Christian Family Solutions Expands Mental Health Counseling Services to Inner-City Milwaukee Students with $100,000 Grant from Bader Philanthropies
CFS’ outpatient counseling and day treatment programs provide trauma-informed and culturally sensitive therapies to Milwaukee children at little to no cost to students and schools.
Christian Family Solutions (CFS); a non-profit organization that provides professional mental health outpatient counseling, school-based counseling, and day treatment for students; today announced it is expanding services with a grant of $100,000 from Bader Philanthropies, Inc. CFS’ outpatient counseling and day treatment programs provide trauma-informed and culturally sensitive therapies to Milwaukee children at little to no cost to students and schools. CFS currently has outpatient counselors in 18 Milwaukee urban schools and also offers a higher level of care through its STRONG Day Treatment Program, the only program of its kind in the city.
CFS places mental health counselors in Milwaukee’s inner-city schools to offer the highest quality treatment and services to students in grades K-12. Offering this level of care on a school campus helps reduce the stigma associated with mental health treatment and is convenient for staff, parents, and students, who would otherwise not get the help they need. According to “Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Wisconsin’s Children” by Kids Forward, children of color, children without insurance, foreign-born children, and children who do not speak English face even greater barriers to treatment, and often receive fewer and poorer services. Most of the families CFS serves would not utilize mental health services, even if they were available, unless they are conveniently offered at the school. These services have a ripple-effect in the community with the potential to impact thousands, since they benefit not only the children, but also their parents or guardians, siblings, teachers, classmates, and the greater community.
The grant is allowing CFS to place five additional outpatient counselors in urban schools, and support staffing of its STRONG (Successfully Treating and Reaching Our Next Generation) Day Treatment Program, which provides intensive outpatient therapy to students with more significant challenges, and operates at the north campus of St. Marcus Lutheran School. This program serves children who display symptoms of anxiety, depression, hyperactivity, attention deficit, and other mental health conditions, and are in danger of academic expulsion. The STRONG Day Treatment Program helps youth heal through behavioral interventions, so they can become more stable and academically successful.
CFS’ mental health counseling services are more critical now than ever in Milwaukee as other treatment providers are eliminating their treatment programs for youth, no longer taking new referrals, or closing their doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, at the beginning of the pandemic, CFS’ School-Based Counseling and STRONG Day Treatment Programs were transitioned to telehealth services. This allowed CFS to remain in contact with the students they serve, as well as teachers and school staff. They continue to offer the same services, just provided remotely.
A positive development as a result of the COVID-19 situation is CFS was able to stay in touch with many of the students and increase interaction with their families using telehealth. The STRONG program reopened June 1 for in-person day treatment and CFS will continue to offer services in summer. If schools remain closed and CFS needs to continue services through telehealth in the fall, it anticipates being able to serve the same number of students, if not more, because of its telehealth structure. CFS plans to serve 600 or more students during the 2020-2021 school year. CFS currently has a waiting list of schools that have requested its services, and it expects those requests to grow as students get back to their classrooms in the fall and mental health disorders become apparent.
Students in Wisconsin have the second-highest rate of severe major depressive episodes in the country, and the teen suicide rate in Wisconsin is higher than the national average according to Mental Health America. However, the majority of young people with mental health disorders do not receive the help they need. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction estimates 80 percent of students in need don’t receive professional help. The consequences of untreated mental health issues are often life-long. “Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Wisconsin’s Children” says unaddressed mental health problems in school can lead to suspensions and expulsions that limit educational opportunities and achievement. CFS’ goals include reaching students sooner and being able to intervene with the appropriate level of service before behavior becomes problematic or the student is expelled.
“CFS provides young people an opportunity to process their emotions in constructive ways, especially during a time when routines are being redefined,” said Dan Bader, president and CEO of Bader Philanthropies. “The type of counseling and treatment services that CFS offers are essential to ensure students succeed in the classroom and the Milwaukee community has the mental agility to move forward in our shared COVID-19 pandemic experience.”
Since 2008, CFS has assisted more than 3,500 students and provided more than 30,000 outpatient counseling sessions with students and their families. Now in its third year of operation, the STRONG day treatment program has provided services to more than 200 students.
CFS is currently providing outpatient services on-site at 18 different urban schools in Milwaukee. Each of the locations have been certified by the State of Wisconsin as a school branch outpatient clinic. This designation allows CFS to serve children in the schools and also family members who are struggling in underserved areas of Milwaukee. The 18 schools CFS provides services at are:
- Cross Trainers Academy Christian School
- Garden Homes Lutheran School
- HOPE Christian School—Fidelis
- HOPE Christian School—Fortis
- HOPE Christian School—Prima
- HOPE Christian School—Semper
- LUMIN Schools—St. Martini Lutheran
- Mount Lebanon Lutheran School—Alpha Campus
- Mount Lebanon Lutheran School—Omega Campus
- Risen Savior Lutheran School
- St. John Lutheran School—Glendale
- St. Lucas Lutheran School
- St. Marcus Lutheran School—Main Campus
- St. Marcus Lutheran School—North Campus
- St. Phillip Lutheran School
- Salem Lutheran School
- Shining Star Christian School—Fairview Campus
- Shining Star Christian School—West Capitol Campus
About Christian Family Solutions
Based in Germantown, Wisconsin, Christian Family Solutions (CFS) is a non-profit organization that provides professional mental health outpatient counseling, school-based counseling, day treatment and intensive outpatient programs for students through its 52 clinics in 6 states, at partner schools, and through secure telehealth services. CFS blends evidence-based methods and high standards of care with faith-based principles to heal and help individuals facing a wide range of mental health issues. Learn more at ChristianFamilySolutions.org.
About Bader Philanthropies, Inc.
Milwaukee-based Bader Philanthropies, Inc. is a philanthropic leader in improving the quality of life of the diverse communities in which it works. The organization funds innovative projects and programs, convenes partners, and shares knowledge to affect emerging issues in key areas. Since its founding in 1992 as the Helen Bader Foundation, the organization has committed more than $350 million in grants and program-related investments, such as loans and equity investments that advance its charitable mission. For more information on Bader Philanthropies, visit www.bader.org.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
