Specifications include, but are not limited to: The intensive in-home services program is an intensive, home and community-based diversion and reunification program. The goal of the program is to safely reduce the number of children in care by providing intensive, long term, evidence based and trauma informed in-home services aimed at reducing child/abuse neglect, improving family functioning, enhancing parenting skills, addressing mental health and substance abuse issues, reducing child behavior problems, connecting families to formal and informal concrete supports, and empowering families to be able to solve future problems independently. The family intervention specialist (FIS) shall take a systems approach and involve school teachers, family members, friends, community members, etc., to help the family develop a healthy social support network. Essential components of the FIS treatment strategy include: therapeutic coaching; providing parenting skills education; facilitating educational achievement; offering special strategies concentrating on issues of sexual problem behaviors and substance abuse; teaching age appropriate personal habits and social skills; and helping the family access community resources. Intensive in-home services are for families whose children (ages 0-17) are at extreme risk of out-of-home placement or have been removed from the home and reunification is achievable with intensive evidence-based services. All services to a single family shall be delivered by one (1) worker, a family intervention specialist. The family intervention specialists shall have weekly individual and team supervision by a master’s level practitioner along with consultation by a licensed practitioner to ensure quality of services. Diversion services shall last an average of four (4) to six (6) months and reunification services shall last an average of six (6) to nine (9) months. Families will typically receive face to face services three (3) times a week, but frequency of contact shall be based on the needs of the family and will fluctuate during services. At the end of services, the family should need no further intervention, except for families where long-term medication management/therapy or other long-term service is a necessity. The family intervention specialist shall help the family ensure those services are in place prior to intensive in-home services ending. The FIS shall have small caseloads of no more than five (5) families. The FIS shall have intensive supervision with a team of no more than five (5) other FIS per supervisor. The FIS shall provide intensive in-home services in the family’s home or natural environment, at times that are convenient and reasonable for the family. This shall include daytime, evenings, and weekends as needed. The service shall be available twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week for emergency crisis intervention. The contractor shall ensure coverage by other team members when the scheduled FIS is unavailable. Services shall be strengths-based and tailored to the unique needs of each family. The Contractor must have an understanding of environmental, behavioral, and cognitive interventions with families. The target population for these services includes children who are neglected, abused, dependent or otherwise in need of services. Family needs will generally include some combination of the following: communication; limit setting; affective relations; monitoring of the child’s peers; interactions with the school; marital relations; problem solving skills; support from extended family and community; drug screening of juveniles; concrete needs (housing, employment, food, health care, transportation, auto repair, pest control, household cleaning, repairs, utilities, etc.). The FIS will also provide direct services to Parents, or assist Parents in accessing services from other providers, that will address the following: psychiatric problems and medication monitoring; substance abuse prevention; domestic violence; and overall commitment to parenting. Contractor shall only accept referrals for Intensive In-Home Services under this contract from DCFS caseworkers and/or the courts. The identification of the appropriateness of a referral shall be determined by the contractor and the DCFS Supervisor or designee.