Allegheny Family Network

Programs: Children, youth, and families (cyf) - afn collaborates with the children, youth, and families (cyf) agency, supporting families who have children entering placement for the second time. Afn supports the parents with a team using the high fidelity wraparound model. This is a strength-based model that first hears the family's voice and choice as to what they need to be successful. Afn participates in the conferencing and teaming process for families in allegheny county. This is the new way of doing business in the county. This process focuses on the voice of the family and is similar to the high fidelity wraparound process. Afn also contracts with children, youth and families for our fathers program that supports fathers in allegheny county who have children in the cyf system or may be at risk of having children in the system. Afn also is supporting cyf through a diligent recruitment grant the county received to support foster parents raising adolescent children in their home. Afn provides the foster parents with a family support parent in order to keep the child at the foster home. Cyf has also expanded our services to all families in cyf that may benefit from a family support partner.

mental health (mh) - afn works, in collaboration with other county providers, to support families already participating in other human service programs throughout the county. Client families are referred to afn for services by other county providers. Afn provides a family support partner (fsp) to each family served. Afn also staffs the afn chat line to answer calls requesting support for families going through the mh and emotional issues of their children. Afn offers family support groups throughout allegheny county.

joint planning team (jpt) - community care behavioral health organization contracts afn to assist children, ages from birth to twenty one years, and their families to cope with mental health challenges. This assistance is provided through the family-driven, strength-based approach known as high fidelity wraparound. The funder identifies the children with a mental diagnosis and which are eligible for medical assistance and their families that are to be served by afn.

youth and family training institute (yfti)the yfti funder, contracts afn to train others, across the commonwealth, to provide cyf services. This training begins the process of qualifying the trainee for certification in providing cyf services. The cyf model is a strength-based process to support families whose child/children are high end users of the commonwealth's child serving systems. Father involved now (fin)the fin program focuses on the issues and concerns that fathers of children with mental health and emotional concerns face daily, as well as providing avenues for a nurturing connection with their children. In this program, a father support partner works with fathers to access resources and negotiate the mental health, educational, juvenile justice and the children youth and families systems. The father support partner supports parents in giving them a voice and choice for their children through educating them on the systems and their rights to advocate for their children. This program connects with dads in jail, through fathers support groups, faith based community referrals, juvenile justice, cisp program doing a 24/7 dads curriculum with adolescent fathers, and supporting dads out in the communities of allegheny county.