Adoption

Mississippi Families For Kids'  primary goal is to promote family support and consistent casework services to increase the growth and development of families and children. The Adoption Program focuses on bringing permanency to thousands of foster children and preparing families for parenthood through adoption so that it can be a positive experience. The children whom the adoption program specifically targets are those considered hard to place such as older children, those aging out of foster care, children with special needs, sibling groups, and those who have been abandoned, neglected or abused. Pre-adoptive and post- adoptive services are provided to families to help them adjust to the new addition to their home. Our services include Domestic and International adoption. For more information about adoption, click on the adoption tab on the menu bar.

 

Counseling

The goal of our child and family services program is to promote family harmony through family interaction, communication and education. We use a strength based approach in promoting individual and family well-being. Mississippi Famileis For Kids strives to offer comprehensive, accessible, affordable, and quality services to individuals and families.  Our program provides short and long term counseling.  We are committed to professionalism and confidential counseling. Our staff of counselors are certified in providing individualized services to our clients. 

MFFK is  building strong communities by providing the following services:

Individual Counseling  

Family Counseling          

Group Therapy          

Parenting Group

 

Individual and Family Counseling

Marital Issues        

Anger Management          

Depression Anxiety          

Stress          

Grief Issues

Military Deployment

Relaxation                          

Coping with Divorce

 

Adolescent Group Counseling (Ages 6-18)

Peer Pressure         

Bullying          

Conflict Resolution           

Depression/Anxiety

Self Esteem              

Grief Issues   

Military Deployment

 

Parenting Group

Patience           

Active Ignoring           

Effective Communication          

Relationship building

Consistency

 

Relatives Raising Others' Children (ROC)

Kinship care in Mississippi is on the rise and has been addressed by few.  Mississippi Families For Kids has partnered with other committed organizations to address the deficits of relatives raising others’ children.  The ROC program is primarily lead by grandparents and other caregivers that are ready for change as it relates to their needs being addressed to better care for others’ children.

 

The goals of the ROC program include:

  • Supporting caregivers raising children by providing access to services and resources in their own communities.

 

  • Building community resources and formal support for children being raised by relative caregivers.

 

  • Creating a network of community agencies that will partner to provide specialized services that meet caregivers’ needs.

Kinship Care Facts

 

There are 49,336 children in Mississippi living in grandparent–headed households.

  • There are 3,320 other children in Mississippi living in households headed by relatives other than grandparents.

 

  • Of these children living in households headed by grandparents or other relatives, 46,693 live there without either parent being present.

 

  • 64% of these grand-families are African American; 1% is Hispanic/Latino; and 34% are Caucasian.

 

  • Our goal is to bring attention to the necessity for legal, educational, and financial assistance for grandparents and other related caregivers.

 

DINA Program

The Incredible Years DINA Program is an innovative program that was designed by Dr. Carolyn Webster-Stratton to help children learn the appropriate ways to resolve common conflicts, promote appropriate classroom behaviors, and enhance positive social skills.  This service is provided by Mississippi Families for Kids in an effort to treat potential negative behaviors, reactions and conduct before children begin elementary school.

 

Dinosaur School is a positive-based curriculum where undesirable behavior is ignored, while positive social behaviors are encouraged.  This method of redirection promotes social skills and self-esteem.  We meet with small groups of children twice a week for 50 minutes per session. Videotape examples (vignettes), puppets, special activities, books and games are used to teach the children important skills needed to make friends and work well in the classroom.  These sessions focus on specific aspects of positive behavior and social skills.

 

The Incredible Years Curriculum is designed to include the child, his or her teacher, and parents in the learning process.  In a collaborative effort to insure the success of the program, we correspond weekly with teachers and bi-weekly with parents in order to build a rapport that will allow the children to receive the same coaching that is being given in Dinosaur school.

 

Rated Positive Girl

Rated (PG) Positive Girls is a unique preventative program of girls, ages 9-12, Through open dialogue, training, and mentorship, the program is designed to help develop young, impressionable adolescents into beautiful, happy, mature and well-adjusted teenagers. The meetings include group discussions and presentations on adolescent development and other related topics. Currently MFFK is working with Pecan Park Elementary School and Neighbor Christian Center.

 

The group is facilitated by Chrisitianna Cloy, a high school teenage role model with whom participants can relate. Christianna is a 12th grader at Jim Hill High School. Her life was changed when her parents adopted two older children from foster care. With patience and encouragement, she was able to help her new siblings grow and mature, which created a very close bond.