The predecessor to Family & Children’s Service (F&CS) was the Children’s Bureau, begun in 1943 by community activists who wanted to unite families disrupted by war and economic upheaval. They also saw the need to find homes for children when reunification with their families was not feasible. In 1953 the Children’s Bureau merged with the Family Service Association to become Family & Children’s Service. The agency’s focus became mental health counseling and infant adoptions. With changes in the adoption picture, special needs adoption became a priority in 1977.
Through the years programs expanded to meet changing community needs. The Families in Crisis program began in 1988 and a Clinical Outreach program in 1989. Clinical Outreach expanded again in 1997 by providing services through United Way Family Resource Centers.
F&CS was awarded contracts by the State of Tennessee for Family Service Counseling for Welfare to Work families in 1997. Family Service Counseling helps families overcome mental health and other barriers to financial self-sufficiency. In 2001 F&CS was awarded a contract to establish the Davidson County Relative Caregiver Program. This best-practice program serves extended family members who have taken responsibility for caring for children whose parents are incarcerated, dealing with mental illness or addiction or otherwise unable to care for their children. The program provides short-term case management, counseling and support groups, enrichment activities, material and financial support and advocacy to prevent these children from having to enter the foster care system.
In 2003 funding was secured from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration for creation of a Trauma Intervention Center for children and adolescents exposed to violence. This nationally recognized program helps prevent serious mental health consequences for children who are victims or witnesses of violence. In 2005 Family & Children’s Service acquired the Crisis Call Center, merging their telephone crisis counseling program into our operations. That same year we also became the service provider for United Way of Metropolitan Nashville's 2-1-1 Information and Referral Line. 2-1-1 now answers calls for information about important social and other services from people 53 Tennessee counties and maintains a resource database for services in 38 counties.
In 2006 F&CS undertook an analysis of the changing mental health needs of the communities we serve and began focusing our services on three areas in which we have unique expertise: Crisis intervention counseling, mental health trauma intervention for children and families who are victims or witnesses of violence and attachment counseling to help children including those in foster care develop and maintain healthy loving relationships with permanent families.
The predecessor to Family & Children’s Service (F&CS) was the Children’s Bureau, begun in 1943 by community activists who wanted to unite families disrupted by war and economic upheaval. They also saw the need to find homes for children when reunification with their families was not feasible. In 1953 the Children’s Bureau merged with the Family Service Association to become Family & Children’s Service. The agency’s focus became mental health counseling and infant adoptions. With changes in the adoption picture, special needs adoption became a priority in 1977.