Crisis Response includes programs and services provided in the areas of clinical counseling, family violence prevention, case management and victim advocacy, new parent support and sexual assault prevention and response.
From the beginning, Fleet and Family Support Centers have offered clinical counseling services, which is unique to the Department of the Navy. Clinical counseling is provided by independently licensed mental health professionals, some of whom have additional training and experience providing counseling services to children.
Counseling services are brief and solution-focused in response to commonly occurring life experiences such as marital discord, parent-child conflict or occupational/school issues. The intent of these services is early identification and prevention of more significant conditions or problems, thereby promoting improved quality of life and increased resilience in individuals and families.
Navy Fleet and Family Support Centers are also actively engaged in support of Navy Operational Stress Control (OSC) initiatives. The goal of OSC is to promote psychological health, reduce stigma associated with seeking psychological services and improve overall resilience in our Sailors and their families. OSC provides practical decision-making tools for Sailors, leaders and families, so they can identify stress responses and mitigate problems before they become disruptive.
FFSP facilitates Navy suicide prevention initiatives by coordinating with Chaplains to provide annual suicide prevention training to Sailors and by providing suicide awareness and prevention programs to families and communities. When someone seeking counseling at the Fleet and Family Support Center is assessed to be clinically depressed or suicidal, they are referred to the local Medical Treatment Facility (MTF) or to community mental health providers through TRICARE.
The Family Advocacy Program (FAP) provides safety assessment and planning, clinical assessment, case management, victim advocacy, and intervention to military families referred for alleged child abuse/neglect or domestic abuse. The primary goals of FAP are prevention, victim safety and support, rehabilitative intervention, offender accountability and provision of a consistent and appropriate response to allegations of family maltreatment.
The location of Family Advocacy Program prevention and intervention services within Fleet and Family Support Centers is unique to the Department of the Navy and provides an effective continuum of care whereby common stresses associated with family violence risk can be identified and addressed in a more holistic, less stigmatizing manner. Maintaining abuse-free and adaptive family relationships is critical to Navy mission readiness, maintenance of good order and discipline, and quality of service for our Sailors and their families.
The New Parent Support Home Visitation Program provides voluntary home visitation services for over-burdened expectant and new parents. Home visiting services are available for new parents of children age zero to three. Single parents and parents with a deployed member are automatically screened as eligible for home visitation.
We work closely with the Navy Reserve Forces Family Support Coordinator and the five regional Family Support Administrators. Together we facilitate the connection of reserve families to each other, to supportive military and community resources, and we improve community awareness of military families' experiences and needs.
The primary focus of our efforts supports families living apart from military installations. The Family Support Administrators liaison with their assigned Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC) staffs to ensure families are supported by Navy and other services’ family support programs, including the Joint Family Support Assistance Programs (JFSAP).
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Updated November 2, 2020