Program Delivery Option: Other

Pathways to Success is an intensive, youth-driven case management model with the long-term goal of preventing homelessness among youth with foster care experience. The model is built around case managers, called Navigators, who are trained in a case management approach called Engaging Youth in a Coach-Like Way. In this approach, Navigators develop a coaching relationship to support youth. Youth direct the intervention by setting goals related to the outcome areas of housing, education, employment, health and well-being, and permanent connections. Meanwhile, Navigators deploy an individualized services array tailored to each youth’s needs, strengths, and goals. In addition to Engaging Youth in a Coach-like Way, Navigators use a variety of tools and resources to support youth in these domains, such as flex funds and referrals to relevant resources.

Public housing agencies (PHAs) administer FYI in partnership with Public Child Welfare Agencies (PCWAs). The PCWA initially determines if the youth/young adult meets the FYI eligibility requirements, certifies that they are eligible, and refers them to the PHA. Once the PCWA makes the referral, the PHA places the FYI applicant on its Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) waiting list and determines whether they meet HCV program eligibility requirements, including income eligibility. The PHA conducts all other processes relating to voucher issuance and administration. In addition to rental assistance, supportive services must be provided to FYI participants by the PCWA for the first 18 months that they participate in the program. Examples of the skills targeted by these services include money management skills, job preparation, educational counseling, and proper nutrition and meal preparation.

FYI vouchers used by participant are limited, by statute, to 36 months of housing assistance. Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities (FSHO) provides an FYI participant an extension of the 36-month time limit for up to an additional 24 months if they meet certain requirements.

Public housing agencies (PHAs) administer FUP in partnership with Public Child Welfare Agencies (PCWAs). The PCWA initially determines if the family or youth meets the FUP eligibility requirements, certifies that the family or youth is eligible, and refers those families and youth to the PHA. Once the PCWA makes the referral, the PHA places the FUP applicant on its Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) waiting list and determines whether the family meets HCV program eligibility requirements, including income eligibility. The PHA conducts all other processes relating to voucher issuance and administration. The program does not require PCWAs to provide supportive services for families; however, PCWAs may make them available to families as well. Examples of the skills targeted by these supportive services can include money management skills, job preparation, educational counseling, and proper nutrition and meal preparation.

Nurturing Skills™ for Families (NSF) is a model of the Nurturing Parenting® Programs designed to prevent child abuse and neglect by addressing key areas that contribute to a safe and healthy family environment. The program aims to promote positive family practices, enhance parental knowledge and skills, improve communication and problem-solving abilities, build emotional resilience, strengthen family bonds, address risk factors, foster community support, and encourage accountability.

This flexible program is tailored to meet the needs of families with children ranging from prenatal to 19 years old. The Lesson Guide for Parents contains over 80 individual lessons presented across 16 competency areas, with core competency lessons forming the program's basic structure. Additional lessons allow parent educators to customize the program to suit the specific needs of each group or family.

Although the program representatives state that the model can be used with all families, it is only rated in the Interventions for Abusive Behaviors on research with families involved in the child welfare system.

CORE (Critical Ongoing Resource Family Education) Teen, grounded in trauma-informed and culturally responsive parenting skill acquisition, is designed to increase the parenting efficacy of resource parents for youths with behavioral challenges, thereby it aims to reduce the risk of placement disruption and increase permanency options for such youths while also recruit new resource parents.

The Kinship Navigator (CHN-KN) Children’s Home Network provides supportive services to any relative or nonrelative raising a child on a full-time basis when a parent is unable or unwilling to provide care. Nonrelative refers to someone unrelated who has a significant or family-like relationship to the child. This program provides services to families regardless of their status with the child welfare system, therefore serving informal and formal families. CHN-KN provides a centralized intake line, comprehensive assessments, family conferencing, and navigation services that include securing concrete needs, enrollment in public assistance, linkage to key community resources, development of informal and formal supports, service and crisis planning, support groups, and follow-up contacts at 3-month intervals postcompletion of the program.

Best Start is First 5 LA’s strategy to advance community-identified solutions in 14 geographic areas/5 regions in Los Angeles County. These geographic areas have faced historic disenfranchisement and oppression through political, economic, social, and environmental factors that aggravate chronic family stressors such as violence and poverty. Despite these realities, these are sites of great strength and resiliency. For decades, champions and community leaders, along with parents of young children, have been working to create better futures for their children. Best Start is designed to help transform the systems supporting young children and their families, in a way that places the voice and experience of parents and residents in the center in developing solutions. These communities are reimagining what is possible through Best Start through the engagement of networks for collective advocacy, learning together, and building best practices to improve outcomes for children.

Family Spirit® is a culturally tailored home-visiting program designed to promote optimal health and well-being for parents and their children. Family Spirit combines the use of paraprofessionals from the community as home visitors and a culturally informed, strengths-based curriculum as a core strategy to support young families. Parents are given information and taught skills designed to promote healthy development and positive lifestyles for themselves and their children. Family Spirit consists of 63 lessons taught from pregnancy to age 3.

Family Spirit's vision: To break intergenerational cycles of despair in historically disenfranchised communities by empowering a local workforce as change agents for promoting the best start for young families.

Family Spirit's mission: Family Spirit envisions a future where every community, regardless of socioeconomic status, will have access to an evidence-based, culturally competent early childhood home-visiting model that employs local paraprofessionals to promote optimal health and well-being for parents and young children in their communities.

Training for Adoption Competency (TAC) is a manualized adoption-competency, clinical training program for licensed mental health professionals and child welfare professionals working with families formed through adoption, with children and youth frequently adopted from the foster care system. The training model features a 72-hour, 12-module training curriculum, six 90-minute monthly case consultation sessions, a robust trainer credentialing and support process, and ongoing multicomponent evaluation. TAC is a training model that is designed to produce changes in assessment and intervention practices. Ideally, these changes enable those trained in the program to apply trauma-informed, attachment-based skills to address core adoption issues such as loss, grief, understanding one's adoption story, identity formation, and search and reunion.

The Child Welfare Academy (CWA) at the Institute for Innovation and Implementation represents a long-standing partnership between the University of Maryland, School of Social Work and the Maryland Department of Human Services, Social Services Administration. Through specialized training, education and support, the Child Welfare Academy prepares public child welfare professionals, resource parents, and kinship caregivers to effectively provide services and care for children, youth, and families in the Maryland public Child Welfare System. In order to prepare new workers to meet the complex needs of children and families, they are required to complete a comprehensive preservice training program focusing on core knowledge and competencies designed to improve safety, permanency, and well-being outcomes. Grounded in adult learning theory and best practices in training and staff development, preservice training incorporates classroom instruction, small and large group work, individual reflection, experiential activities, online assignments, and opportunities for hands-on skill building and practice in areas such as family engagement, interviewing, and court testimony. At the end of preservice training, participants are required to take and pass a competency exam.