Second Round of Family First Transition Funding Awarded

The Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) is pleased to announce the recipients of the second round of funding to support the implementation of Family First in Colorado. Read about the first round of funding recipients.

The second round of funding recipients are:

All American Families dba Families Plus
Families Plus will be using transition funds to continue leading efforts in Delta County to make Family First a strong positive force for healthier youth in the county. They will work together with other agencies to explore implementation of four additional evidence-based programs, as well as increase utilization of three existing evidence-based programs in the county. Families Plus will also establish the availability of neurofeedback wellness services for youth overcoming trauma and experiencing ADHD.

Community Partnership Family Resource Center (FRC)
Community Partnership FRC expects to increase capacity and sustainability for its Expansion of Strengthening Families Programming, including Parents as Teachers (PAT), High Fidelity Wraparound (HFWA), Colorado Community Response (CCR), and Motivational Interviewing (MI) training for all staff in Teller County. These programs are delivered through strong collaborations with partners and follow the framework established by the Child Maltreatment Prevention Plan (CMPP) executed in 2018. Family First transition funds will help ensure these programs become fixtures in the lexicon of care in the community.

The Cornerstone Resource Center
Through the implementation of a Grandparent Army, which pairs trained volunteers as mentors to support young families, the Cornerstone Resource Center plans to provide support to parents of young children who are at risk for child neglect and/or maltreatment across Kiowa, Prowers and Baca Counties. This support will help those parents build social connections; connect these families to healthcare, behavioral health care, and support groups; and will provide education around child development and safety needs. By gaining funding for this program, the Cornerstone Resource Center expects to see fewer dependency and neglect cases, as well as fewer substance-exposed infants.

The Matthew’s House
The Matthew’s House looks to provide increased prevention and early intervention services for underserved and marginalized families in Larimer County that result in greater resilience. With transition funds, the nonprofit organization will expand use of its Positive Futures Pathway® (PFP) case management system combined with its online TuaPath individualized pathway goal system. Recent outcomes have shown this approach leads to long-term engagement of youth and families as they develop their own “pathway” moving from crisis to stability; to thriving. Transition funds will also be used for more rigorous evaluation and a better understanding of the impact on health equity and well- being, safety, and permanency for children, youth, and families in the community.

Gunnison County Juvenile Services
Gunnison County Juvenile Services will pursue two main goals using Family First transition funds. First, they will increase the number of families who receive prevention programming through in-home parenting classes by supplementing the Nurse Family Partnership (NFP) program with Parents as Teachers. Second, Gunnison County will restart the Plus Mentor program, designed to incorporate a community-based approach that will minimize the likelihood of further system involvement. These two initiatives will help ensure that the county continues to have less than 5% of youth enter into out-of-home placement.

Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence, Inc. (SPAN)
The goal of SPAN’s Family First project is to increase evidence-based, trauma-informed support and services for children who have experienced family violence and their non-offending caretakers. Transition funds will support the development of more “upstream” interventions, integrated support and group-based parent education for families in Boulder and Broomfield counties. Anticipated outcomes from SPAN's project activities include increased child well-being and safety, family functioning, engagement, and well-being, as well as a strengthened coordinated community response to the co-related issues of child abuse and domestic violence.

Washington County Department of Human Services
Washington County will use Family First transition funds to expand the capacity of its parent and family coach, who will work with families throughout the life of a case. Combined with increased parent-child interactionals in certain high-risk situations and more rigorous family engagement meetings, the goal is for more children to remain home or spend less time in out-of-home care. Ultimately, Washington County DHS is hopeful to see less families returning to child welfare with new allegations.