Family Service Centers | Community Services | Whole Building Design Guide Page 1 of 5

by Eric G. Mion
Lewis & Zimmerman Associates, Inc.
Last updated: 04-21-2008

The Family Service Center is a community-based facility that provides educational and support
programs primarily for adults and families. The support programs offered will vary widely and can
include the following:

Counseling. Counseling services may include clinical mental heath counseling, marriage or
other family counseling, and abuse counseling.
Employment support. These services include resume preparation assistance, job search
assistance, and interviewing techniques.
Financial management. These services include training and counseling for basic personal
and family financial management such as balancing a checkbook, managing credit, applying
for loans, etc.
Community orientation. These services provide information on local community services
and recreational opportunities.

Some facilities may include aid- or charity-based services such as a food bank or financial aid.
Military Family Service Centers support the programs required by the Department of Defense (DoD)
Instruction 1342.22 Family Centers and must meet specific requirements defined in UFC 4-730-01,
Family Service Centers and supporting documents.

Most of the facility's programs can be accommodated through three functional space types:
classroom and training space, resource rooms (library/computer labs), and program or counseling
offices. Additional functional areas include administrative spaces, dedicated storage spaces, and
building support spaces.

A. Space Types and Building Organization

A Family Service Center must accommodate both public spaces and very private spaces. This drives
the facility layout and functional space adjacencies.

http://www.wbdg.org/design/family_centers.php 4/21/2009
Family Service Centers | Community Services | Whole Building Design Guide Page 2 of 5

Sample adjacency diagram for a family service center.

Developed by DMJM Design, Arlington, VA.

Public spaces are areas that customers need ready access to and may enter unattended by staff.
They should typically be located near the main entrance and include the following:

Lobby/waiting area
Classroom(s)
Resource room and
Public toilets

Semipublic spaces are areas that customers need access to but will usually only enter accompanied
by a staff member. They include the following:

Program offices for programs such as community orientation or employment support that do
not require a high degree of privacy and
Material aid such as a food bank or lending locker

Private spaces are areas that customers will not normally enter or areas that a customer will only
enter with a staff member and require a high degree of privacy. They include the following:

Clinical counseling offices

Group therapy rooms
Program offices that require a high degree of privacy such as financial management
Staff administrative offices and work areas and
Building support spaces such as mechanical and electrical rooms

Design the facility such that the entrances to the public spaces are clearly visible from the main
entrance. The resource room shares many characteristics with a library. It should be designed to
accommodate multiple computers with Internet access and the storage and easy retrieval of printed
reference material. The resource room should also allow for display of informational brochures, such
as for community resources and recreational activities.

http://www.wbdg.org/design/family_centers.php 4/21/2009
Family Service Centers | Community Services | Whole Building Design Guide Page 3 of 5

Staffed program offices are directly adjacent to the resource room so customers using the resources
can easily ask questions and interface with staff. Likewise, staff members that are meeting with
customers in their offices can easily take the customer into the resource room and set them up for
independent research.

The classrooms are configured like typical training facility rooms and should be designed for
flexibility of use. Since prime class time is limited to the early evening hours after work, a flexible
design will provide facility managers with more options for running multiple classes. If budget allows,
consider providing a teaching kitchen as part of or in addition to the classrooms.

The private spaces should not be located in high traffic areas. The counseling spaces are similar to
psychiatric facility spaces and should feel safe, confidential, and non-threatening. A beneficial
additional space adjacent to counseling offices or group therapy rooms is a waiting and/or
decompression room. This room provides a private space for a distraught customer waiting to see a
counselor or for a customer to compose him or herself after an emotionally difficult session prior to
reentering the public spaces.

B. Design Considerations

Key design goals and considerations for Family Service Centers include the following:

NON-THREATENING ENVIRONMENT

In order for customers to feel comfortable using the services of a Family Service Center, they must
not feel intimidated. They also must feel that the information they share and the emotions they
express will remain confidential. Therefore, the following design elements are critical:

Physically separate private spaces from public spaces.

Provide acoustical privacy. Counseling and therapy spaces should use full-height partitions
that extend to the underside of the structure and include materials that reduce sound
transmission.
Do not place a desk or other furniture between the customer and the staff member (see figure
below).
Provide a sense of welcome and arrival at the entrance, lobby, and control desk.
In the counseling and therapy spaces, use indirect lighting as main ambient lighting, and
Avoid "institutional" finishes, textures, and colors.

http://www.wbdg.org/design/family_centers.php 4/21/2009
Family Service Centers | Community Services | Whole Building Design Guide Page 4 of 5

Sample private counseling office.

Developed by DMJM Design, Arlington, VA.

INCLUDE APPROPRIATE SPACE FOR STAFF

Provide space to assist staff in developing and maintaining the center's programs and business.
Outside of normal day-to-day operations, staff must be able to accomplish the following:

Think and plan

Meet and communicate
Host visitors and
Store equipment and records. Also review the psychiatric facility page for more information on
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) regulations that address security
and privacy of protected health information.

Also see the office space type for more information on staff space.

MAINTAIN A SAFE AND HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT

Design the facility to accommodate equipment and operational strategies to both protect staff and
customers and maintain a healthy environment. Consider the following critical elements:

Prevent unauthorized access by potentially dangerous personnel

Provide an internal, silent duress alarm system with activation points at the reception desk
and the counseling and therapy areas and the alarm signal at the management areas. This
alarm system allows a counselor or staff member to signal for help.
Provide easily-cleaned finishes
Use nontoxic building materials and improved maintenance practices
Ensure good indoor air quality and ample natural light

FLEXIBILITY

As with any program-based facility, flexibility is critical since programs will change as the community
served evolves and grows:

http://www.wbdg.org/design/family_centers.php 4/21/2009
Family Service Centers | Community Services | Whole Building Design Guide Page 5 of 5

Provide movable partitions and numerous data ports and electrical outlets in the classrooms
Orient as many program offices as possible around the resource room
Design for the changing nature of work

One approach to the management of family service centers encourages staff to spend more time out
in the community versus in the facility. If this operational approach is followed, it requires a smaller
but more flexible facility design. Staff will normally work in an open office setting rather than private
offices since they will spend more time outside of the facility. Staff-customer meetings will be
performed in an expanded resource room or in dedicated interview rooms that can be reserved when
a private meeting is necessary.

Standard federal and state building codes apply, as appropriate. Also review the codes and
standards for the aforementioned related building types: psychiatric facilities, libraries, and
training facilities.

Department of Defense

DoD Instruction 1342.22, Family Centers

Department of the Air Force:
Air Force Instruction (AFI) 36, 3009, Family Support Center Program
Department of the Army:
Army Regulation (AR) 608-1, Community Service Program
UFC 4-730-01, Family Service Centers

© 2009, National Institute of Building Sciences. All rights reserved.

Disclaimer

http://www.wbdg.org/design/family_centers.php 4/21/2009