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Who We Are

Every child deserves a family

Families are the best place for children to grow and mature. That’s why we’re called “Family Works.”

For more than 30 years, Family Works has been dedicated to serving the children and youth of Wisconsin. We do this by recruiting, training and supporting treatment foster care parents throughout Wisconsin, and by coordinating the care of the children placed with our foster families.

We welcome all kinds of people with different beliefs and backgrounds to become foster parents, because we’re serving children with all kinds of beliefs and backgrounds.

Focused on Foster Family Training

We began Family Works so we could prioritize training and supporting our foster families to give the best care possible to at-risk children and teens. We believe it’s important to give our families the skills they need to respond to behavioral challenges they might encounter.

The education that family works gives us helps us parent trauma children in a much better way. It’s rewarding—just as parenting biological children would be. And sometimes the success is measured a little differently, because they have different needs from their trauma background.

— Family Works Foster Mom

Small Case Loads

Our social workers have a much smaller case load than those who work in a county system. That means they have more time to spend with each foster family. They do much more than crisis management or paperwork—they get to know you and your kids on a more personal level so they can advocate even better for your kids’ needs.

Instead of having 50 people we’re working with, it’s just a few families. We’re able to serve them better because we have more time to dedicate to them.

— Family Works Social Worker

Continued Support

We recognize that fostering isn’t easy. The children and teens you care for have unique challenges. Foster families who don’t have the support they need will experience burnout faster. That’s why our social workers are committed to meeting with you at least three times each month even though the State only requires one visit per month. Additionally, we’re available by email and phone whenever you need help.

Homes who come to our agency get more support.
They get 24/7 on call support and a little more hand holding.

— Family Works Social Worker

How We Support Foster Families

Becoming a foster parent or respite provider is a big decision! Many incoming foster families fear they won’t have what it takes. We understand. That’s why we’re so committed to your education and ongoing support.

24/7 Support

We know that the times when you need support may not fit neatly into business hours. A social worker is available to you 24 hours/day, 7 days/week. They also maintain regular contact with you through frequent visits and phone calls. At Family Works, someone is always here for you.

Ongoing Education

Ongoing education helps you be a successful foster parent. On our Resources page, you’ll find links to information to begin your foster parent journey including the state’s foster parent handbook, pre-placement training, and organizations that support foster parents throughout Wisconsin.

Trauma-Informed Care

Understanding trauma is a key aspect of foster parenting. Many of our children are impacted by trauma. Trauma-informed care equips our staff and foster parents with tools to meet a child’s needs effectively. You’ll learn how to provide trauma-informed care during the licensing process. You can also read more about different aspects of trauma-informed care on our Resources page.

In addition, our agency supports you in learning about specific topics through monthly support and training meetings. These meetings allow you to build relationships with other Family Works families, consult with our team of social workers, and gain more knowledge and skills to care for the youth in your home.

Services We Provide

Family Works Programs, Inc. is a child-placing agency. Specifically, we provide treatment foster care services throughout the state of Wisconsin to children and youth with complex treatment needs.

We recruit, license, train and support compassionate foster parents to care for children in the foster family’s home. Social work staff provide support to the child and their foster family through frequent visits to the home, treatment team collaboration and individualized treatment planning.

Many of our treatment foster homes can provide emergency and/or ongoing respite to families. These respite breaks are often essential in keeping families healthy or in maintaining the strength of an existing out-of-home placement.

Family Works coordinates and supervises visits between children placed in our care and their families when a child’s case plan requires supervised family interaction.

We provide a written summary of each visit including:

We partner with county and state agencies to develop new ways of strengthening a child’s community of support to help children reach permanence.

Family Works can help support your agency in a variety of ways: by providing education, consultation, crisis support and continued case management.