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Karen Bright
Region 11 IFP Supervisor | 
Frances Dailey
Marion County IFP Supervisor | 
Terry Randall
Region 9 IFP Supervisor |
Intensive Family Preservation and Reunification
Bethany Christian Services preserves, restores, and finds Christian families for children around the world. Many individuals are swift to associate the Bethany name with quality birthparent and adoption services. Most people, however, are less familiar with the home-based services we provide to high-risk families whose children are at imminent risk of being removed from the home due to abuse, neglect, or delinquency. Though not as overtly recognized, this aspect of our ministry is equally significant in its impact on vulnerable children and families in crisis.
Since 1996, Bethany has been providing Intensive Family Preservation Services (IFPS) within Marion County (greater Indianapolis) Indiana. In 2006, Bethany’s Indianapolis office was awarded a new contract to expand our IFPS services to nearly a dozen other Indiana counties, enabling us to reach even more struggling families.
Research has shown that once a child is removed from the home, it can be difficult to reunite the family. The need for Bethany’s expanding family preservation services is evident: in 2005, over 8,000 Indiana children entered substitute or interim care.
Supervised by Frances Dailey, Terry Randall, and Karen Bright, the IFPS program provides intensive, short-term, in-home counseling to families who have been referred to Bethany from either the local Department of Child Services or juvenile court. This critical intervention is delivered by a Bethany therapist, who tailors counseling to meet the family’s individual needs; the goal is to enable a family to remain together in a safe and stable environment.
 Home Run Program
In our ongoing mission to establish and serve families, we offer a unique post-adoption support service called Home Run. Families who adopt children at an older age, or children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect, often desire to work with counseling professionals who are knowledgeable about the issues unique to these situations. Issues range from "Why didn't I grow in your tummy?" to children who have poor peer relationships, steal, lie, and even verbally and physically hurt their parents. With the more severe cases, the children may display difficulties with attachment. Not all adoptive families deal with issues quite as extreme as those associated with an attachment disorder, but many still desire support and guidance.
 Through our Home Run program, adoptive families may counsel with a therapist specially trained in attachment and adoption issues. Options range from phone consultation, to meeting with a therapist at Bethany, to having the Bethany therapist come to your home. If you would like more information about how Home Run may be able to assist your family, please call Patty at 317.568.1000.
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