HOMEBUILDERS® Program

The HOMEBUILDERS® program is intended to prevent unnecessary placement of children away from their families by providing in-home services aimed at restoring families in crisis to an acceptable level of functioning. Established in 1974 in Washington State, the HOMEBUILDERS® model has been implemented across the United States and internationally. Since 1982, the fidelity management and consultation of the model - including training, certification, and evaluation – has been conducted by the Institute for Family Development (IFD), the program developers.

HOMEBUILDERS® provides intensive, in-home crisis intervention, counseling, and life-skills education for families who have children at imminent risk of placement in state-funded care. It is the oldest and best-documented intensive in-home program in the United States. The goal is to prevent the unnecessary out-of-home placement of children through intensive, on-site intervention. HOMEBUILDERS® therapists work with the high-risk families involved with the child protective system. Child safety is ensured through small caseloads, program intensity, and 24-hour a day service availability.

A referral form is available here.

Service Area

Coastal Horizons' HOMEBUILDERS® program serves 42 counties across North Carolina. HOMEBUILDERS® coverage includes all of Regions 5, 6, and 7: Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Franklin, Gates, Granville, Greene, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Pitt, Sampson, Tyrrell, Vance, Wake, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wilson Counties.