The Community Services division of Evergreen Center, Inc. has been providing care for children and adolescents in crisis since 1982. We are committed to integrating and maintaining children within their communities. Guided by a goal to keep families intact, we work with and for the family to help them determine the program that is best. All programs are selected based upon family strengths and are provided with maximum familial, neighborhood and community supports.

We rely on the skill, interest and commitment of family foster care providers to help is help children. Qualified families serve as role models, educators, advocates and liaisons with available community resources. Providers join team members who are working to give care, guidance and a safe environment to a child.

Evergreen Community Services’ Emergency Shelter Program offers supports to children and adolescents in crisis. We provide temporary care in provider homes for periods ranging from 2 to 45 days. The goal of the Emergency Shelter program is to stabilize the child in need and to help in the transition to a more permanent setting. Referrals include runaways, individuals with emotional or behavioral problems and those in danger of physical or emotional abuse. Evergreen Community Services recruits providers with a wide array of interests and talents.

Emergency Shelter services are available 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. Clinicians are available at all times to accept referrals and to provide routine supervision and crisis intervention for clients and provider families.

Providers are paid on a per diem basis. In addition, providers are given meal, activity, and mileage allowances.

Evergreen Community Services Specialized Home Care Program is designed to provide structured, goal directed, family based care to children and adolescents. Children who are unable to reside in their own homes or traditional foster homes because of the degree of care necessary for their special needs may be placed for a period of 3 to 18 months. This program focuses on three target populations:

• Behaviorally involved and/or emotionally disturbed children with histories of serious neglect or physical abuse.

• Developmentally disabled persons up to 22 years of age who may have additional physical disabilities, serious medical involvement, or whose biological families are unable to care for them on a full-time basis.
• Adolescents in need of highly skilled and structured family settings.

The Specialized Home Care Program offers an alternative to group care placements while promoting the emotional, behavioral and social growth and development of the child in the least restrictive environment. Each specialized home provides a safe atmosphere where the child can learn and practice specific techniques to improve daily functioning at home, in the community and in their personal relationships. In most cases, a 1:1 ratio of children to provider is maintained.

Providers are reimbursed on a per diem basis at rates which vary depending on the clinical needs of the child.

The Toward Independent Living Program (T.I.L.) is available to older adolescents (for a period of 3 to 18 months) who are unable to remain with their own families or in traditional alternative placements. Toward Independent Living is a family based program designed to give older adolescents an opportunity to experiment with their independence and progressively assume responsibility for their lives. Besides providing the security of a caring, stable home environment, the program encourages adolescents to acquire the life skills necessary to live independently.

The Toward Independent Living Program philosophy is that teens develop self-sufficiency from every day experiences. We feel that responsibility for daily living is best learned in an environment that rewards teens for their successes and helps them learn from their mistakes.

Qualified provider families serve as role models, educators, advocates and liaisons with available community resources. Provider families assist adolescents in developing life skills in the areas of shopping, transportation, health and hygiene, sexuality, nutrition, leisure and financial skills. Adolescents gradually acquire these skills and are able to make the transition from a dependent person into a responsible young adult.

Provider families are reimbursed on a per diem basis.