Parents

CINS/FINS Shelter Services

The Children/Families in Need of Services (CINS/FINS) Shelter Program provides 24-hour residential care and crisis stabilization for youth and families experiencing conflict, runaway behavior, truancy, homelessness, or other crises that place the youth at risk of deeper system involvement.

Shelter services are a core component of the Florida Network’s statewide CINS/FINS continuum and are delivered by licensed residential providers under contract with the Florida Network of Youth and Family Services and the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ).

Purpose

CINS/FINS shelters provide a safe, structured, and supportive environment designed to:

• Protect youth in crisis from harm or homelessness.
• De-escalate family conflict and promote reunification.
• Offer short-term counseling, life skills, and educational support.
• Divert youth from delinquency or dependency system involvement.

Services Provided

• 24/7 shelter supervision and care (up to 35 days, unless extended by court order).
• Crisis intervention and individual, group, and family counseling.
• Case management and discharge planning.
• Referrals to community services and supports.
• Educational coordination with local school districts.
• Access to health, mental health, and substance-use referrals as needed.

Eligibility

Youth may be admitted to a CINS/FINS Shelter if they meet one or more of the following criteria under Chapter 984, Florida Statutes:

Children in Need of Services (CINS)

A child for whom there is no pending investigation at the time of referral into an allegation or suspicion of abuse, neglect, or abandonment; there is no pending petition filed with the court alleging the child is delinquent; or no current court-ordered supervision by the Department for delinquency under Chapter 985, F.S., or court-ordered supervision by the Department of Children and Families (DCF) under Chapter 39, F.S. The child must also be found by the court:

• To have persistently run away from the child’s parents, legal guardians, or custodians despite reasonable efforts of the child, the parents, legal guardians or custodians, and appropriate agencies to remedy the condition contributing to the behavior.
• To be habitually truant from school, while subject to compulsory school attendance, despite reasonable efforts to remedy the situation pursuant to sections 1003.26 and 1003.27, F.S., and services offered by the Florida Network or its authorized agent.
• To be ungovernable by having persistently disobeyed the reasonable and lawful demands of the child’s parents, legal guardians or custodians, and to be beyond their control despite the child having the mental and physical capacity to understand and obey the lawful rules and demands, and despite efforts by the child’s parents, legal guardians or custodians, and appropriate agencies to remedy the conditions contributing to the behavior.

Families In Need of Services (FINS)

A family that has a child for whom there is no court-ordered supervision by the Department for delinquency or DCF for dependency. The child must also have been referred to a contracted provider for:

• Running away from parents or legal guardian or custodian.
• Ungovernable and persistently disobeying the reasonable and lawful demands of parents or legal guardian or custodian and beyond their control.
• Habitual truancy from school.
• Engaging in other serious behaviors that place the child at risk of future abuse, neglect or abandonment or at risk of entering the juvenile justice system.

Age Range

Youth ages 10 through 17 are eligible for CINS/FINS Shelter services.

Length of Stay

• Up to 35 days per episode, unless extended under court order or by the Case Staffing Committee in accordance with statute.

CINS/FINS Community Counseling Services

The Children/Families in Need of Services (CINS/FINS) Community Counseling Program provides voluntary, family-centered intervention to youth and families who are experiencing conflict, truancy, ungovernable behavior, or other challenges that place youth at risk of entering the juvenile justice or dependency systems.

Community Counseling is a core prevention component of the Florida Network’s statewide CINS/FINS continuum and is designed to strengthen families, resolve conflict, and promote stability through counseling and case management services delivered in the youth’s natural environment.

Purpose

CINS/FINS Community Counseling Services are intended to:

Prevent out-of-home placement and delinquency by resolving problems early.

Improve family relationships and communication.

Reduce school truancy, runaway incidents, and ungovernable behaviors.

Build coping, problem-solving, and decision-making skills for youth and families.

Services Provided

Intake and needs assessment for the youth and family.

Individual, family, and group counseling delivered in the home, school, office, or community setting.

Development and implementation of individualized service plans.

Case management and linkage to community resources and supports.

Crisis intervention and coordination with schools, law enforcement, DJJ, and other child-serving systems.

Follow-up and aftercare services to ensure ongoing family stability.

Eligibility

Youth and families may receive CINS/FINS Community Counseling services if they meet one or more of the following criteria:

The youth is between 6 and 17 years old.

The youth or family is experiencing behavioral problems, truancy, runaway, or ungovernable behavior that places the youth at risk of entering the CINS/FINS system.

The youth and family voluntarily agree to participate in services.

There is no current court-ordered supervision under Chapter 985 (delinquency) or Chapter 39 (dependency), and no open DCF investigation for abuse or neglect.

Referral Sources

Referrals may be received from parents or guardians, schools, law enforcement, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Children and Families, or other community agencies. Self-referrals are also accepted.

Program Goals

Strengthen family functioning and parent–child communication.

Keep youth safe, in school, and at home whenever possible.

Prevent deeper system involvement through early, voluntary intervention.

Promote long-term family stability and self-sufficiency.

• Reunify youth with their families whenever safe and feasible.
• Reduce the likelihood of arrest or out-of-home placement.
• Strengthen family functioning and promote long-term stability.

Sometimes youth need a little extra help. Another form of interventions our staff may utilize is a Case Staffing Committee or CINS Petition.

What is Case Staffing Committee?
A Case Staffing may be requested for a youth by your CINS/FINS counselor or referred by truancy court to review your child’s needs. A Case Staffing is held by a committee made up of individuals from the CINS/FINS program as well as, child, parent, legal guardian or custodian, a representative from the child’s school district and a representative the Department and any other individuals the family recommends. You may recommend other people from the community who know, or have worked with, your child and family such as a youth group leader, church pastor or mental health provider to attend the Case Staffing to provide information about your child and family to the committee. The purpose of this Case Staffing is to identify family concerns and needs to develop a service plan for your child and the CINS/FINS program. The Case Staffing Committee will meet with you and your child to review the case if:

• you or your child do not agree with the services or treatment offered; and/or
• you or your child are not participating in the services or help that has been offered; and/or
• the CINS/FINS counselor needs help in developing a better plan for you and your child.
• if the youth continues to be truant from school

The Case Staffing Committee will develop a plan for services, which may include recommending the filing of a CINS petition with the court. A Case Staffing committee may recommend the following options for a youth:

• Additional Services, including a short-term shelter stay
• Referrals to Other Agencies

A parent, guardian or legal custodian of a child may request a Case Staffing be held. We recommend talking with your CINS/FINS counselor before requesting a Case Staffing. To request a Case Staffing Committee meeting, a parent must submit a request in writing to their CINS/FINS provider and they will have seven working days to hold a committee meeting. This seven-day period does not include holidays or weekends. If the youth is referred to the Case Staffing Committee by Truancy Court, the staffing must be held within 30 days.

A CINS petition is a formal written request to the court to find that your child is a CINS. A CINS petition is usually filed if the child refuses services, continues to show problem behaviors or referred from truancy court. The CINS petition may be filed in court, only as a last resort after voluntary services have been offered and have not been enough to resolve the child’s behavior. The local DJJ attorney will file a CINS petition, if recommended by the Case Staffing Committee, and if the child meets the legal definition of a CINS.

If you, as a parent, do not participate, do not allow your child to participate or you allow your child to ignore the services in this plan, you may be ordered to participate in family counseling and other services, and insure your child attends school as part of the CINS Court’s orders. If you fail to abide by court orders, you may be held in contempt of court. You, as a parent or legal guardian, can also file a CINS petition with the court if:

• The local program will not hold a case staffing after having received your written request for a case staffing, and/or
• The local program does not schedule a case staffing within seven days of receiving your written request, and/or
• You do not agree with the service plan made by the Case Staffing Committee, and/or
• The local program has not given you a report of the reason to recommend or decline a petition within seven days after the case staffing and/or
• The DJJ waives the statutory requirement for the Case Staffing Committee to meet.

If you wish to file your own CINS petition, the law requires that you let the local DJJ attorney know, in writing, of your wish to file a petition. If you fail to do so, the court may automatically dismiss your petition.

In your CINS petition which must be signed under oath, you must show that you have participated in and tried voluntary services that have been offered and that the services were not enough to help you and your child resolve your problems. Filing a CINS petition is not a way to get emergency mental health services or substance abuse services for your child.

A CINS Court does not have the power to force a school to provide special services for your child, or to force the Department of Children and Families to provide services. If you need help with these types of services, talk with your CINS/FINS counselor and they can refer you to agencies that can assist you. The CINS Court will require the child and family to participate in services provided by either the CINS/FINS provider, or within the community. The parent, guardian or legal custodian will be financially responsible either out-of-pocket or through insurance to pay for community services. Many services are available on a “sliding scale” based on the family’s ability to pay.