2007-308L - Laserfiche WebLink

Metadata

Thumbnails

Annotations

Organization: Exchange Club CASTLE Program Name: Safe Families Funder: Children' s Services Advisory Committee RFP #2007043 C. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION (Entire Section C, 1 — 6, not to exceed two pages). 1 . List Priority Needs area addressed. Parental Support and Education 2. Briefly describe program activities including location of services. 1 . Upon receiving a referral, a counselor visits the family, and assesses the need for home- based parent education (Safe Families). This is accomplished through interview, observation, and completion of an initial needs assessment. To avoid duplication or overlap with other service providers, a review is done of all services being offered to the family. If eligible for Safe Families, the family will begin a program of regular visits, and a family plan, including specific goals, will be developed. The family is an active participant in this process, collaborating on the initial plan for services. 2 . Once a family plan is developed, the counselor makes weekly visits to address the family plan goals. Weekly visits take place for up to one year, with the visits taking place in the family' s home, thus increasing the counselor' s ability to assess the safety of the children, and evaluate improvements made by the family. 3 . During the weekly visits, counselors use a multifaceted approach to teaching, including utilizing parenting videos, working through parenting programs, creating behavior management plans, and establishing family meetings, or other formalized methods to improve family communication. Positive discipline and family stability are two over-arching goals . 4. All weekly visits are geared toward reducing risk factors (characteristics that increase the likelihood that abuse will occur), and increasing protective factors (characteristics that decrease the likelihood that abuse will occur). Safe Families has identified risk and protective factors that are closely correlated with abuse and neglect, for example : Parents history of abuse as a child (risk factor; and, delay ofsubsequentpregnancy (protectivefactor). All risk and protective factors are listed on the assessment form attached as an appendix. 5 . Frequent supervisory review and a regular peer review ensure that each family is continually evaluated for the frequency and intensity of services needed. 6. Parent Education Groups — Positive Parenting will augment the Safe Families home based intervention. Positive Parenting will consist of 15- 16 hours of parenting education classes. Enrollment in the class will be available to 1 ) those on a waiting list for Safe Families; 2) parents who do not need the intensity of in-home services ; and 3) parents who have completed Safe Families, but continue to need follow-up services . Parenting groups are held at the CASTLE office in Indian River County during day, evening or weekend hours, on a rotating basis . 7. Follow-up occurs for three months after closure of the case. Monthly visits are paid to the family to ensure the continued use of techniques learned. In addition, the Department of Children and Families tracks families for one year after completion of services to determine if re- abuse has occurred. 3. Briefly describe how your program addresses the stated need/problem. Describe how your program follows a recognized "best practice" and provide evidence that indicates proposed strategies are effective with target population. The stated need or problem is child abuse and neglect. Safe Families prevents child abuse and neglect by replacing patterns of abusive behaviors with non-violent, positive approaches to parenting; and by establishing long term supports so that families remain abuse free long after 5