About the Agency
Family Service and Guidance Center (FSGC) of Topeka is a private, non-profit community mental health center located in Topeka, Kansas. The agency's origins go back to the turn of the century, when the "Associated Charities" were formed to meet the needs of victims of a disastrous flood in 1903. In 1904, Associated Charities merged with Social Settlement Works to form the Topeka Provident Association. Housed in downtown Topeka, services included a day care center, boys' gymnasium and girls' cooking school. In 1910, 8125 people were served, relief provided to 367 families, and 520 homeless people were provided with shelter.
The 1940s brought a shift from charitable and welfare works to the provision of social services. In 1951, the Topeka Provident Association became Family Service of Topeka. Seven years later Family Service merged with the Shawnee Guidance Center, to create Family Service and Guidance Center (FSGC). In 1968, FSGC entered into a formal alliance with Shawnee Community Mental Health Center to develop a comprehensive community mental health delivery system for the citizens of Shawnee County. The new alliance established Valeo (Shawnee County's Community Mental Health Center) as the clinical provider for adults and Family Service and Guidance Center as the mental health provider for children and adolescents.
Value on Diversity and Individual Differences
The hiring practices of Family Service and Guidance Center and the internship program's selection procedures stringently adhere to federal equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability. Family Service and Guidance does not restrict application or admission/hiring of employees or trainees that are irrelevant or unrelated to the employees/trainee's employment or training. Family Service and Guidance Center highly values multicultural diversity and respect for individual differences. This can be observed in its hiring practices of employees and selection and acceptance patterns for interns and trainees. Presentations oriented toward enhancing knowledge and understanding of cultural and individual differences are regularly provided to staff and trainees. These issues are also integrated into the individual supervision processes that trainees receive. Family Service and Guidance serves patients from highly varied backgrounds, which provide a rich opportunity for clinical experience with diverse populations and exposure to a wide range of individual differences.
Family Service and Guidance Center of Topeka, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. It is our policy to recruit, hire, and promote for all job classifications without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, disability, marital status, citizenship, status as a disabled veteran, and any other characteristic protected by Federal, State or local laws. All internship applications reviewed are based on the qualifications of each individual. Further, the agency does not discriminate in the areas of working conditions, physical facilities or any other terms, conditions or privileges of employment.
To this end, it is the policy and practice of the Agency to:
1. Recruit, hire and promote personnel in all positions without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, status as a disabled veteran or disability.
2. Base personnel decisions for employment/promotion only upon an individual's performance and qualifications for the position vacancy.
3. Apply personnel procedures, policies, and actions such as compensation, benefits, transfers, dismissals and training programs without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, status as a disabled veteran or disability.
4. No standards of hiring, placement, promotion or position classification may draw a distinction based upon race, color, creed, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, duration of residence, marital status, handicap, or political affiliation unless such a bona fide occupational qualification.
5. All payment of wages, work assignment, work schedules, promotions, granting leaves of absence, enforcement of discipline, ad other actions affecting the conditions of employment with the Agency shall be made without regard to race, color, creed, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, duration of residence, marital status, handicap, or political affiliation.
Services Offered
FSGC is an outpatient community mental health center that offers a comprehensive array of mental health services aimed specifically at children and their families. Parents and other adults requiring individual treatment receive services from other community mental health agencies. Family therapy and family interventions are provided when the identified or primary client is a child or adolescent up to 17 and half years of age.
Diagnostic and treatment services include:
Individual therapy, intake, diagnosis, and treatment plan development, family therapy, parent guidance, and in-home family therapy, psychosocial groups, trauma treatment groups, parent support programs, in-school group treatment programs,
after-school psychosocial groups, therapeutic preschool treatment programs,psychiatric consultation and medication management,after-hours emergency services and crisis screening, psychological assessment,public education and presentations on mental health issues for children and families
Facilities
The agency is housed in a central location with seperate but attached buildings. The facilities are relatively new with construction completed on our final addition in April of 2008. The agency has two play therapy observation rooms, a family therapy observation roon, a gym and cafeteria. Behind the facilites is a fishing poond that may be used by clients.
Clinical staff include:Attendant care workers, mental health specialists, case managers, marriage and family therapists, social workers, masters and doctoral level psychologists, psychiatrists, and nurse practioners.
Pre-doctoral Internship Program: The pre-doctoral internship- training program at FSGC is a 12-month program starting on August 1 (the first Monday closest to August 1) and concluding the following year on July 31 (the last Friday closest to July 31). There are 3 paid positions for pre-doctoral psychology interns. The training opportunity provides extensive experience in the treatment of children, adolescents, and their families in a community mental health setting. The program has been an APPIC member since 1997 and has been APA approved since May 2000. The internship will undergo its next scheduled site visit in 2013.
The American Psychological Association
750 First Street, NE Washington, DC 20002-4242
(202) 336-5979
