PROCESS GUIDE
PROCESS GUIDE
Embedded Files
Geographic Area
The Raising Strong Families (RSF) pilot will focus on Androscoggin Valley area. If the pilot is successful, additional areas will be targeted in future years.
Funding
Funding for the first year of the pilot 2022-2023 is being provided by the Coos Coalition for Young Children and Families (CCYCF). If the pilot is successful, additional opportunities for funding will be explored, including care coordination funds, and partners writing in funds to build capacity across organizations. CCYCF funding during the first year of the pilot will provide time to demonstrate some success and find ways to braid funds for future sustainability. Income will be essential after the first year.
Team Coordinator
The Team Coordinator role for the pilot is a half-time (20 hour) position. This position is located at the Family Resource Center based on the organization’s flexibility, readiness, and strategic alignment with the goals and values of the project. The Team Coordinator role is similar to case management/case coordination services, but is able to provide more expansive and flexible supports due to funding differences and project objectives.
The Team Coordinator identifies supportive team members based on family’s individual goals and invite them to form a team. The Coordinator provides meeting facilitation and service coordination before, during, and between meetings, and ongoing support to families.
Steering Group
The RSF Steering Group provides support and problem-solving to address system gaps and barriers. The group serves as the place for the Team Coordinator to bring any family issues that need to be addressed and for creative solution development. The RSF Steering Group will make sure there is a strong feedback loop with the Coalition Leadership Team, so any systemic patterns and issues can be carried forward for their attention.
See Steering Group page for detailed minutes of planning meetings.
Service Population
The Raising Strong Families pilot will focus on serving first-time caregivers and children prenatally until the child being served turns 8. The Steering Committee will maintain some flexibility with age guidelines as the pilot evolves. The pilot will begin with 4-8 families maximum (based on needs and capacity), with the intent to stay with them for 8 years. If a family engages with the project when their child is older than 1, they may have fewer years of support. All referrals will come from Coos County Family Health Services (CCFHS), and families must need formal support in 3 or more domains, as identified by CCFHS, to qualify for the pilot.
The purpose of this pilot is to support the people who are raising the child, and this could be another family member, including a sibling or grandparent. The goal is to create the strongest possible family experience for the child. All project language will refer to “primary caregivers of the child” to ensure the greatest level of inclusivity for those raising the child (dads, non-binary parents, same-sex couples, kinship caregivers, etc.).
Recruitment
The Steering Group has developed the below flyer to use for recruiting families to the pilot project. All recruitment efforts will ensure families understand the goals and the timeframe of the pilot (until the child is 8 years old). This should include an explanation of what families are expected to do, and what they can expect to receive from providers in the program. In addition to 1:1 support from the Coordinator and regular Team meetings, the pilot project has allocated $1,000 per family per year that is available for the family and the team to use to have access to concrete resources.
RSF Flyer_Final 06.20.22.pdfReferral and Intake Process
All family referrals will come from Coos County Family Health Services (CCFHS) for the initial pilot. The referring provider will make the referral through the Family Resource Center website (until such time as CCFHS is on the Unite Us platform). The project will eventually use the Unite Us platform to streamline the referral process and track data.
One of the goals of the pilot is to minimize the process for families and eliminate redundancy. The referring provider will obtain permission and share the family’s intake paperwork from their organization directly with the Raising Strong Families Team Coordinator, so the Team Coordinator can complete the intake paperwork without asking the same questions twice.
The Raising Strong Families pilot will use the Family Resource Center’s standard intake paperwork and family goal documentation. During the intake process, the Team Coordinator will again ensure that families understand the goals and the timeframe of the pilot (until the child is 8 years old), and provide an explanation of what families are expected to do, and what they can expect to receive from providers in the program. The primary focus at intake is for the Team Coordinator to develop a relationship with the family and to begin to understand their goals. Working with the family, the Team Coordinator will identify supportive team members based on family’s individual needs and goals, and invite them to form a Family Team. All plans will be family-driven and based on what the family identifies is best.
Family Teams
Members
Family Team members will be identified by and aligned with the family’s goals. Regular team members may represent Family Resource Center, Tri County CAP, Infant Mental Health, and Early Supports and Services, and resources related to any other needs the family identifies. The Team Coordinator will ensure the family’s long-term visions and goals for their child are posted and referenced at every Family Team meeting. At each meeting, the Family Team will follow up on the short term goals that were identified at the last meeting, and identify if these goals were achieved. The Team Coordinator will ensure all team members actively center family participation and input (without making them nervous). Since the intent of the pilot is to help the family work toward their long and short term goals by building trusted, supportive relationships, all meetings will be focused on plans, not just problems. The Team Coordinator will facilitate the meeting, keeping the focus on the child, helping the team to function as a unit, and continuing to emphasize work on short term goals that will keep the family’s progress moving forward.
Training
All providers who will be participating on family teams will be provided Orientation Training by the Steering Group, so there are consistent expectations and a strong culture across all teams, and providers don’t fall into bad habits that may be happening in other meetings. The Team Coordinator will keep the meetings family focused, and may choose to assign a “jargon buster,” a professional who calls out anytime someone is using jargon.
Agenda
A basic agenda for Family Team meetings will be followed at every meeting:
Check in
Reviewing long term goals (posted)
Reflecting on progress made on on short term goals from previous meetings (posted)
Identifying new, short term goals, next steps, action items, and responsibilities*
* Most responsibilities should be on the providers on the team -to create a coordinated response and provide supportive services- not on the family
Flexible funds
The Coos Coalition has allocated $1,000 per family per year that is available for the family and the Family Team to access concrete resources. Coalition funds for this purpose will be transferred to the Family Resource Center (FRC). Vendors will be paid directly, and the Team Coordinator will use the FRC tracking system to track spending. Any spending over $300 will be approved by the Steering Group, so the group can see if there are other creative ways to meet needs that have not otherwise been solved by the family team (e.g., by engaging community members to donate goods or services). The Team Coordinator may share spending proposals with the Steering Group by email to ensure quick approval and/or problem-solving, so family needs are addressed in a timely manner (ideally no more than a one week turnaround).
Evaluation
The Coalition has established funds for outside evaluation of this pilot project and has issued a Request for Proposals. The Steering Group and Team Coordinator will work with the evaluator to assess the progress and outcomes of the pilot. See Objectives page for Measures of Success.
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