Attorneys typically initiate referrals following a court order to secure reunification services. Your attorney or you will provide us with your contact information (Name, Phone Number, Address, Email, Relationship to Child/ren). A brief initial screening (15-20 minutes) will be scheduled to make sure the case is a good fit. If we accept the case as ready for appointment, we will forward this information to our assistant, Dendree Knott. She will then send you Intake paperwork. If you are pro se, unrepresented by an attorney, we may decline the case. It is strongly encouraged that you work with an attorney through the reunification process.
Your attorney or you will provide a copy of the Court Order appointing Michael Alter, LCSW, Reunification Works, LLC, or a provider on my team, as the reunification specialist / expert / therapist. We will review the Order to make sure it meets criteria for effective reunification. We will discuss any needed changes or modifications to the court order with the attorneys involved. We usually provide a Form of Order Template, which attorneys may use to customize the Order to the clinical needs of the case. We cannot begin services until we have an acceptable court order in place.
Dendree Knott will contact you with instructions to create a client profile in the CarePaths program so case activity, charges, and records can be tracked. You will have access there to the Intake Forms and be able to track invoices and activity. If you have questions, Dendree's phone number is 541-280-5653 and her email is dendreeapms@gmail.com. Tell her this is a reunification case.
Complete all Intake Forms in CarePaths. They will be uploaded automatically in your portal. If you have any problems with the CarePaths system, you may download the Intake Forms here, fill them out, and email them to Dendree Knott at dendreeapms@gmail.com. She will upload them to your CarePaths portal.
Please sign ROIs (Releases of Information) for our providers to consult with every therapist you and your child or children are seeing, or have seen in the last two years.
Post your percentage of the $2,000 retainer, as specified by the Court Order, in the CarePaths client program using a debit or credit card. You may also send me a check or money order to Michael Alter, Reunification Works, P.O Box 12553, Portland, OR 97212. Charges are processed weekly. Please keep a valid debit or credit card on file for future charges, or maintain at least $1,000 balance in your account. My assistant Dendree Knott will help you set this up. Contact her by phone at 541-280-5653 or by email at dendreeapms@gmail.com. Tell her this is a reunification case.
Your attorney or you will provide contact information (name, email and phone number) for others who may be involved. This may include a parent, step parent, guardian (when applicable), child/ren (when appropriate), attorneys, custody evaluator, parenting coordinator, parenting supervisors, therapists, and key relatives or significant others. Relevant reports and evaluations may also need to be provided to me. Some of this information may be completed on the Demographic Form (Parent Profile).
After all the requisite steps are completed by both parties, we will begin scheduling appointments pending my availability or that of a family therapist on my team.
Click here to view the Components of the Agreement.