Family Care Network, Inc. (FCN) was initially established as CareGivers by United Way Community Services (currently United Way of Southeastern Michigan) in 1965 as a non-profit social service agency and was the first home-based service agency in Michigan dedicated to preserving family life.
In the early 1970’s, FCN was the initial contract agency selected to provide services in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties under Title IV A. Since that time, we have served families referred from Protective Services, Delinquency and Foster Care through the Supportive Visitation, Homemaker, Families First, Home Based Therapeutic Counseling, Homeless, HIV/AIDS Education, Parents Plus, Parent Aide and Parent Education programs. These programs are all home-based and are designed to remove barriers, provide role models, teach, counsel, reinforce family living skills which foster positive values and lifestyles, and support resilience and reunification.
Family Care Network, Inc. was the first agency to formally partner with the Wayne County Department of Human Services (Family Independence Agency) for Child Protective Service’s collaboration. This relationship has grown and extended to other DHS county offices and includes collaboration with prevention services, foster care, family preservation, family reunification, delinquency and homeless services. FCN was also one of the initial agencies to collaborate with Macomb and Oakland counties to provide a continuum of care services to seniors in the tri-county area.
In 2002, parent education services became FCN’s signature program. The program had developed over the previous five years to a comprehensive series of 14 sessions that addressed positive behavior support skills, effective parenting strategies, age-appropriate expectations and a nurturing home environment. The agency incorporated the positive, nurturing philosophy of raising children by Dr. Stephen J. Bavolek from his work on “Nurturing Parenting Program Model.” FCN currently conducts eight group classes a week at six locations throughout Wayne County and in-home parent education to residents of Wayne County.
Today FCN’s programs include Parent Education, Therapeutic Counseling, Supportive Visitation and In-home Case Management. The programs are designed to remove barriers, provide role models, teach, counsel, and reinforce family living skills that foster positive values and lifestyles. We evaluate improvements in parenting skills and parent/child interactions and bonding between parents and children. Family Care Network has demonstrated that children at risk can, in most cases, be safely maintained within their home when factors that contribute to out-of-home placement are reduced or ameliorated through home- and community-based supports.
