For a child, being removed from the only home they have ever known is traumatic. Since the passage of the Family First Prevention Services Act the trend nationally is for child welfare agencies to help heal the family before splitting them up. Hephzibah is at the forefront of these early prevention efforts to keep families together.
To further familiarize ourselves with the latest research and analysis on the topic of prevention-focused interventions for families receiving child welfare services, Hephzibah’s board of directors invited Kimberly Mann, PhD, LCSW to keynote our 2021 annual meeting.
Dr. Mann, deputy director of Research and Child Well-being for Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, discussed “Rethinking Prevention: Building Trauma-Informed Systems of Care in Child Welfare.”
Throughout her speech–delivered to a room filled with approximately 40 Hephzibah board members, staff members from Hephzibah and other agencies and 20 others via Zoom–she reiterated the idea that being young and “resilient” doesn’t mean trauma is forgotten. Trauma can affect a person long-term even when experienced at early ages.
Dr. Mann emphasized that all families experience stress, but not all stress is equal.
There are different kinds of stress: Positive stress is the most common; it moves us forward. Tolerable stress can be uncomfortable and slightly scary, like the pandemic and dealing with traffic. Toxic stress is where trauma lives, as well as the prolonged exposure to abuse and neglect. Toxic stress is what children in the child welfare system experience.
In summary, the sooner we can intervene and support families and children, the better the outcomes.
In alignment with this data, Hephzibah has significantly invested in more prevention programs for families.
By June 2022, we expect to double the caseload of vulnerable families, as many as 220 families through our Intact Family Services. This is 20 times the number of families served in this program five years ago.
Hephzibah offers a wide range of support and intervention services for families in need that focus on strengthening and healing families. We intentionally apply evidence-informed models that are family-driven. For example, we offer the Positive Parenting Program, known as Triple P.
Hephzibah has enrolled 33 families in the Triple P since its launch in November 2020 and the results have been promising.
Because every child deserves to live in a safe and nurturing home, Hephzibah strives to remain up to date with the latest research and programs benefiting vulnerable families and continue to dedicate ourselves to helping keep families together.