Family Crisis Services of Northwest Mississippi, Inc. Founded in October, 1992 as a Non-Profit Organization

Families First

Lafayette County Families First Resource Center offers family support services to the Oxford, Lafayette County and The University of Mississippi community. The goal of Families First is to promote healthy families to ALL citizens of Lafayette County.

Community Support Services

Families in Crisis
Parents with Children with Disabilities
Foster Parents
Grandparents as Parents
HIV Positive Community Members

Workshops and Counseling

Divorce Recovery Workshop
Healthy Parenting Workshop
Parent Education Workshops
Family and Individual Counseling

Teen Pregnancy Prevention Services

Abstinence Based Curriculum - WAIT Training
Self-Control Curriculum- Sex Respect
Lunch 'n' Learn Programs- Parents Preventing Pregnancy in Teens (PPP)

School-Based Programs

Mentoring
After School Programs
Life Skills/Anti-Violence Programs
Community Building Programs
Special Events

The Sherry Lou Locke Resource Library is for parents, children and professionals in the community to enhance the quality of life for all citizens in Lafayette County. The Library is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and by appointment after hours.

Childcare is offered with community services for parents. Please call if needed.

Youth Vision

Youth Vision is a community-based program designed to reduce the occurrence of sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy among adolescents in Lafayette County, MS. Youth Vision strives to provide adolescents with the knowledge, skills, and motivation needed to make healthy decisions regarding their sexuality.

Current Programming Efforts

Abstinence & Sexuality Education Curriculum

• WAIT Training (Why am I tempted) is an abstinence education curriculum that is incorporated into the Career Discovery classes at Lafayette Middle School. WAIT Training provides a series of activities that adolescents the benefits of sexual abstinence until marriage; this curriculum also teaches decision-making skills.
• Sex Respect is an abstinence education curriculum that is incorporated into the ninth grade health classes at Oxford High School. This curriculum defines human sexuality and provides kids with the skills needed to resist peer pressure.

Parent Education

• Youth Vision believes in the power of families to help kids make positive decisions regarding sex. For that reason, Youth Vision has designed a series of workshops, called Parents Preventing Pregnancy in Teens, that teaches parents the communication and interaction skills needed to promote positive relationships with their adolescents. This program also provides basic facts on other issues that impact adolescents such as substance abuse, anger management, and sexually transmitted disease. Lunch and Learn workshops are designed for working parents, and are offered through the various worksites and industries in Lafayette County – an incentive for attending the workshops is free food!
• Youth Vision works closely with Family Crisis Services in maintaining the resource library. Books and videotapes are available that assist parents with the tough task of talking to their kids about sex. Also available are pamphlets on sexually transmitted disease, safer sex, and abstinence.

Special Events

Critical in keeping decreasing sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy among teens is not letting the issue fade from the forefront. Youth Vision strives to keep public awareness peaked through frequent media attention, special events, newsletters, and other communication efforts such as public service announcements and posters.

OASiS (Opportunities for Adolescents Seeking Individual Success)

This Families First Program pairs responsible adults as mentors with adolescents in both Lafayette County Schools and Oxford City Schools. The goal is for each adolescent in the program to attain the skills to achieve a successful life. The OASiS mentors work with students during school hours for 3-4 hours each month on a one-on-one basis. Help is provided with schoolwork, and the students learn about positive life skills and opportunities for the future. The OASiS mentors and students also have the opportunity to participate in group activities outside of the school setting. The mentors serve as listeners, role models, advocates, and friends for each child they work with. All students in the program are referred through the school counselor. Anyone interested in becoming an OASiS mentor may contact the agency for an application.

Victim Services

Adult Services

• 24-Hour Crisis Intervention, Support, and Criminal Justice Advocacy for Survivors of Sexual Assault
• Information and Assistance in Filing Crime Victims' Compensation Claims for Survivors of Sexual Assault
• Professional Counseling Services for Survivors of Sexual Assault and Secondary Victims
• Legal Advocacy with the District Attorney's Office and Law Enforcement Personnel for Survivors of Sexual Assault
• Community Education Regarding Sexual Assault and the Needs of Survivors

Children's Services

• Counseling
• Children's Therapists are available for individual/family counseling.
• Advocacy
• Court Preparation - The court prep program introduces a child to the judicial system and prepares them to go to court.
• Forensic Interviewing - The forensic interviews assist in information gathering using an investigative approach for the purpose of it's use in court. DHS and Law Enforcement agencies may request forensic interviewing services.
• Transportation - Family Crisis can provide transportation to appointments as needed in Lafayette County.
• Education
• My Body belongs to Me
• Respect
• Good Choices, Healthy Lifestyles
• WAIT Training
• 24-hour Crisis Intervention
• Staff and volunteers are on-call 24-hours a day.

Homicide Services

• 24-Hour Crisis Intervention, Support, and Criminal Justice Advocacy for Survivors of Homicide Victims
• Information and Assistance in Filing Crime Victims' Compensation Claims for Survivors of Homicide Victims
• Professional Counseling Services for Friends and Family Members of Homicide Victims
• Legal Advocacy with the District Attorney's Office and Law Enforcement Personnel for Survivors of Homicide Victims
• Community Education Regarding Homicide and the Needs of Survivors

Education and Prevention Programs

My Body Belongs To ME: Good Touch, Bad Touch - Pre-K/Kindergarten

This program teaches children what is considered normal when dealing with adults and what one should do if they think abnormal behavior is exhibited. The discussions are designed to enhance peer discussion involvement in group learning experience. Students are given a list of responsible adults in whom they can confide.

Respect: Your Key To The Future - 5th and 6th Graders

This program evaluates the norms of society and encourages methods, which allows students to live within these norms. Students are encouraged to examine their role in society, expectations of others, and how to live with themselves and others. The topics covered in this program include the following:

• Respect
• Anger management and violence prevention
• Sexual harassment
• Personal rights and responsibilities

Good Choices, Healthy Lifestyles - 9th to 12th Grades

This program features a proactive approach in discussing issues affecting students' potential to succeed. The topics are based on the health curriculum madated by the Mississippi State Department of Education. The presentation utilizes a discussion format allowing participants to ask questions and talk openly about issues often not addressed. The program stresses healthy/positive living and encourages responsibility, accountability and increased self-esteem. Topics covered in this program include the following:

• Sexually transmitted deseases
• HIV/AIDS
• Human sexuality
• Nutrition and eating disorders
• Relationship violence
• Sexual harassment
• Sexual assault
• Incest
• Substance abuse

Volunteer Program

Duties of FCS Volunteers

Family Crisis Services looks for volunteers who are caring individuals, dedicated to helping the populations we serve, with a desire to become involved in their community.

Volunteer applicants must complete the application process, including a criminal background check, character references, and an interview with the volunteer coordinator.

Volunteers must complete all sessions of the FCS volunteer training.

Volunteers are expected to commit to the program for at least one year.

Volunteers are required to attend all monthly volunteer in-services.

Volunteers are expected to work cooperatively and effectively with medical, police, legal, and social services personel.

Volunteers are expected to perform assigned duties in a timely manner.

Volunteers are required by this agency, as well as by law, to keep all client information confidential.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
Margaret Mead

Forensic Interviewing

Family Crisis Services' Forensic Interviewers utilize a forensic interviewing model developed by CornerHouse Forensic Evaluation Center out of Minneapolis, Minnesota, which is nationally recognized and approved by the National Center on the Prosecution of Child Abuse.

1. What is Forensic Interviewing and it's process?
• Information gathering using an investigative approach in situations in which there is suspicion of child physical abuse, sexual abuse, or if a child may have witnessed a violent crime.
• To assess whether or not a crime has occurred and to assess the safety of the child in the current living arrangement.
• To allow for the competence of the child, which means the forensic interviewing process gently assesses the child's developmental, emotional and communicative skills, so that the interview is conducted at a level consistent with the child's developmental abilities. The result is information that is reliable, specific and difficult to challenge.
• To minimize potential stress to the child from the investigation.
• To work collaboratively with law enforcement, the District Attorney's Office, and the Department of Human Services.
• To assess the child's reliability, consistency, and credibility.
• To increase effectiveness of fact finding
• To reduce multiple interviews of the child.
2. What information does the Forensic Interviewer have before beginning the interview?
• The child's name
• Developmental and biological age
• Social, developmental, and cognitive abilities
• Communication difficulties
• Level of support by caretaker since disclosure
• Basic information about the allegation
3. Who is present during the forensic interview?
• In addition to the Interviewer and the child being interviewed, a Dept. of Human Services social worker, Family Crisis Services' staff, and a law enforcement officer are present to observe the forensic interview.
4. What is the procedure for requesting an interview?
• A forensic interview is conducted only when one is requested by the Department of Human Services, a law enforcement agency, or the District Attorney's Office. Additionally, the requesting agency must attend the interview along with any other investigative agency involved to avoid multiple interviews of the child. An interview may be requested by contacting the Children's Case Manager at Family Crisis Services of Northwest Mississippi, Inc.

A child will not be accepted for a forensic interview if he or she has already been extensively interviewed.