Family and Children's Services: Co-locating to Provide Trauma Services

Family and Children's Services is a not-for-profit private social service agency in Nashville, Tennessee. Among its many programs and services, the agency provides outpatient mental health counseling to individuals and families, permanency services for foster children, and trauma intervention services for children and their families throughout the greater Nashville area. Through its trauma intervention program, the organization partners with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, Department of Children's Services, and other agencies to provide direct services to children who have suffered or witnessed violence in their homes or neighborhoods. For example, since 1999, Family and Children's Services clinicians have been co-located in two inner-city police substations and one inner-city school where they are available to provide counseling services to children exposed to violence. Trauma clinicians are on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for the police department and Child Protective Services and begin services on the scene in the immediate aftermath of violence or a traumatic event.

The goal oft his program is to provide direct services to children who have suffered or witnessed violence in their homes or neighborhoods.

Recognizing the value of this service delivery approach, the organization is now using funding from its Child Traumatic Stress grant to co-locate a therapist in the police department's domestic violence division to provide crisis and ongoing therapy to children and their caregivers regarding their exposure to family violence. The co-location of staff within the domestic violence division gives children and their families
greater access to services at a time when they need it most, increases the clinician's understanding of the context and circumstances of children's trauma, and allows the organization to share administrative costs. In addition, the co-location of staff has greatly enhanced the working relationship and partnership between Family and Children's Services and police officers who refer children and families for trauma services.