By Katelyn Paxson, LCSW
For the past four years, I have had the honor and privilege of working with children and families through Living Well professional counseling, a ministry of Arkansas Baptist Children and Family Ministries (ABCFM). During that time, I predominately worked in three main areas: families who opened their homes to foster care, children who have traumatic backgrounds, and children with behavioral issues.
Through my work with these populations, I saw continual needs that were not being meet within weekly or even twice a week counseling sessions. We needed a more hands-on approach right there in the home that could help families in the moments of greatest tension and conflict.
The answer to that problem came in the summer of 2024 with a new pilot program called Family Centered Treatment (FCT), supported by the Department of Human Services.
This unique, short-term, in-home therapy program focuses on the whole family, not just the needs of the children. Together, families work on healing past hurts, building trust, and creating stronger, healthier connections.
This program was designed to meet families right where they are. Instead of asking families to travel to an office, FCT brings support, tools, and guidance into the home, making it easier to address real challenges in everyday life.
By focusing on strengths, values, and practical solutions, FCT helps keep children safely at home while empowering families with the skills they need for long-term stability.
Allison Wadkins is one of our certified Family Centered Treatment practitioners that has used this therapy in northeast Arkansas. She said, “Moving from primarily helping children in foster care and foster families (which I loved) to FCT where we get to help support the whole family beyond reunification and work towards stabilization just feels right. It feels like a missing piece in social work. I love to help celebrate families reach their goals of restoration, peace, and healing.”
FCT walks alongside all types of families—biological, foster, adoptive, blended, and kinship—especially when they’re facing disruption, conflict, or simply need more support than one weekly counseling session can offer.
This approach is hands-on, so rather than only talking about problems, families practice new ways of communicating and supporting each other in the moment.
Best of all, our team is not just professional—we are also gospel-centered. The integration of faith into in-home services was vital for the FCT program.
Our team of caseworkers strives to bring the hope of Christ into dark and hurting places. This demands boldness, integrity, and a heart on fire for God. We seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance in decision-making, client care, and daily interactions, and we strive to be an example of Christ, letting love, compassion, and truth define how we serve and support others. I think Allison speaks for us all when she says, “God is moving in ABCFM and we get to join in some of the hardest times and be the hands and feet of Jesus.”
We envision Family Centered Treatment as the future for Arkansas families seeking stability or help in reunification. As we bring practical help to hurting families, we’re not only strengthening individual households, but we’re also building stronger communities across the state. We’re thankful to be agents of hope and healing—not fixers, not saviors—but servants of the One who restores.
Katelyn Paxson, LCSW, is director of Family Centered Treatment.