Family Services & Children’s Aid (FSCA) continues to meet critical needs in Jackson County through two vital programs supported by LifeWays’ mental health millage funding: school-based trauma therapy and legal guardianship services for vulnerable adults.

Through a long-standing partnership, LifeWays helps fund FSCA’s trauma-focused therapy services in schools—making care accessible for youth who are uninsured, underinsured, or facing high out-of-pocket costs. Last fiscal year, over 300 students received more than 600 therapy sessions through this initiative. These sessions are delivered by therapists trained in evidence-based models like Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), CBT, Bounce Back, and EMDR. “These aren’t generalists,” said Sarah Sabin, Clinical Director. “These are highly qualified, trauma-trained clinicians.”

The impact reaches far beyond therapy itself. Schools report improved attendance, stabilized grades, increased peer engagement, and reductions in trauma symptoms among participating students. Many children served through this program might never have accessed care otherwise. “These 300 kids would not have received services if not for this funding,” Sabin shared. “Now we can meet them where they are—literally and clinically.”

Millage funding also sustains FSCA’s Guardianship Program, which provides legal, financial, and medical advocacy for more than 250 adults, many of whom have intellectual or developmental disabilities or serious mental illness. The program offers around-the-clock support for complex, high-need individuals, filling a gap left when Jackson County discontinued its public guardianship services. “There’s no real payment structure to support this work,” Sabin explained. “But with millage support, we can ensure that no adult in this community goes without protection or advocacy.”

Together, these programs reflect the power of targeted funding to bridge gaps in access and safeguard the well-being of Jackson County’s most vulnerable residents.