FROM THE HEART: Collaborative Supportive Housing Model for Child Welfare

FROM THE HEART: Collaborative Supportive Housing Model for Child Welfare

HEART Presenters Lisa Bayne, LCSW, KID Vice President of Programs Andria Dewson, MSW RCSWI, HEART Director Stacey Charles, MSW RCSWI, HEART Clinical Case Manager Stephen Ferrante, MSW, Group Victory Consultant

Session Objectives Learn How Collaborations were Established & Executed Understand Project Planning & Methodologies Share Preliminary Project Successes & Evaluation Findings

Project Planning: Pre-Application Gathering Key Stakeholders Facilitated Dialogue o Need & Priorities o Ideal System of Care o Resource & Service Leveraging o Gaps & Capacity Building Community Consensus

HEART Intent ADDRESS Child Welfare & Child Protective Services Involvement Family Homelessness Family Economic Instability Family Recidivism

HEART Goals 50 High Risk / High Need Families Achieve the Following: Primary Goals Reduce the number of child welfare contacts Reduce the incidents of child maltreatment Reduce the number of child removals Reduce the number of foster care placements Increase housing stability Decrease costs associated with child welfare involvement & homelessness Secondary Goals Increase healthy parenting skills Increase emotional coping strategies among family members Increase family employment Increase family financial management and stability Increase legal self-advocacy Increase attainment of permanent affordable housing

Project Planning: Committees Steering & Advisory Council o o o Leadership / Champions Governance / Experts Sustainability Program (with Monthly Partner Briefing) o o o o o o Readiness Assessment Implementation Planning / Work Plan Targeting Housing Coordination Support System of Care Coordination Program Protocols (Manual) & Training Communication o o Public Marketing & Relations Resource Acquisition & Development Evaluation: Design & Methodology

HEART Approach Highest Need Families o Child Welfare Lead Agencies o Homeless Continuum of Care o Key Gatekeeper Collaboration Affordable Housing Access o Housing First & Rapid Re-Housing(Scattered Site) o Emergency & Transitional Housing o Public Housing Authority Collaboration o Public Housing Choice Vouchers o Housing Coordinator o Housing Liaison o Permanent Supportive Housing

HEART Model Intensive Supportive Service Infrastructure ocentralized Case Management ocollaboration with Service Agencies aligned with Family Needs & Successes omainstream Resource & Benefit Linkage oevidence-based Treatment Interventions oin-home & Community-based Service Delivery osingle System of Care Model

HEART Partners PARTNER KID, Inc. (Kids in Distress) ChildNet Broward Sheriff s Office ROLE Lead Community Youth & Family Services Provider: Project Lead Agency; Clinical Case Management Lead Child Welfare Agency: Referral & Triage Housing Coordinator Lead Child Protection Agency: Referral & Triage 5 Public Housing Authorities Housing Choice Voucher Provider & Liaison (50 Vouchers) HOPE South Florida Urban League of Broward County Legal Aid of Broward County Broward Health Broward Addiction Recovery Center Women in Distress Broward County Homeless Initiative Barry University Group Victory, LLC Emergency & Transitional Housing Economic Self-Sufficiency Provider Legal Counsel & Guidance Health Access, Education & Screening Substance Abuse & Behavioral Health Support Domestic Violence Prevention CoC Lead Agency; CoC Access Local Evaluation Planning, Implementation & Sustainability Support

Primary Direct Service Team PARTNER ROLE KID, Inc. Project Director 5 Clinical Case Managers (10:1 Ratio) ChildNet Urban League of Broward County Housing Coordinator 2 Family Life Coaches Legal Aid of Broward County 1 Family Attorney

Targeting Families Extremely Low Income: 30% of area median income Inadequate Housing / Housing Instability o HUD Definition for Homelessness Child Welfare Involvement o Verified Maltreatment o Child Removal Risk / Child Removal o History of Family Child Welfare Recidivism o Legal Sufficiency for Judicial Involvement / Judicial Involvement o Reunification Family: Housing one of Remaining Barriers At-Risk & Multiple High Needs o Mental Health o Substance Abuse o Domestic Violence o Development &/or Physical Disabilities o Young Children o Many Children o Household Trauma

Family Selection APPLICATION (ChildNet & BSO) ELIGIBILITY AND VERIFICATION (KID, ChildNet, BSO & PHA) RANDOMIZATION (Urban Institute) ENROLLMENT (KID, ChildNet & BSO) ENGAGEMENT (KID, HEART Partners & Barry University)

HEART Families Prevention Families: 25 Families o Diversion No Services o Diversion Some Community Services Reunification Families: 25 Families o New 60 Days Adjudication o Pre-Reunification 100% Families Child Maltreatment

HEART FAMILIES Referral Sources BSO ChildNet 39% 61%

HEART FAMILIES Composition Two- Parent Family 11% Family Make-up Children Six+ 6% Single- Parent Family 89% Four- Five 24% Two- Three 57% Single Child 31%

HEART FAMILIES Parent Age 33-37 2% 38-42 13% 43+ 9% 18-22 16% 28-32 29% 23-27 31%

HEART FAMILIES Income 48 Income Sources 42 36 30 24 18 12 6 0 Employment SSI/SSDI Child Support SNAP TANF

HEART FAMILIES Employment & Education Employment Education AA 2% BA 2% Employed 42% Some College 15% HS Diploma 40% Unemp loyed 58% Some HS 29% GED 7% Middle School 5%

HEART FAMILIES Backgrounds Evictions Criminal Backgrounds No 54% Yes 46% No 56% Yes 44%

HEART Families Inadequate Housing Street / Car: 22% Homeless Shelter: 16% Unstable Environment: 42% Fleeing Domestic Violence: 20% 3 or more Homeless Episodes: 40%

9 HEART Families At-Risk & Multiple Needs Substance Abuse: 27% Mental Health: 51% Domestic Violence: 25% Chronic Health Problem: 19% Child Disabled: 31% Child Maltreatment History: 47%

HEART AT WORK

Housing Coordination Seamless Access to Emergency Sheltering Consolidated Housing Voucher Commitment Prompt Housing Voucher Appointments Combined Housing Voucher Certification & Orientation Follow-up Legal Aid Housing Briefing Landlord Engagement & Inventory Building Leasing & Inspection Process Communication Household Donation & Storage Acquisition Household Moving Donation Acquisition Project Fit within Housing Authority Structure

Supportive Service Coordination Single Project Identification Unified Interagency Staff Shared Mission, Priorities & Values Role Clarification & Compliment Shared Tasks & Responsibility Strong Interagency Communication Consistent Family Communication Effective Interagency Collaboration Resource Sharing Mutual Support Celebrations of Success & Each Other

Collaborative Partner Involvement Housing Authority provided 50 vouchers Hope South Florida temporarily housed 7 families Women In Distress temporarily housed 6 families Women In Distress provided 4 seminars Urban League provided economic self-sufficiency services to 38 participants Broward Health provided 4 seminars Legal Aid provided 4 seminars Legal Aid has assisted 32 participants with legal issues Strengthening Families implementation with 8 families

Evidence-Based Practices Strengthening Families Parenting Program Offered both In-Home and in Group Format Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Center for Working Families Model Financial Literacy Coaching Research-Based Practices Partners for a Healthy Baby

HEART s IMPACT

HEART Families Housing

HEART Families Housing

HEART Homes Furnished

HEART Families Kitchens Stocked

HEART Strengthening Families Program

HEART Children Reunified

HEART Children Reunified

HEART Family Successes Completed Hospitality Management Certification Passed Teachers Assistant test & orientation Purchased a car Daughter made the honor roll Son got straight A s Son s leukemia is in remission! Granted overnight visits Social Security finally approved! Salary Increase Completed the financial literacy course Obtained GED My Kids Came Home!

HEART Family Employment

HEART Challenges Engagement Harm Reduction Model Establishing Partner Roles Client Backgrounds Length of Reunification Separating Clinical Work from Case Management

HEART Successes During Implementation Year 1 Not a single family lost their voucher Not a single family broke their lease No additional removals occurred Trust was built Support was established Families were brought back together

Mommy, say thank you to me. I m the one who wished for a home. And their wish came true.