Family Support Program

The Family Support Program (FSP) provides access to intensive mental health services and supports to youth with a severe emotional disturbance.  The goal of the FSP is to support eligible youth and their families by strengthening family stability, improving clinical outcomes, and promoting the use community-based services over out-of-home and institutional care.

Customers enrolled in FSP can receive all Community-based Behavioral Health Services (CBS) offered by Healthcare and Family Services, along with Individual Support Services, Therapeutic Support Services, and Residential Treatment Services.

Families interested in FSP can work with their Care Coordination and Support Organization (CCSO) to find out more information and submit an application. Each CCSO has an FSP Coordinator who is responsible for helping families with FSP and accessing services through the program. 

• About the Family Support Program
• About the Family Support Program (Spanish)

• The parent or guardian of the youth demonstrates residence in the State of Illinois;
• The youth is under the age of 18 at the time a completed application is submitted;
• The youth is not under the guardianship or in the legal custody of any unit of the federal, State or local government;
• The parent or guardian of the youth agrees to meet the terms of the Program’s Parent or Guardian Responsibilities outlined in the Family Support Program Application;
• The youth demonstrates a severe emotional disturbance;
• The youth demonstrates a severity of need indicating that his or her clinical needs are not being met through active participation in traditional outpatient mental health services;
• The youth demonstrates sufficient cognitive capacity to respond to psychiatric treatment and intervention;
• The youth’s history of mental health challenges and treatment efforts demonstrate a chronic condition rather than an acute episode; and
•  The youth demonstrates behaviors or symptoms that are likely to respond to the treatment services available in the FSP.

If you are interested in submitting a Family Support Program Application (pdf)  (Word), you can do so using any of the following methods:

•  By faxing the application to (800) 418-4039 using the subject line “FSP Application for Review;”
• By creating a Parent Account and submitting an application directly through eQSuite at this link.
• By working with a Care Coordination and Support Organization to submit the FSP Application through eQSuite;
• By mailing the application to the following address:

Acentra Health
Attn: FSP Technical Coordinator
500 Waters Edge, Suite 125
Lombard, IL 60148

HFS partners with Acentra Health to provide administrative and clinical support as the HFS Quality Improvement Organization/Peer Review Organization (QIO/PRO). Acentra Health reviews applications and makes eligibility decisions for FSP on behalf of HFS. 

• Care Coordination and Support Organization listed by Designated Service Area (pdf)
• Family Support Program Application (pdf)  (Word)
• FSP Continued Enrollment Packet (pdf) (Word)
• About the Family Support Program
• About the Family Support Program (Spanish)

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or you have concerns for their immediate safety, that they may harm themselves or worry that they may require inpatient psychiatric treatment, please contact the CARES line at 1-800-345-9049 to access mobile crisis response services. Services are available 24/7, 365 days a year.

If you need immediate assistance or are experiencing a medical emergency, please contact 911.