Family Urgent Response System (FURS)
Kinship Center Integrates with Statewide Family Urgent Response System (FURS) Program
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Kinship Center has partnered with Monterey County Behavioral Health to integrate the statewide Family Urgent Response System (FURS) with our recently launched Mobile Crisis Response Team. Since March 2021, the FURS program has provided crisis stabilization and support to at-risk youth and their families during situations of instability. The hotline number is (833) 939-3877 and is available to all current and former foster youth and youth involved with Juvenile Probation, up to age 21, and their caregivers.
“Families often have trouble finding the support they need precisely when they need it most,” said Dawn Henson, Kinship Center Regional Executive Director. “They may not know who to contact during these critical moments, or they find themselves turned away from services because their situation doesn’t meet specific eligibility criteria. FURS fills this gap by providing a central place for children, youth, and their caregivers to access immediate phone and in-person support at any time, year-round.”
Callers to the FURS statewide, 24-hour hotline are assessed and offered phone counseling and intervention to establish safety and stabilization, while trained counselors provide support in deescalating and addressing the caller’s situation, resolving conflicts, and assessing risk and safety. If in-person support is needed, FURS hotline staff can conduct a three-way call with the family and the Mobile Crisis Response Team to address the situation without needing to transition the caregiver, child, or youth to another phone number.
FURS staff members remain in contact with the family and Mobile Crisis Response Team until safety is established. They then work with local community providers, youth and caregivers to provide the least restrictive interventions needed for each situation.
One of the most important aspects of Kinship Center’s FURS program is that it supports families experiencing conflict by providing a trauma-informed alternative to calling 911 or law enforcement. “With this early and proactive stabilization support, we can help prevent conflicts from escalating into a crisis and disrupting the relationship between the child or youth and their caregiver,” said Henson.
With the Mobile Crisis Response Team, FURS streamlines access to crisis intervention services in the home, school or community based on the current location and needs of the family. Regardless of the setting, clinicians work with the youth and family to complete a short-term safety plan and, if needed, develop a plan for immediate referral to emergency psychiatric services. In instances where a mobile response is not needed, the FURS hotline staff help with connecting the caller to other local resources they may need.
By offering centralized access to the resources and tools families need to resolve conflict and build healthy relationships, the FURS hotline aims to assess youths’ mental health needs, increase suicide prevention, reduce unnecessary psychiatric hospitalizations, and decrease placement changes for children not living with their biological parents.
Click here for more information regarding Kinship Center’s Family Urgent Response System.