Crisis Intervention and Support Services

A Family Intervention Team (FIT) provides services to adoptive families in need of professional help to improve overall family functioning, preserve the family unit, and provide links to community resources. The FIT assists adoptive families of special needs children who have been placed in the home and approved for Adoption Assistance benefits.

When a parenting challenge becomes a serious problem, the FIT can provide early intervention services designed to prevent disruptions, dissolutions and to preserve the family unit. The program consists of Mobile Intervention Teams, including a Team Leader and an Intervention Specialist, who provide in-home family assessments and counseling to families on a statewide basis. All Team members understand the dynamics of the adoption process as well as the unique problems of attachment, trauma and loss which are common in children with multiple placements. They are trained in the prevention of aggressive behaviors, the de-escalation of crisis situations and the development of therapeutic intervention plans to address interpersonal relationships, school performance and physical/emotional health issues.

While the FIT is not designed to replace medical or therapeutic care, it does help the child and family identify and resolve problematic issues. Contact with the FIT is for a limited time only (60-90 days). When intervention services are discontinued, families are referred to community resources coordinated by the FIT.

Information about this program can be found on the web at www.ga-mentor.com. Georgia MENTOR may also be contacted to discuss program services at 478-333-2971. Adoptive parents will need to contact the child’s adoption assistance case manager in order to apply for Crisis Intervention and Support Services; or adoptive parents may contact the Social Services Administration Unit (SSAU) at (470) 349-1705 to speak with an adoption assistance Program Consultant to discuss the application process.