Programs and Services

Adoption and Guardianship Support and Preservation provides home-based intervention to families formed through adoption or subsidized guardianship. Counseling, crisis intervention and assistance help address adjustment, grief/loss resolution, attachment, and educational and emotional issues. This DCFS-supported program also provides therapeutic respite services, psycho-educational and support groups, workshops, and help securing resources.

Serves the Altgeld Riverdale serves the Altgeld Riverdale community to build a holistic support to children’s development and equitable educational opportunities. The services provided will ensure all children in the Altgeld Riverdale community are succeeding developmentally and academically by 3rd grade.

Behavioral Health builds on individual strengths and capacity for change while addressing special needs, behavioral and situational problems, or mental illness. Counseling services are offered for children, families and adults. Services are provided in the office, client homes, schools, and other human service agencies.

A one-year research and innovation funding opportunity that aims to contribute to the body of knowledge that uncovers hidden barriers to postsecondary success. The purpose of the initiative is to uplift existing community assets and contribute to the city-wide knowledge base through youth-led research. Altgeld Gardens will explore the factors impacting students’ access to high school and post-secondary and employment.

Community Schools operates during non-school hours and expands positive choices and opportunities for youth while achieving academic success. Tutoring, homework help, recreation, life skills, cultural opportunities, and case management are included.

A 4-8 -week basic computer skills program for adults of all ages located at FOC. Participants will be engaged in a robust curriculum which will include: basic computers, Windows basics, Internet Explorer, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, social  media and more.

Domestic Violence Clinical Services are for survivors of partner abuse and their children, and for teens and children who have witnessed domestic violence. Staff provide safety planning, individual and group counseling, case management, information, and referrals.

Domestic Violence Housing supports domestic violence and human trafficking survivors experiencing homelessness find permanent housing. DV advocates support the survivors though the housing process and continue for 12-18 months to provide holistic case management and work towards self-sufficiency.

Domestic Violence Housing Navigation supports individuals impacted by domestic violence and/or human trafficking who are experiencing homelessness. Housing Navigators support survivors throughout the process to ensure that they are successfully connected to housing.

Extended Family Support serves relative caregivers facing issues that threaten the safety, stability and placement of the child within the home. The DCFS-funded program helps caregivers obtain guardianship, apply for public aid grants, advocate with schools, and access community resources and referrals.

Families in Transition (FIT) program provides housing, goal setting, mentoring and referrals to help homeless families whose children attend Chicago Public Schools. Services help families to become permanently housed and achieve economic stability.

Family Works is a comprehensive case management program that supports families as they strive for self-sufficiency. Family Works provides employment and education services, opportunities for youth, lease compliance, clinical and wellness services, and senior support services to families in Altgeld Gardens.

A career and personal financial service center at Kennedy-King College. We help clients change their financial behavior and encourage them to make a long-term commitment to increasing income, decreasing expenses and acquiring assets. Our core services are career improvement and employment placement, financial literacy, and public benefits access. We also offer technology training on-site.

Services support individuals who have survived various forms of gender-based violence and are experiencing homelessness find permanent housing. Family coaches support the survivors though the housing process and continue for up to 12 months to provide holistic case management and work towards self- sufficiency

Housing Resource Program provides housing-related information and referrals, problem solving, community events, and housing fairs to assist low- and moderate-income homeowners, renters, landlords, and unhoused individuals. We help community residents, especially seniors (55 and over) in the city of Chicago to maintain and remain in their homes and workshops covering topics such as tenant rights, avoiding foreclosure, preventing fraud, reverse mortgages, and estate planning.

Illinois Youth Investment Program (IYIP) is a 14-week program consisting of a 2-week virtual training on JRT, OSHA, NCCER, construction math, and various tools. Following is a 12-week work experience which entails working on an actual construction site with contractors who provide tutelage about the construction trades. Participants are compensated for their work on the construction site. After the 14-week experience, assistance is providing in securing job placement, enrolling in a post-secondary institution or a pre-apprenticeship program. Target participants for this program are youth between the ages of 17 to 24, residents of Illinois, and an array of other qualifiers.

IPS provides clinically intensive therapeutic interventions to emotionally and behaviorally disturbed children in DCFS custody.

Provides legal assistance and community education to low-income individuals in the areas of domestic violence, family and elder law, housing, and consumer issues.

Mentor Works is a mentoring program that services a co-hort of 30 high school youth who live in a community that experiences high rates of gun violence and homicides. The program will provide high quality mentoring services that will be curriculum-driven, trauma-focused, and will teach the youth conflict-resolution skills and engagement in pro-social behavior. Mentor Works provides support and advocacy to youth to help them remain in high school and graduate.

MOMS Plus is for pregnant and/or young mothers and fathers ages 13–21 who are youth in DCFS care. Homebased services and groups help improve the mother’s parenting skills, promote healthy child development, create support networks among young mothers, address trauma that may impact emotional and/or behavioral functioning, and link caregivers to resources.

The MyChiMyFuture Safe Spaces program targets youth who live in the Greater Roseland area between the ages of 16-24. It is a 21-week paid leadership program where youth work within their community to plan 11 kickbacks designed to create a safe space for both adolescents and young adults alike. The program is a part of the City of Chicago’s violence reduction initiative and will also provide youth with financial literacy, job readiness training, and supportive services.

The MyChiMyFuture Safe Spaces program targets youth who live in the Auburn Gresham area between the ages of 16-24. It is a 21-week paid leadership program where youth work within their community to plan 11 kickbacks designed to create a safe space for both adolescents and young adults alike. The program is a part of the City of Chicago’s violence reduction initiative and will also provide youth with financial literacy, job readiness training, and supportive services.

Pharmacy Technician Program is a 16-week online program for a certification in Pharmacy Technology. After completing the program participants are connected with a
10-week paid internship. The program prepares individuals to get employed in the Pharmacy Tech field in which we empower and aid them in their success.

Project STRIVE is a collaboration between Metropolitan Family Services, DCFS and Chicago Public Schools that helps stabilize students who are youth in DCFS care. The program reduces truancy, suspensions and expulsions; improves academic performance; addresses emotional and behavior problems; and increases parental and caseworker involvement.

Rapid Re-Housing Case Management is an initiative with ALL Chicago to rapidly connect families and individuals experiencing homelessness to permanent housing through a tailored package of assistance that may include the use of time limited financial assistance and targeted supportive services. Metropolitan Family Services is providing the supportive case management services to ensure stability.

Reimagine High Risk Youth Services provides evidence-based clinical interventions and case management services to mitigate the impact of violence exposure and to promote protective factors among youth ages 6 -17 residing in Riverdale, Roseland, South Chicago, South Deering, and West Pullman. Services are client centered, trauma-informed, culturally specific, and strength-based to help build client self-efficacy. Services are provided in the office, client homes, schools, and other human service agencies.

The Resident Service Coordination Program focuses on helping Chicago Housing Authority seniors across 54 senior buildings maintain and increase their quality of life. Resident Service Coordinators (RSCs) foster an environment conducive to aging in place that is based on knowledge of best practices and welcoming to active seniors as well as those needing more support. The RSCs coordinate and link seniors to services that provide the support necessary for them to remain independent and in their home for as long as possible.

Safe from the Start offers a variety of family support and mental health services to families with children age 0-5 years old who have been affected by abuse or neglect, or exposed to community, domestic and/ or media violence. Safe from the Start provides assessments, referrals, linkages, individual and family counseling, and support and education groups for parents and children.

The Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) is part of the One Summer Chicago program that targets Chicago youth between ages 16-24. It is a 6-week program that runs from the first week of July through the second week of August. Youth are provided with parttime subsidized employment, financial literacy workshops, supportive services, and job readiness assistance.

Trauma Informed Centers of Care (TICC) provides expanded mental health services in Riverdale that are trauma-informed and build on individual strengths and capacity for change to individuals ages 5-21 regardless of ability to pay, immigration status, or health insurance. Services are provided in the office, client homes, schools, and other human service agencies.

Provides educational and supportive services to eligible first-generation, college-bound students to help them successfully complete high school and enter college. This partnership involves the U.S. Department of Education and Metropolitan Family Services Calumet; servicing students from Harlan H.S., Corliss H.S., Bowen H.S. and zip code areas – 60628, 60643, 60617, 60619 and 60827.

An innovative construction education training program that teaches the basic concepts of construction for individuals ages 16–24. It is an option for high school drop-outs to earn their GED and a certification from National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER). We provide high school dropouts and alternative school students the education and entry level occupational skills that prepare them for jobs with sustainable wages. Youth alternate between the classroom and the work sites learning construction skills, while building affordable housing in their communities. Certifications also may include First Aid/CPR, OSHA 10, forklift training, and the eight core modules of NCCER construction training.