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by telephone after receiving a referral, an appointment letter will be mailed. (Occasionally all of the Home Based counselors have full caseloads and they may not be immediately available to see a family. If this occurs, the family is notified and other available treatment options are discussed.) As soon as the Home Based counselor is able to reach a family and schedule an appointment, an initial home visit is made for an assessment. All family members are interviewed and relevant history is collected. The Home Based Social Worker explains the program to families and lets them know that ~t is a voluntary service. The family must be committed to the goal of keeping the child in the family home in order to participate. If the family is receptive, the case is then staffed with the supervisor. Most cases are accepted for services unless the child has serious mental health problems and is in need of a different type of intervention or unless the child or family poses a safety risk for the worker. For cases that are not accepted for service, documentation of efforts to reach the family, and reasons why services were not accepted are documented and maintained for review. (6) Home Based counselors use a variety of techniques when working with families. Often they must start with crisis intervention and stabilization. The choice of counseling techniques is based on the problems encountered and the client's level of comprehension and abilities. Techniques may include confrontation, modeling, clarification exploratory questions, role play, refraining, reality therapy, use of analog~es, negotiation, universalization, and mirroring. Often it is necessary to allow clients to vent anger and frustration briefly but then they must be re- directed into a problem-solving focus. The Home Based Counselor must possess knowledge of racial, ethnic, and cultural factors and understand how these factors may impact the case dynamics. In essence, Home Based Services are very Family Centered in nature utilizing a strengths based approach in helping families resolve conflicts arid issues. Since the success of the intervention depends on the family's willingness to change, the intervention goals are family driven. (7) The Priority Risk Factors identified in the Cabarrus JCPC Community Assessment include (1) strengthening families through skills building, (2) earlier identification of drug/alcohol problems, and (3) improving availability of drug and alcohol treatment services. The Home Based program focuses on helping families improve their skills in these areas: communication, problem-solving, anger management, identifying strengths and positives to build on, improving coping skills, learning how to access appropriate resources in the community, learning how to negotiate, learning how to set goals and work toward achieving them, and enhancing family relationships. The Home Based Counselors have an opportunity to contribute to early identification of substance abuse problems because they are regularly visiting the family home. Some visits are unannounced and the worker can observe indicators of substance abuse. We can identify risk factors and connect families with preventive programs. In regard to improving the availability of substance abuse treatment, our Home Based counselors are skilled at removing barriers to participation. Since we are housed within the Department of Social Services, we are well aware of programs that provide funding for treatment, as well as for transportation, child care, crisis assistance, etc. (8) The Home Based daily program activities revolve around seeing parents and children and carrying out the treatment plan. In addition to home visits, the worker may also make school visits to participate in team planning, or follow up on a particular school issue. The worker will make collateral telephone contacts as needed with other professionals who may be involved in the case. In addition to this, the Home Based workers must also keep detailed case notes and other documentation. Staffing of all Home Based cases are conducted at least once weekly with the supervisor.(9) The Home Based counselors always try to prepare families in advance for termination of services. As previously stated, on a weekly basis, every case is staffed with the supervisor. The worker must complete a written monthly progress report for each case. If goals are not being met, different interventions must be tried. As families develop more appropriate and successful methods of dealing with problems, the Home Based counselor will congratulate the family on progress and point out that soon they will be able to manage without our involvement. When families appear to be close to reaching their goals, we will set a target date for termination. A closing home visit is scheduled and we review the progress in the case. If there are still areas of concern, we will recommend other resources. We will also invite the family to call us any time they need our support or assistance. We let them know that we will make follow-up contacts quarterly after case closure to see how things are going. This helps us determine if our program is making a difference. Case closure letters will be sent to Juvenile Services alerting them of the completion of Home Based Services. This will be done on all cases.(10) The Home Based counselors have frequent contact with Juvenile Services to discuss shared cases. Our workers attend Juvenile Court when a family we are serving has a scheduled hearing. We maintain a positive working relationship with Juvenile Services. JCPC PROGRAM AGREEMENT, 2004-2005