Family Resources Community Action

Programs: Family support services divisionfamily support center: the agency understands that people who seek assistance in one area often have other needs. The agency's family support center staff work with individuals and families to identify needs and provide resources and information both within the agency and in the community to help people get the support they need to become self-sufficient. The family support center (fsc) served 2,451 households representing 5,030 individuals on a drop-in basis addressing an array of needs including housing, utilities, food and other crisis concerns. The fsc supported homelessness prevention by making payments on behalf of vulnerable households in the form of rent, utilities and other payments amounting to over $164,000, due to generous supports through united way weathering the storm emergency funds, salvation army good neighbor energy assistance and other various grants. Advocacy regarding utility assistance continues to be an important service to assist families in maintaining their housing. Family advocates regularly negotiate affordable re-payment plans on behalf of consumers facing utility shut-offs. The agency is are able to support some households in saving over 40% of their arrearages through the henry shelton affordable energy forgiveness plan. The fsc was the recipient of funding from ri community health center association to assist individuals with finding affordable health insurance through the affordable care act legislation. The fsc employed two certified navigators and was able to assist over 100 individuals to complete the insurance application process and outreached to over 250 adults from october 1, 2013 through march 21, 2014. The fsc served 6 additional households with specialized case management and financial literacy supports in combination with rental or utility assistance through our intensive housing stabilization program grant from the office of community housing and development. Early intervention: the early intervention (ei) program served 603 children, a 6% increase from last fiscal year with 331 children being evaluated for initial eligibility out of over 413 referrals. Ei children graduating from the agency's program transitioned into a variety of settings with 63% eligible for special education services at age three. Families served by this program report more confidence in knowing how their children learn, and over 90% of families surveyed stated they would recommend the agency's program to other families with similar needs. Substance use counseling & access to recovery: access to recovery (atr) is an assessment and care coordination program funded through a samhsa grant through ri behavioral health developmental disabilities and hospitals that served over 2,800 clients in its third full year of operation. Agency assessors average 140 intakes each month in various locations around the state including the department of corrections to assist with transitioning inmates with re-entering the community with needed supports to remain substance free. Atr consumers demonstrated significant gains in housing stability (68%) and employment (27%) as a result of the services linkages provided by this program. Our 6 month progress review found significant increases in consumers reporting sobriety and sustained abstinence (72% drugs and 87% alcohol). First connections and healthy families america: the birthrate in rhode island has declined slightly although referrals to first connections, the agency's health funded infant/toddler screening and referral services remained steady. The agency served 607 children and their families by providing home-based family assessment and guided connections to the medical home, social services supports and mental health resources. The agency expanded its healthy families america (hfa)evidence-based home visitation program with a health award of an additional 25 slots to bring our total capacity to 75. Agency family assessment workers completed family surveys with over 60 households and enrolled 37 new families and providing guided referrals to community based services. Hfa provides home visitation during the prenatal period up to the child's third birthday to help strengthen parent-child relationships during the early years when foundations of social-emotional skills are forming for infants and toddlers. Holiday programs: the agency coordinates assistance to low income families around the holidays in several ways. The agency completed 1,207 applications for the area adopt-a-family program that led to donors providing gifts for 2,206 children. The agency also served as the toy distribution site for the children's holiday hope fund which provided 1,408 children in 615 families with toys as well as hats and mittens. In addition, the agency coordinated the distribution of 538 thanksgiving and christmas food baskets to low income families. The milk fund: the agency has been assisting with the application process for the milk fund since 1932. Last year an average of 243 families per month were assisted with vouchers to obtain milk; a total of 13,914 vouchers were processed. The funds raised by milk fund activities allow seniors, veterans, recently unemployed families and others in need, to receive milk for their nutritional needs. Volunteer income tax assistance program (vita): in collaboration with other community action agencies, the agency, with leadership from the agency's finance department, filed over 1,225 tax returns at no cost to low income consumers. Returns were filed electronically so as to expedite reimbursement to families. The agency processed $1. 9 million in refunds that went back to the local economy, $770,361 of which was from earned income tax credits. Due to increasing expenses for families such as food, housing, gas and utilities, the agency will continue this project and look to grow asset builidng and financial literacy programs for the future. The agency, in partnership with several other community action agencies, received a vita grant from the irs and a grant from the united way of rhode island to help support the program. Growup community garden: thirty-three gardeners from the community tended plots in the community garden; more than 300 lbs. Of produce was donated to local food pantries and the woonsocket shelter. The community garden is located next to the harris public library on land donated by the pawtucket ymca/woonsocket branch.

child welfare the child welfare division encompasses a broad array of services and programs including the family care community partnership (fccp) network, family preservation, intensive family preservation, youth diversion, parent training, treatment foster care and aftercare services, kinship foster family support, and the northern ri visitation center. The goal is to support and strengthen children and families. Treatment foster care: a total of 46 children/youth were served in treatment foster care. Twenty-three youths were discharged, of which 17 (or 74%) were positive/less restrictive discharges. 8 children were reunified with their parents, 5 moved to pre-adoptive homes, 2 moved to kinship foster care placements, 2 aged out of the system, 2 moved to other specialized foster care homes, and 4 moved to a higher level of care in residential facilities. Treatment foster care continues to support the goal of maintaining children with their siblings whenever possible. During fy2014, the agency served 9 sibling groups, a total of 23 children. Of these, 21 were placed together with their siblings in the same home. The other 2 were placed in homes close to their siblings and served by the same clinical team, who helped to facilitate regular contact between the siblings. The approximate average length of stay for youth that were discharged during this fiscal year was 16 months, compared to 11 months from the previous fiscal year. The approximate average length of stay for all clients served was 15 months, compared to 14 months in the previous fiscal year. There are too many variables affecting length of placement and too small of a sample size to attribute any significance to the change from the previous year. Foster family support & immediate foster family support programs: the foster family support program (ffsp), the first of its kind in rhode island, provides home based support services to licensed dcyf foster homes and kinship placement resources in an effort to stabilize and maintain children in the families in which they are placed. This can include everything from assisting families with access to economic support, training, behavioral consultation and linking to mental health and other resources. The ffsp served 42 kinship families who in turn cared for 55 youth. Twenty-one families completed dcyf licensing and three families provided permanency through legal guardianship during this time period. In addition, two youths were adopted, and eight youths were reunified with their birth parents. In addition, 58 families caring for 76 children were served through the immediate foster family support program, a program that provides an initial 30 days of support to kinship foster parents when a youth is first placed. Seven of these families completed dcyf licensing. The northern rhode island visitation center: the northern rhode island visitation center (nrivc) works with families whose children have been placed in out-of-home care by the ri department of children, youth & families (dcyf) due to abuse and/or neglect connected to a parent's mental health concern or substance abuse history. The program offers families a comfortable home environment to have visits together as well as intensive case management services to assist families with their dcyf case plan. Nrivc staff work with parents to build positive parenting skills and healthy relationships with their child(ren) and provide clinical assessment and recovery coaching to assist families in accessing and engaging in the services they need. Staff works closely with dcyf and offers support to families in understanding their dcyf case plan and navigating the system of care. Nrivc focuses on helping parents identify and develop natural supports and a crisis/relapse prevention plan to ensure the safety and well-being of their family. Staff also provides support to families after reunification, helping to address any stressors or needed support. In the last fiscal year, the nrivc provided services to 63 families. Thirteen families were reunified during the year, 10 families achieved an alternative permanency plan for the children and 26 families are continuing to work towards reunification. The nrivc continues to grow and evolve the agency's services in order to meet the needs of the families we serve and to work with dcyf workers to assist more families. Nrivc focuses on identifying the best permanency options for children, assessing if reunification is appropriate. Nrivc staff assists dcyf in identifying an alternative permanency plan if reunification is not appropriate for the family. The nrivc has played a critical role in helping families to be part of the permanency plan even if they are not able to be their child's primary caretaker, helping to foster a continued connection between the birth parent and child. The family care community partnership (fccp) and family preservation: funded through the department of children, youth & families, the family preservation programs work with families at risk of child abuse or neglect, sometimes working to reunify children with parents. In all cases, the safety of children in their homes is paramount. The fccp programs, which include programs at the agency's partnership agencies, nri community services and ccap, utilize the wraparound process, helping parents to access services to address their needs, such as parenting skills, housing, employment, and mental health services. Wraparound also seeks to assist families in identifying a team of their own natural and community resources that can be called upon in times of stress and crisis. In the fccp, 439 families were referred to the northern region. Approximately half of the families need family stabilization, largely due to poverty issues such as lack of access to basic needs, homelessness and lack of transportation. About 20% of fccp families served have a child with a behavioral health diagnosis, looking for support for their child's special needs. Family team meeting were held 329 times in the region to address families' needs. Fccp again funded mini-grants through a public awareness campaign to prevent child abuse and neglect. Programs were held for approximately 800 students at the middle and high school level on various healthy relationship trainings throughout the region; 500 woonsocket elementary school-age children participated in a "good touch/bad touch workshop" to educate about sexual abuse and keeping safe. Frca supported the youth mental health first aid program whose goal was to train people to work with youth and successfully implement the principles of de-escalation and help connect youth to needed mental health issues. A total of 252 people received this training (more than double the goal), with over 100 youth directed to appropriate services by participants. The intensive family preservation program that provides support to parents who are open to dcyf program served 29 families this fiscal year. The long term parent aide program served 4 families. Additionally, a parenting class was held for parents in partnership with boys town, to offer training on positive child discipline and behavior management techniques. A parent support group met monthly, with attendance throughout the year reaching 15-20 parents per month. Groups included topics on healthy decisions, good touch/bad touch, nutrition, and an annual parent's day luncheon. The family court diversionary program served approximately 40 families this year. Of those, 33 families were either screened out of or received adequate services to prevent the filing of the petition, while 17 families had a wayward petition letter filed, meaning that the parents were bringing their child to family court to try to resolve their issue. Wayward facilitators meet with the parents and youth on a monthly basis to improve communication and make referrals to services to address underlying issues such as drug, truancy, or mental health concerns. The agency continued its collaboration with the woonsocket police department in addressing the issues of youth and families, including working with the juvenile hearing board. Collaboration also continued with woonsocket hs/middle school and with the new "links to success" program through thundermist and woonsocket high school.

housing and hiv support services the declining economy coupled with the lack of affordable housing has led to a surge of individuals and families served in shelters and transitional housing programs. There continues to be a waiting list for the woonsocket shelter as well as all shelters in rhode island. Since 1989, the woonsocket shelter program has provided emergency housing assistance for the homeless and support to help families and individuals transition to safe, permanent housing. Case managers work with residents to address the barriers to housing, and link them to programs including employment training, financial literacy, children's services, healthcare, mental health services and other supports to help them on the road to permanent housing. The agency collaborates with many other local agencies that address health care, housing, literacy and other needs. Housing and shelter programs: emergency shelter and apartments - the emergency shelter on sayles street and 6 emergency apartments provided 21,838 bed nights of shelter to homeless households representing 179 individuals including 87 adults and 92 children. Of these, 121 individuals moved out of the shelter during the fiscal year, 30% of whom moved out of emergency housing in less than 90 days. Of the total discharged, 82 (62%) moved to permanent housing: (18 to unsubsidized rental housing, 29 to subsidized rental housing, 4 to permanent supportive housing and 31 to permanent housing with family or friends. ) an additional 36 persons entered transitional housing with the agency or crossroads. Five persons moved to a domestic violence shelter, and four moved out of state. Transitional housing program - the program served 26 new families representing 60 individuals during the fiscal year. All of the 40 people who left the program moved to permanent housing; 13 entered unsubsidized rental housing, 21 entered subsidized rental housing, and 6 moved into permanent housing with friends or family. Permanent supportive housing program - the program served 15 single females and 5 children during this year. Two of the six participants who left the program moved to transitional housing programs at crossroads; the others required substance abuse and/or psychiatric services to assist with relapse. Burnside permanent supportive housing program - during its first full year of operation, 15 chronically homeless, disabled men were served in this program. Residents receive intensive case management and are connected to community resources while they stabilize physically, mentally and financially until they are able to enter permanent housing in the community. Four of the six participants who left the program during the year transitioned to permanent housing. Hiv/aids housing program - the goal of this program is to help people living with hiv/aids to live independently in stable housing with access to health care and supportive services. The program served 12 clients in the past year. Clients in this program received basic services through the agape center. Life skills and financial literacy training - during the fiscal year, 23 adults completed the agency's "more for your money" financial literacy classes. Residents also participated in the life skills classes held at the shelter: 36 adults completed housing 101; 42 adults completed job search 101; 42 completed conflict resolution; 22 completed home management; 42 completed time management; and 58 completed orientation to the shelter. After-school program at shelter - this collaboration with the woonsocket education department provides tutoring, homework assistance and field trips during summer for children (pre-school through 6th grade). From march 2014 through the summer, 37 children from the shelter and emergency apartments were enrolled in the program. The agency continued to work collaboratively with harvest community church (hcc) in woonsocket, which provided shelter to 99 men from november through april for a total of 5,836 bed nights. The church is in its ninth year of operating the program. Renovation work was completed at 176 sayles street with funding from the champlin foundations. In addition, community volunteers worked to refurbish both interior and exterior space. Non-profit groups provided additional support for residents: birthday wishes provided birthday boxes for children on a monthly basis; project night-night supplied 30 gift bags for all new children entering the shelter, and gotta have sole provided 37 pairs of new sneakers to children in the shelter and emergency apartments. The agape center - hiv/aids support services: the agape center is a community based hiv/aids support and resource center whose mission is to provide services, resources, and advocacy for persons living with or affected by hiv/aids and to promote community awareness and prevention of the disease. The center provides a holistic approach to supporting individuals living with hiv/aids, treating its clients with dignity and respect while continuing to reinforce the importance of consistent medical care. Clients receive assistance with basic needs, education about the disease, peer support/socialization and case management. The services are particularly critical to the population served, as over 80% of agape clients are living at or below the federal poverty level. A total of 160 individuals living with hiv/aids visited the agape center in the past year for one or more services. Case managers provided services to 76 clients with 4,480 hours of case management services to help them remain stable. Additional services provided and accessed by agape center clients include: 125 adults and 18 children accessed the food pantry (15,599 lbs. Of food was distributed), 77 adults received personal care items (through 315 visits to personal care closet), 90 adults received on-site meals (1,054 meals were provided), and an average of 14 clients attended 2 educational luncheons. A new program through the ri department of health allowed the hiring of a peer support health advocate to assist case managers in keeping clients in care through difficult periods. The health advocate is available to provide emotional support, education, tips for taking medication and overall support to clients needing support to stay in care. This year the program served six individuals, helping them to resolve issues and remain in case management and medical care. The agape center relies on clients for much of its volunteer needs. Last year, eight agape clients provided 599 volunteer hours to support the program. Through a collaboration with nri community services, clinical supervision for the case management team was provided throughout the year. The agape center, together with the ryan white title iii program at thundermist health center and aids quilt ri/anna's workshop hosted its fourth world aids day event, a night of sonnet & song, as part of graceful journeys, to raise awareness about hiv/aids; this is an annual event open to the community.

employment and training becoming economically self sufficient is a complex journey that combines developing marketable skills, confidence and self esteem. It also requires consistent support, constructive feedback and providing assistance to adults and youth to make the right connections whether with an employer, child care provider, financial literacy resource, counseling service or housing. The harsh economic conditions presented particular challenges for individuals seeking employment. (the woonsocket 2013 unemployment rate was 11. 4% as compared to 9. 5% ri statewide. ) despite this environment, many adults and youth made strides in securing employment, advancing their education, and improving their financial condition due to supports received through this division. Adult education/employment & training programs: a total of 133 adults graduated from the agency's employment & training programs, an increase of 31% over last fiscal year. In addition to occupational skills training, participants received work-readiness and financial literacy training. Participation in the training programs was as follows: 59 individuals graduated from the healthcare reimbursement specialist training, 25 of whom secured employment by the end of the program year; 28 individuals completed janitorial training, 12 of whom secured employment by the end of the program year; 54 completed administrative office management training, 17 of whom secured employment by the end of the program year. Despite the weak economy, 41% of individuals graduating from these programs secured employment. In addition, 5 individuals enrolled in the training programs participated in the agency's internship program, where they received hands-on experience in a work setting at the agency. A total of 72 individuals who graduated from the agency's training programs worked with a job developer to provide support for securing employment; 30 of these individuals were placed in jobs. Funding for the agency's employment training programs comes from the rhode island office of rehabilitation services, department of health and human services, and from the local initiative support corporation (snap 50/50). The on-the-job (otj) program, funded by the department of human services, provides an opportunity for future training and job placement for ri works recipients. During the last fiscal year, dhs referred 57 individuals to the otj program. Of the 30 referrals for individuals that were in compliance, 3 people were put on otj contracts, 12 individuals were directly placed in jobs, and one was placed in an internship. Financial literacy: the woonsocket financial opportunity center (foc), funded by local initiatives support corporation (lisc), assists individuals living in northern ri with identifying and removing barriers to financial success. The foc, a collaboration of family resources community action and neighborworks blackstone river valley, provides wraparound support services to individuals around 3 key areas: 1) financial literacy; 2) educational & employment goals; and 3) income support challenges such as basic needs. This year, 214 individuals received foc services; 91. 2% received services in two or three of the key service areas to strengthen their financial condition. A total of 48 new foc members completed a financial assessment with a financial coach. A total of 85 foc members showed an improvement in their fico credit score, and 12 went from "unscored" to "scored. " in addition, 66 individuals saw their monthly net income rise, and 69 individuals saw their net worth go up. The agency, in partnership with neighborworks blackstone river valley, offered the financial literacy program "more for your money". Workshops were facilitated as a part of the agengy's workforce development training programs as well as in the community. The program is funded by the united way of rhode island. A total of 265 individuals completed the four-week workshops, 96 of whom met for 1:1 financial counseling. Of those 265 individuals, 92 created a budget and 65 opened and maintained a checking account. The agency continued its partnership with saint antoine residence health care training collaborative, a certified nursing assistant training and career laddering program, by subcontracting employees to provide assessment, case management, job readiness training, and career ladder development to hctc participants. A total of 127 individuals completed cna training, with all participants offered employment positions upon completion. Additionally, 14 students completed cna level ii training, 4 graduated as certified medication technicians, 4 became licensed practical nurses and one graduated as a registered nurse. As of the end of fy2014, 46 students were on the career ladder taking pre-requisite classes for nursing. Youth employment & education programs: the youthworks411 career center provides work-readiness, ged services, academic tutoring and career support to youth ages 14-24 to help them succeed in school and the work world. Over 1,200 youth were open to the youth center during the last fiscal year, including 265 newly enrolled youth. A total of 210 youth completed our work-readiness training program, a comprehensive series of workshops aimed at teaching youth about the world of work. The youth center provided 44 hours a week of drop-in center time for youth to take advantage of programming and other services, allowing more time to provide leadership opportunities and case management to youth. Between 60-80 youth used the services of the youth center at least once a week, with many youth repeatedly utilizing our services throughout the week. Ninety-nine percent of those youth received some form of case management support, 100% of participating youth used the computer lab for employment or academic purposes, and 100% accessed academic, employment and/or leadership services. Youth success: a collaboration between rhode island community action programs to provide case management and oversight of pregnant and parenting teens under the age of 20 who receive dhs benefits. Thirty-two youth success clients were served through this program. Of these, 10 attended ged classes or high school, 2 graduated from high school or obtained their ged, and 7 found permanent employment. 1 youth success client successfully completed the administrative office management program and acquired permanent employment based on the skills she acquired. Programming geared to the unique needs of pregnant and parenting teens was held throughout the year on topics such as safer sex, boosting self-esteem, financial literacy, body image and nutrition. Project impact: a total of 22 students participated in either ged classes or individual studies working towards their ged with instruction provided by project riral and case management provided by the agency. 4 students received their ged while 15 students have pursued gainful employment. Post-secondary planning/support: over 40 youth center students graduated from high school this year and 85% are actively pursuing post-secondary and/or employment opportunities. Over 170 youth participated in either one-on-one or classroom post-secondary workshops and 20 students attended college tours of ne higher education campuses. Youth employment programs: a total of 102 youth ages 14-24 participated in the summer youth employment program in 2013; 82 placements were funded by the workforce partnership of greater ri through jdf and wia funds, and 20 placements were funded through funding from the department of human services. Youth gained valuable experience in a wide range of areas while earning a paycheck. Employer partners that provided summer job placement for youth were: beacon charter high school for the arts (janitorial assistance), landmark hospital, st. Antoine's (senior resident activities and care), farm fresh ri (farmer's market assistance), riverzedge arts (arts and business projects including green design and screen printing), connecting for children & families (through its chillin & skillin day camp; middle school day camp; camp discovery; and hope street day care), city of woonsocket (recycling, library, parks & recreation assistance), woonsocket call newspaper (ad preparation, billing), seven hills (maintenance, retail, customer service), boys & girls club (camp counseling) and cvs retail stores (customer service and stocking). 53 youth have found permanent employment in both the public and private sectors of ri. Hourly wages range from $8. 00/hour to $14. 14/hour with benefits. 102 youth employed through the summer jobs program received a minimum of 20 hours of work-readiness certification from the department of labor and training. Subjects learned through the training included resume building, cover letter writing, interview skills, financial literacy, job search and job application techniques.