Reflecting on the story of the lost boy from our home page, one has to ask: What would have become of the lost boy if someone had noticed that he was hurting?  At Emerson Centre, we believe that early detection is best when helping a hurting child, but there is a continuum where a lost child is concerned. For this reason, Emerson Centre works with several partners in our communities to try to provide as many opportunities as possible for someone to intervene on a child's behalf. Because we receive referrals from many different sources, our clients have varying degrees of emotional and behavioral problems. Often times we provide counseling to youths, whose rehabilitation with our program is their last chance before they are removed from their family, school, and community. But it is not always an issue of a child being sent away to a secure facility. There are other consequences and end results involved as well. A lost child can result in another statistic of teenage pregnancy, high school drop-outs, or teen suicide. If you know of a child that is showing warning signs or has experienced a loss, please contact us.

Emerson Centre works with and receives 
referrals from the following partners 
to provide services to children:

Families

Union Parish School Board

Pine Hills Child Advocacy Center

Lincoln/Union Truancy Assessment Service Center

Families in Need of Services

Third Judicial Court Pretrial Diversion Program

Third Judicial Court (Probation Cases)

Families - Many problems facing children are the manifestation of parental loss. This can be a loss of a parent due to divorce, death, career, or emotional neglect. The earliest warning signs are often seen by the families. Children can act out without breaking the law. In fact, most children who are breaking the rules are often acting out in anger. However, any change in a child's behavior is important to note. In direct opposite to those who act out, other children are very good at hiding their feelings. Thus, if you know any child who has experienced a loss, it is very important to have them evaluated.

Emerson Centre accepts private cases on a sliding fee scale to accommodate any family who feels that their child needs help.

Union Parish School Board - Schools have the opportunity to intervene and refer a child when they are exhibiting the warning signs of behavioral and emotional problems. Such warning signs include changes in behavior such as breaking the rules, a change in grades, a change in attitude, or a child that meets the description of a "problem child". Emerson Centre accepts referrals from children attending elementary school thru youths attending high school. These children are generally seen from six to nine months.

Pine Hills Child Advocacy Center - Another way that a child can become lost is by experiencing a trauma. The Pine Hills Child Advocacy Center relies on parents and the community to notice when a child has experienced a trauma and to let the Child Advocacy Center intervene. Every child seen by the Child Advocacy Center is given the opportunity for counseling. 

Emerson Centre offers crisis counseling for children who have suffered sexual abuse. In addition, counseling is provided for the child and family if there is a pending court case and supplies assistance to the family until the case is resolved. Emerson Centre provides short-term crisis counseling to youths referred by the Child Advocacy Center which generally lasts for two to three months

Lincoln Parish Truancy Center - The Lincoln Parish Truancy Center intervenes to provide a child help when a child has had more than five unexcused absences from school. The Truancy Center of Lincoln Parish can refer the child and the parents to Emerson Centre for counseling. 

The act of having more than five unexcused absences from school can be a warning sign that something is wrong in a child's life for two reasons. First, a child might miss school because of a behavioral problem. For example, being suspended can cause you to have unexcused absences. If a child is not missing school because of a behavioral problem, then there is likely a parental problem that is keeping the child from attending school. 

The Lincoln Parish Truancy Center intervenes to try to prevent the child from missing more school and being charged with truancy by getting to the root of the problem. With the youths referred to Emerson Centre from the Truancy Center, it is very important that each child receives family counseling in addition to individual counseling. Emerson Centre supplies the parents with the skills and guidance to better support their child's education and emotional health. Youths referred by the Truancy Center are in the program for an average of six to nine months.

Family in Need of Services (FINS) - Families in Need of Services (FINS) is part of the Juvenile Services program of the State of Louisiana. FINS bring together resources for the purpose of helping families (troubled youth and their parents) to remedy self destructive behaviors by juveniles and/or other family members by referring them to organizations such as Emerson Centre. Youth who are referred by FINS are non-status offenders. In order to be eligible for FINS, a written complaint for referral must be made to FINS on the youth's behalf by parents, school officials, or law enforcement. Grounds for such a complaint are that a child is truant or has willfully and repeatedly violated lawful school rules, is ungovernable, has runaway, or is in possession of or consuming intoxicating substances. A complaint can also be filed if a parent is considered to be contributing to the child's problems or if the parents refuse to attend meetings with school officials. 

Family in Need of Services refers youths and their families to counseling at Emerson Centre at their discretion. Youths referred to Emerson Centre by FINS have not committed a crime, but have been acting out in such a manner that suggests if they continue down their current path, they will eventually break the law. Emerson Centre provides counseling and mentoring to prevent this occurrence. Those referred by FINS are seen for the six month period. At the end of that period there is an assessment to determine if the child needs to remain in the program for another six months.

Third Judicial District Court Pre-Court Diversion - The Third Judicial Court Pretrial Diversion Program is a program that is run by District Attorney. Youths in this program have broken the law and are charged with a crime and are given the opportunity to be in this program at the discretion of the District Attorney. As a part of the Pretrial Diversion Program, a youth agrees to certain terms, including completing a counseling program at Emerson Centre in lieu of going to trial, and if all terms of this agreement are met, then the youth's charges will then be dropped. Youths referred to Emerson Centre by this program are seen for the length dictated by their agreement with the District Attorney.

Third Judicial Court (Probation Cases) - By being sentenced to probation, a youth that has committed a crime is given an alternative to residential treatment. The youth now has the opportunity of rehabilitation while they continue to stay with their families, attend their school, and reside in their community.

These youths are often involved in crimes of battery, theft, drug offenses, or charges that are a result of gang related activity. They are youths that almost everyone in their community has given up on, including their families and their school. However, the judicial system has not given up on these youths to the point that they feel that they cannot change, and they are so troubled that the only answer is to send them away. 

Emerson Centre receives referrals for these youths at the District Attorney's docket review for the upcoming cases to be heard in juvenile court. Youths, who will be sentenced to probation, receive a referral to Emerson Centre because it was determined at docket review that they have the potential to change. The youths are sentenced to complete counseling at Emerson Centre for the duration of their probation. Emerson Centre's program is often their last hope at redemption.