CARE Partnership Program

Professional Christian Counseling services designed
to help churches minister to those struggling in their congregations.

Advantages of CARE Partnership Program:

1. The program frees pastoral staff from the more serious counseling cases requiring large time commitments and special training.
2. The church financially helps an individual or family only when services are needed. There is no need to invest in anticipated services.
3. Clients can be seen within 24 hours, if necessary, when a crisis occurs.
4. A 24 hour emergency call-in service is available for pastors.
5. Financial obligations would be based on a combination of the church's decision of how they can contribute to the counseling cost, the client's insurance coverage and/or the client's ability to contribute to the cost of services determined by a sliding fee scale based on income. Generally speaking, most two income families and/or those with insurance coverage would be able to pay for their own services and therefore do not often need a referral through the CARE Partnership Program.
6. Persons referred to the Center receive professional counseling from a Biblical/Christian perspective by highly trained clinicians.

Administration of CARE Partnership Program:

1. Under the CARE Partnership Program, those referred from designated church leaders would receive up to six sessions of counseling with a clinician at the CCC.
2. Churches who refer individuals or families to the CCC would be billed $85 per session while the client would be asked to contribute a co-pay. (The Center's policy is to request some level of co-pay from all of its clients as it has found this encourages the client's investment in, and responsibility for, the counseling process.) The client's co-pay is determined by the therapist and considers such factors as income and special circumstances. If the referring pastor or church would like to pay a larger portion of the cost, or if the client can pay a greater portion of the cost, such adjustments can be made on a case by case basis in consultation with the referring pastor.
3. Unless told otherwise, the CCC would assume that the senior pastor of the referring church would be the designated contact person regarding case planning consultation for the referred clients.
4. The assigned counselor would encourage the client to give him/her written permission to confer with the pastor about the client's situation.
5. The agreement is in effect for individual clients or families when the pastor or his/her designate calls the Center and informs us that the person(s) coming are under the CARE Partnership Program. After the pastor has verified that someone is coming in, the individual makes his or her own appointment by calling the Center at (616) 956-1122.

A referring church's support through offerings and/or budgetary allocation is appreciated and helps defray the cost of providing this service.

Additional Services to Churches:

1. Educational services are offered at the CCC which present important materials and help for pastors and church leaders.
2. Prevention services offered to churches by the CCC are designed to help people deal with relationships, events and/or situations in their lives in a pro-active manner. Examples of this would be our Pre-Marital Counseling services and our Career Assessment and Counseling services.
3. The CCC sponsors several special speakers/ conferences each year which are open to the entire community. These conferences will focus on topics pertinent to the needs and concerns of Christian families and churches.
4. Our staff is available, with advance notice, to conduct seminars on issues related to emotional health and marriage and family life.
5. Our staff is available to provide consultation services regarding organizational management, strategic planning and/or staff training or selection decisions.