About student and family assistance program benefits
Get to the root of student challenges
Developed specifically for school districts, the Student and Family Assistance Program (SFAP) provides support and counseling services for students and families of the school district. Whether you're coping with behavioral issues, performance challenges, family struggles, or substance abuse problems, your SFAP can help.
Call 800-236-3231 to speak with a licensed counselor.
Why SFAP?
When a student is struggling with life challenges or problems at home, it can be difficult to focus on schoolwork, and everything from grades to extracurricular participation can suffer as a result.
We take a systems approach to helping students succeed. Through in-person and telephone counseling, we offer assistance in developing strategies for creating happy, healthy lives – at home and in school.
And because SFAP is a confidential resource for all families with students enrolled in the district, families can contact us about issues regarding any family member, whether or not the school district is aware.
SFAP offers:
- Free consultations, in person or over the phone, with a Masters-level counselor
- Free access to local attorneys for legal consultations
- Free access to financial consultations
- Assistance with child care referrals and elder care referrals
- Adoption information
Learn more about the types of help we provide.
Contacting SFAP
All families with students enrolled in the school district are eligible to access SFAP services, free of charge for anyone in the household. For students under 18 years of age to access services, a parent or legal guardian must contact the SFAP on their behalf.
- During normal business hours (Monday – Friday, 8am – 5pm CST), call our toll-free number 800-236-3231, and an intake specialist will direct you to the right resource.
- For non-urgent calls outside of normal business hours, you may leave a message, and an intake coordinator will return your call as early as possible on the next business day.
- Urgent or emergency calls at any hour will be connected directly to a Masters-level clinician to assist with the situation.
All conversations are protected by HIPAA privacy guidelines, and your information will never be shared without your written consent.
What to expect
When you call SFAP, an intake specialist will connect you by phone with a professional counselor who will consult with you and your family. Every SFAP case is unique:
- Some issues require multiple counseling sessions (up to 6) and multiple family members.
- Other cases lead to an insurance- or community-based treatment referral, with the SFAP counselor consulting as a bridge to the new provider.
- Sometimes, just one or two phone calls are needed to help parents with a simple issue.
Your SFAP counselor will help create the right plan for your needs.
The goal of SFAP is to help students succeed, and developing smart, supportive parenting strategies is a key part of the process. Our named client will always be the parent or legal guardian; however, with their permission, students may join for part of SFAP sessions, and older students (high school) may be seen alone for full or partial sessions.
If a student is already working with a school counselor, we encourage you to ask them about partnering with SFAP.