Oakland Family Services is a private, nonprofit human service organization serving the area since 1921. It offers a continuum of prevention, education and treatment services that span the human life cycle, enrich the lives of children, strengthen families and rebuild lives.
Services Offered
Early Childhood
EARLY ON Early On at Oakland Family Services can ensure your child is on track by providing developmental assessments and evaluations for children birth to 3 years old in Oakland County. Areas of development assessed include gross motor (large muscles); fine motor (small muscles); cognitive; speech; self-care (eating and sleeping); emotions; interactions with others; and coping skills.
FUSSY BABY Oakland Family Services' Fussy Baby program provides an Infant and Family Specialist who meets with families at their home weekly or biweekly to come up with strategies that will comfort the child and reduce stress for both the baby and parents. All plans for children birth through 4 years old are individualized to meet the different needs of families.
PARENTS AS TEACHERS The in-home program, delivered at no cost to parents, helps children at risk for school failure and/or abuse and neglect by involving families with infants, toddlers and young children in activities that encourage growth in language, social and emotional development.
AN EARLY CHILDHOOD INITIATIVE TARGETING CHILDREN AGES 0-3 Oakland Family Services' Before 3 to Succeed initiative offers parenting tips that you can use to help your baby grow and thrive and offers screenings to find out if your baby is developing on track.
SPECIALIZED SERVICES FOR YOUTH Specialized services for youth is a program for families with a child or teen, ages 6-17, suffering from severe emotional, behavioral or psychological stress. Through Specialized Services for Youth, we provide individual, family and group counseling as well as case management, in-home services, peer and parent support, respite and psychiatric services.
MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING Our agency provides mental health treatment services to people of all ages and assists them in overcoming problems associated with family, work or school. Licensed mental health professionals help clients learn new coping strategies that lead to improved mental health through individual counseling, group counseling and psychiatric services. Staff treat mild to moderate mental health disorders, including but not limited to: depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress and bipolar disorder.
Fees and Payment
Charges to you are based on a sliding fee scale. Consideration is given to your total family income, the size of your family and whether or not insurance or another funding source covers some or most of your costs.
Your Customer Service Representative or your service provider will explain your fees. Some programs are subsidized by the United Way, government contracts or private foundation grants.
You will be responsible for all charges for missed appointments if you do not cancel your appointment 24 hours in advance.
You are expected to pay for your services each time you receive services. Services will be discontinued after three payments are missed, unless you make special arrangements for payment with your Customer Service Representative.
You may review and receive an explanation of your bill upon your request, and you will receive a 30 day advance notice of any revisions to the fees charged by Oakland Family Services.
A community counseling agency is a group therapy practice that offers affordable mental health services. Most are independent non-profit agencies, state agencies, or publicly-funded agencies. A few may restrict who is eligible for services, so it is a good idea to check when you call.
Community counseling agencies are generally more affordable than other therapy providers, but how much more affordable they are will depend on whether you qualify for a discount or sliding scale fee (or if they accept your insurance). Many, but not all, have a policy that they won't turn away anyone due to inability to pay. You should ask about their fees when you first call.
Expect to talk to kind people who want to help you find the care you need. Most community agencies strive to connect you with a live person within 24 hours, if not immediately. If you're asked to hold or leave a message, don't give up; just leave a message and wait. You should hear back pretty quickly.
Most agencies try to set up an initial assessment appointment within a week (some do within 24 hours), though the waitlist to start therapy is usually longer—about a few weeks on average. If you're not eligible or if the agency is not right for you, it's usually still worth it to call or drop in, because staff are knowledgeable about local options and can often refer you to one.
