Courtesy photo.
VENTURA COUNTY — Interface Children and Family Services, backed by Kaiser Permanente, provides crucial mental health and trauma therapy to vulnerable children and their families in Ventura County
Interface Children and Family Services, a community-based nonprofit in Ventura County, is making a significant impact by providing mental health and trauma therapy to psychologically traumatized children. With the support of Kaiser Permanente, the organization offers comprehensive services to meet the needs of vulnerable children and their families.
Alejandra Carrasco, Director of Mental Health and Trauma Treatment, and Victoria Council, Clinical Services Manager, lead the dedicated team at Interface Children and Family Services. Their work often involves responding to unimaginable scenarios, such as helping a 4-year-old who hid in a clothes dryer to escape a sexual predator. The team’s expertise and compassion are crucial in safely bringing children out of such traumatic situations.
Comprehensive Support Services
Since 2016, Kaiser Permanente in Southern California has granted over $230,000 to support Interface Children and Family Services. This funding enables the nonprofit to provide essential social and mental health services, including a 19-week program for sexual abuse victims. Bilingual counselors, supervised by licensed clinical social workers or marriage and family therapists, guide children through their trauma, helping them express their experiences through talk or play therapy.
Interface also offers counseling to nonoffending parents, helping them cope with family trauma and plan for a better future. “Part of our work is bringing support to the children’s caregivers to accept what has happened, deal with their guilt, make some decisions about how they’re going to navigate and what they can really do to support their children,” said Carrasco.
Achieving Positive Outcomes
The ability to work with small groups of children and parents allows Interface counselors to achieve observable results. Stacia Swanson, Chief Development Officer at Interface, emphasized the importance of ongoing grant funding from Kaiser Permanente. “We’re really grateful for Kaiser Permanente’s support, which helps us meet the psychological needs of traumatized children and their families in our community,” she said.
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About Interface Children and Family Services
Interface Children and Family Services is dedicated to providing comprehensive social and mental health services to vulnerable children and families in Ventura County. Their programs aim to support and heal those affected by trauma, ensuring a healthier and more resilient community.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and nonprofit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 12.5 million members in 8 states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists, and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery, and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education, and the support of community health. For more information, go to about.kp.org