Many families are coping with complex challenges – marital problems, young parenthood, risk factors among children and adolescents, family and social difficulties to name a few. Such circumstances demand holistic, professional and accessible support that provides parents and children with an integrative response and operates within the community.
The Child and Family Center, founded in 2008 in partnership with the municipal welfare and education units, offers a unique and impactful response: a municipal care center that is based on a systemic-familial approach, and offers under one roof a variety of units and programs, incorporating a multi-professional and integrative framework.
The program’s staff comprises 40 professionals from a wide array of disciplines: social workers, family and marriage counselors, creative art therapists, para-medical therapists, parent coaches and more. The center also acts as a training center for students and interns from different disciplines of therapy.
The center units and programs
- Children, Parents & Growth (YAHAV) center – regional parent-child center
o Offers systemic care of children at the ages of 5-12 and their families.
o An 11-person professional team.
o Treats some 30 families annually.
o Focuses on strengthening child-parent relationships, mitigating risk factors and preventing the removal of the child from the family home to foster care.
o In 2026, the center is expected to open a Young Parent unit, under the management of Mrs. Shira Almog. - Waves (Galim) – unit for adolescent and family care
o A municipal response for some 70 adolescents and their families annually.
o A multi-professional team that includes child and adolescent psychiatrists, emotional care providers, LGBTQ social worker and interning students.
o Serves as the municipal psychiatric service as well.
o 83% of the unit’s recipients attest to an improvement in their relationships and functioning post treatment. - Marriage and family counseling clinic
o Provides services to some 70 families annually.
o Focuses on therapy for couples and families, grief and loss counseling and high-conflict marriage counseling (includes Zoom sessions).
o A team of some 17 professionals. - Young-parent unit
o Provides intensive support to young parents with children ages 0-6.
o Includes programs such as “Paths to Parenting Young Children”, “Games and Experiences” and group emotional support for young children through play.
o Is expected to start operating in 2026 as a sub-division of the Children, Parents & Growth (YAHAV) center. - Prevention and group-therapy unit
o Coordinates all the groups and workshops in the center and in the community.
o Provides support and guidance on topics of parenting, offers Dyadic group activities, resilience workshops, group support for wives of serving military reservists and more.
o Acts as a link between the center’s services and the city’s residents.
Beyond individual and family care, the center also engages in municipal and community activities:
- Public talks, workshops and parent-child therapy groups.
- Emergency situation support (for families, wives of serving military reservists and the general community).
- Contunuous collaboration with the city’s educational system.
- Collaboration with other local municipalities (Hof HaCarmel, Benyamina-Givat Adah, Menasheh and Harish regional councils) and state-wide support for marital and parenting counseling.
The child and family center is a cornerstone of the local and regional community. It integrates professional treatment, prevention, training and community activity and provides a holistic response for families dealing with difficulties or crises situations.
