Given the state of the world, counseling has become a pressing need.

The Children’s Home Society of Florida is open for tele-counseling during the Covid-19 social distancing. Although the physical offices are closed, the agency remains fully operational virtually.

CHS recently moved from the Sunshine Plaza in South Daytona to Suite 100 at 1530 Cornerstones Blvd. in Daytona Beach.

CHS is accepting new clients for both the tele-counseling and tele-psychiatry programs.

Julie Taylor, CHS clinical program, said, “We have actually been doing tele-counseling and telehealth for about three years; that was one of the ways we could serve our rural areas. We were lucky we had a given structure and the counselors had the training, so when we went on to the stay-at-home orders, we were able to quickly add that capacity to all our clients. Our staff are maintaining relationships with all clients that we have. We make sure our clients are aware we are here to serve them throughout this.

“Anytime families are in disarray and things are out of normal, that increases stressors. Any time people feel stress it’s a great time to utilize counseling services,” Ms. Taylor said. “One of the things we are focusing on with our tele-counseling is coping skills, strategies for managing time, ways for people to be able to connect. Those are some of the things we are focusing on to relieve the stress of what the families are feeling right now.”

CHS is using teleworking arrangements, using Telehealth, Skype, Google Duo and Zoom.

“If you have a CHS professional, such as a case manager, counselor or family support worker, you work with regularly, please reach out to them directly with any questions,” Ms. Taylor said. “For other inquiries or if you are unable to reach your assigned contact, please call your local office as we are checking voicemails daily.”

Also, the website emphasized ways to help foster parents right now. It could be as simple as picking up groceries for a foster family or purchasing them Grubhub gift cards.

CHS services include individual and family counseling, foster care and adoption services, with services available in Volusia, Flagler and Putnam counties. Normally there are in-home and in-school services available as well as visitation centers. but the pandemic has created modifications, such as tele-counseling.

Susan Haley, CHS director of program operations, said in addition to counseling services, some callers just need resource information that they can also assist with. “You’re not alone; we’re here to help” she said.

To schedule an appointment, contact Abbey Stagliano at (386) 316-9823 or abbey.stagliano@chsfl.org.

You can email a referral to _chsclinical_NCO@chsfl.org.

For information on other clinical programs, contact Ms. Taylor at (386) 281-9822 or Julie.taylor@chsfl.org.

For more information, visit chsfl.org.

Originally posted by: Hometown News Volusia