For many families, balancing excessive stress and maintaining a stable home environment for children may require extra support. Intercept, a program of Youth Villages, is an evidence-based, comprehensive in-home services model that helps children and families improve stability and well-being by providing support in all areas of their lives.

Brandon and Monica, parents of eight adopted children, felt the stress of balancing the physical and emotional needs of each child. Brandon and Monica’s children faced challenging circumstances in foster care before their adoption, making their transition into a stable home environment particularly difficult, especially for Autumn.

Autumn struggled with healthy relationships with her siblings and those outside of the home. At school, her behavior escalated to a point where she was involved in an altercation with classmates. This led to Brandon and Monica’s decision to enroll her in homeschool.

As the oldest child, Autumn had a lot of influence on her siblings, often in negative ways. She used her influence to encourage her brothers and sisters to run away from home. This behavior ultimately reached a tipping point when the children ran away to a local McDonald’s, putting themselves in significant danger. The police, and subsequently the Department of Human Services, were called.

After the incident, Brandon and Monica were referred to Intercept, where they worked with a family specialist to help identify the behaviors Autumn and her younger siblings were exhibiting. The family’s first specialist, Greg Watson, worked with the family on a safety plan in case the children attempted to run away again. He explained the dangers of leaving the house without permission to the children and helped their parents set up boundaries for going outside.

“We had to take the adventure part out of it,” Monica said. “They were running far enough away that they were in unsafe situations. We had to work on them understanding that their biological parents aren’t coming back and running away puts them in danger.”

Since working with their current family specialist, Alexander Bates, Autumn and her family are learning how to create healthy relationships and are setting goals for the future. Autumn also used the tools to create healthy relationships with her church youth group, giving her the chance to interact with others outside of her immediate circle.

Autumn, who will turn 17 this year, is learning to manage tasks on her own. She is working toward getting her driver’s license, and the family is continuing to build healthy boundaries.

“Autumn is taking what she has learned with Greg and Alexander and using it in her real life,” Monica said. “She has come a long way and will continue to learn and grow.”

About Youth Villages – Arkansas

In collaboration with the Department of Human Services, our work in Arkansas focuses on strengthening families to prevent or limit the need for out-of-home placements (Intercept) and supporting youth who age out of foster care or lack a stable caregiver as they enter adulthood (LifeSet).

Donate now to help us expand our reach and build a stronger community.

Share on Social