Moving Beyond the Individual: The Importance of Community and Organizational ...
DR Grantee Denvers Villages
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2. Margaret Booker – Project Director Denver Human Services Linda Trantow – Project Administrator Denver Human Services Michele Hanna – Evaluator Butler Family Institute University of Denver Denver ’ s Village Wrapping Families with Community Support
A community based Resource Team is a collaboration/partnership between the department, Family 2 Family sites, child placement agencies, community based organizations, faith based organizations, businesses and schools working together to develop more foster, kinship and adoptive homes in the community, increase capacity of resource families through joint training and development, and build a strong community based support system and menu of services for our resource families toward high retention. The teams are developing joint recruitment plans to seek additional family resources in the community. Prompted by a lack of success individually and the growing need for resources in the community We held a meeting with the 7 sites to begin a joint conversation. We shared both our challenges and our opportunities. Made a commitment to work together by developing plans to meet the unique needs of each community. We geo-assigned our Resource Section Staff to the identified communities to work side by side the collaboratives We anticipate an increase in the number of resource families and more of our children being able to remain in the own communities if out of home placement is needed. We hope to realize improved safety, permanence and well-being for children Increased support for resource families, higher retention rates and an overall increased community investment in their children.
Collaborative Participants includes staff from the Sites, other cbo’s, residents, etc Foster Parents, Kinship families and Adoptive families Youth who are in the system or who have emancipated Child Placement Agencies
Allowing the community to define their neighborhoods instead of imposing our idea of community Sharing of staff resources, knowledge, support Putting together concrete plans Involving Resource families and increasing their capacity as leaders in the effort Knowing and distributing community specific data Joining the community in waivers for barriers that keep families from qualifying to be a certified resource Family
