EMPOWERING YOUNG PEOPLE TO DISCOVER THEIR TRUE POTENTIAL
AMIkids Family Services is the current statewide provider of AMIkids Family Centric Model™ programming for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, serving youth and families in many communities throughout Florida including Alachua, Clay, Dade, Duval, Hillsborough, Leon, Manatee, Orange, Gadsden, and Volusia counties. Additionally, AMIkids Family Services provides AMIkids Family Centric Model™ programming for Bernalillo County government in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as well as in six areas of South Carolina through OJJDP Second Chance Act Reentry Program funding.
AMIkids Family Services believes that family involvement is a critical component of prevention and intervention for youth experiencing behavioral health, child welfare, and/or juvenile justice needs. To engage families and provide skills for supporting youth success, AMIkids developed the Family Centric Model™, a research-informed, community-based model for youth and families. The AMIkids Family Centric Model™ aims to create a non-judgmental environment that promotes positive change and transformation for families. Family Support Specialists (FSS) work alongside the family to form a partnership to obtain successful outcomes. FSS will define problems, identify goals and strategies, teach skills, and practice new behaviors in a collaborative setting with all family members with a common goal to improve the family’s functioning. The Family Centric Model™ incorporates family engagement and alliance so that prevention and intervention services provided to youth have a long-term impact. Sessions are typically provided by the in the home with all family members present and progress through three stages: family bonding and assessment, family development and family preservation.