require legal intervention.
Coordination and collaboration of services with other
community service providers. Other providers include, but
are not limited to, mental health and/or AODA providers, medical
service providers, low income housing providers, probation and
parole agents, law enforcement agencies, public health department,
Job Center, domestic abuse shelters and counseling service agencies,
schools, the Family Resource Center, private agencies who provide
foster homes, treatment foster homes and group homes when needed to
meet the needs of children needing placement outside of their family
home, as well as child caring institutions, and many other service
providers both in and outside of Iowa County. |
