Family Counseling Center, Inc. Receives Private Grant for Children's Integrated Health Care

Vienna, Illinois, November 21, 2016 — The Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation (ILCHF), a private foundation working to address the healthcare needs of children in Illinois, notified Family Counseling Center, Inc. (FCCI) on October 28, 2016 of their intent to award a $100,000 grant for the Agency’s proposed Southern Illinois Children’s Integrated Healthcare (SICIH) project, submitted in June of 2016.

Family Counseling Center, Inc., who serves the Southern 7 counties of Illinois, seeks to integrate mental health care into children’s natural environments through the provision of 2 full-time clinical staff to be housed on-site at various locations in their service area. These locations include Hardin County General Hospital and Clinic in Rosiclare, Illinois and Vienna High School and Vienna Grade School in Vienna, Illinois.

Project staff at both sites will work collaboratively with medical and educational staff to reduce access barriers for children and families in the utilization of mental health care, reduce overall mental health symptoms, and improve personal perception of physical health. Additionally, the program seeks to provide education and support for non-clinical staff in improving mental health literacy and other skills to manage youth with mental/behavioral health needs.

The SICIH project, to begin in January of 2017 and spanning 2 years, is an “unprecedented opportunity for Family Counseling Center, Inc. to break down some of the barriers that has plagued youth services for years, including transportation and the inability to offer instant access to services” says Kerie Moore, the Agency’s Compliance Director, who assisted in writing the grant proposal.

Family Counseling Center, Inc. and its partners in the SICIH project, Hardin County General Hospital and Vienna School District, look forward to serving an anticipated 200 youth throughout the 2 year program and aim to utilize and publish program outcomes to pursue project sustainability beyond the funding period.

The ILCHF grant award came at a much needed time as Family Counseling Center, Inc. sought to diversify their funding source away from the State of Illinois in the aftermath of the state budget impasse. FCCI Executive Director Sherrie L. Crabb states that, “private foundation grants like those offered by the Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation will increase in necessity as we move forward without a state budget.”

For additional information, contact:

Sherrie Crabb at 618-658-0764 or via email: sherrie@fccinconline.org
Kerie Moore at 618-658-3079 or via email: kerie@fccinconline.org

Visit us on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/FamilyCounselingCenterIncOnline