Mission

Our mission is to empower families in the behavioral health system of care.

The parents have the most important voice in their children's lives. We seek to nurture and respect the unique culture of each family in their home and community. We encourage families and communities to build mutually empowering relationships.

Families CARE (Center for Advocacy, Resource, and Education) is a family centered, non-profit organization for families with children having behavioral, emotional or mental health issues. We are dedicated to strengthening families by providing access to resources, support, advocacy, and education. We believe families know the most about their own children's needs and should be the main decision-makers for their children.

Families apply for services through our self-referral process. Our services are available to families in the Region 3 service area who voluntarily request them. There is no charge for services to families meeting our criteria.

We believe that parents are the experts in knowing what is best for their children. Family Care Partners work with your family to provide advocacy, support, education, and resources. 

We are contracted to provide Family Satisfaction Evaluations for our outcome-based partner agencies. As a third party, we contact families to collect data regarding your family experiences with that agency. Although individual responses are confidential, the information from all of the parents is compiled and shared with our partner agencies. The information is used by the agencies to find their program strengths and gaps. 

Families CARE offers two types of networking, support and meeting groups - Youth Groups are for youth ages 10-21. The youth have the opportunity to share and join in activities and events. Parents for Change offers parents respite, education, support, and resources in an informal atmosphere. We understand the importance of being able to talk to someone who understands the challenges we face with schools, at home and in the community. Childcare is available for all parent support group meets to provide respite; however, we request advanced notice so we can meet parents respite needs for their children during the meeting.