Our Programs

Families receiving care management services through the Tri-County Care Management Organization (TCCMO) are eligible for peer support. Parents and caregivers are matched with specially trained Family Support Partners who understand what these families are experiencing and encourage their progress.

Our Family Support Partners are parents and caregivers of children with emotional, behavioral and/or mental health challenges. They have first-hand knowledge of the system. They can help families navigate the system because they have done it for their own children. Family Support Partners are there to make sure that the family voice is heard and the family vision is achieved.

We provide intensive, individual support to families at a place and time that is convenient for them. We attend meetings pertinent to the family and the child to give support to the parent and the family voice. We assist families during critical situations such as hospitalization or entering a residential facility.

We provide information to our families on an individual and group basis. We maintain an extensive library of resources and coordinate information sessions and support groups for ongoing training, problem-solving and networking.

We coach, assist and support families so that they can become more effective advocates in their schools and communities as well as with local agencies and other service providers and system partners. These systems include the Juvenile Justice System, the Division of Youth & Family Services (DYFS), the Mental Health System, Education and Medicaid. We also advocate for the family voice at the local, state and federal levels of government.

Parents, Foster Parents, Adoptive Parents, Step-Parents, and Guardians are all welcome to join us at our Breakfast Support Groups for Caregivers. Along with providing mutual support, we decide as a group on enjoyable activities we'd like to pursue, speakers we would like to hear, and new subjects that we'd like to learn more about.

In response to the needs of all parents, the FSO of HSW received training in the nationally recognized parenting education program, EPIC. EPIC is presented in a series of six workshops for parents/caregivers of young adolescents. The EPIC workshops will be led by trained EPIC facilitators. The topics of these workshops range from "Growing Up is Hard Work" to "Substance Abuse Prevention" to "Right vs. Wrong: Character Development." The workshops selections will depend upon the needs and desires of the group participants.

Parents or caretakers attend family involvement workshops to share common concerns and hear the problems and solutions of other parents. Workshops do not reflect any single approach to parenting. They encourage parents to discover their own parenting styles, identify their strengths and work on skills that need development.

A supportive, educational group for Grandparents who have been given the charge of raising a grandchild with emotional, behavioral and/or mental health challenges. Grandparents get together at a local eating establishment on a monthly basis to share their common experiences. Transportation and lunch are provided at no charge. Please contact the FSO at (908) 788-8585 for more information, or to register.

Caregivers of all types (Parents, Foster Parents, Adoptive Parents, Step-Parents, Guardians, etc.) are welcome to join us at our Monday night discussion group. Along with providing mutual support, we will as a group decide on speakers we would like to hear and subjects we would like to learn more about as well as enjoyable activities we would like to pursue.

Visions for Tomorrow (VFT) is an educational course developed by NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill). This course is taught by NAMI volunteers, trained and experienced in teaching Visions Classes, who are parents and caregivers of children just like yours.

Co-sponsored by the FSO of HSW, VFT consists of a series of workshops for caregivers of children with brain disorders, the course offers caregivers an opportunity to share mutual experiences and learn valuable lessons from one another.