6.6 ann marie grimberg

Working with Public and Non-Profit Agencies to Meet the

Needs of FamiliesAnn Marie Grimberg, M.Ed.

Heartland Alliance

[email protected]

Strengthening At Risk and Homeless Young Mothers and Children Initiative

An Initiative to improve the housing, health and development of homeless and at-risk young mothers and children

Each site served young, single mothers between the ages of 18 and 25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, with at least one child below the age of five

Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights

Family Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) Project

Adaptation of ACT model to serve families

Mothers show signs of mental illness and substance use while children often struggle with emotional, behavioral, attachment disorders

Multi-disciplinary team serves families in community settings


Systems Integration Component

Identifies barriers to resources

Develops, coordinates, and improves the availability, quality and comprehensiveness of resources

Improves consumer outcomes through greater access to resources within and across systems


Why is systems integration important?

Populations with complex needs experience barriers to accessing services and resources

Many social issues cross service sectors

Improves efficiency and effectiveness of services provided to consumers

Dedicates staff to the integration of systems and services


Pillars of Systems Integration

Environmental scan

Relationship building

Mechanisms of systems change


Pillars of Systems IntegrationEnvironmental Scan

Distribute needs assessment to systems affecting target population

Identify top priorities and ensure investment and interest of stakeholders

Priorities could include: Serve the entire family unit Improve access to housing and services Strengthen resources as people age out or emancipate from child welfare

system Increase child care options for homeless families Influence policies affecting homeless families


Pillars of Systems IntegrationRelationship building

Educate stakeholders on the needs of the target population and how they intersect with other systems

Determine members of coalitions or committees which will assist with the work of integrating systems


Pillars of Systems IntegrationMechanisms of systems change

Coalition building

Align and connect cross-system initiatives

Cross-training

Targeted training and technical assistance

Advocacy and policy


Connecting to Mainstream Services

Job development

Child welfare

Child care and Head Start

Early intervention


Connecting to Job Development

Transitional jobsNational Transitional Jobs Networkwww.transitionaljobs.net

Diverse, national coalition with over 4,000 individuals and organizations as members

Seeks to overcome employment barriers and transition people with labor market barriers into work using wage-paid, short term employment that combines real work, skill development and supportive services


Connecting to Job Development

Put Illinois to Work Provided $10/hour public/private sector jobs to

25,000 low-income individuals originally through American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ended January 2011)

Potential for non-stimulus TANF dollars to be used for similar program


Connecting to Child Welfare

Family Unification Program (FUP) vouchers

Housing Choice vouchers for: Families who have children who are in danger of being

placed in or cannot be returned home from the child welfare agency’s care due to inadequate housing

Youth between the ages of 18 and 21 who were in the care of child welfare after their 16th birthday



Exit checklistDevelop checklist for child welfare system to use with individuals as they age out or emancipate from the system to ensure they are equipped with the appropriate documentation upon their departure (ID, Social Security Card, medical information, etc.)



City-wide cross-trainings Conduct cross-trainings with child welfare and homeless systems, focused on families and unaccompanied youth to build relationships across systems and familiarize systems with gaps, barriers, and resources across the systems



Statewide provider database

Infuse database with homeless and housing-specific information and inform other systems affecting homeless families about database while linking to training opportunities on database


Connecting to Child Care

Child care vouchers Child care vouchers are dedicated to homeless

families in Massachusetts, Virginia, and Washington while they look for housing or take part in employment-related activities

Develop proposal to dedicate vouchers to homeless families


Connecting to Child Care

Crisis nurseries Short term care for children of families who are

experiencing a severe disruptive crisis or are challenged with an urgent family matter.

Develop linkages between crisis nurseries and shelter and housing programs


Connecting to Head Start

Encourage Head Start programs to ask about housing status on application (**Homeless children are a priority population)

Utilize online trainings on homelessness through Administration of Children & Families of Health & Human Services

Follow the new rules and regulations on Head Start eligibility-feedback requested about the definition of homelessness and documentation of homeless status


Connecting to Early Intervention

City-wide cross-trainingsConduct cross-training with the early intervention and homeless systems to build relationships across systems and familiarize systems with gaps, barriers, and resources present across the systems (**Homeless children are a priority population)


Connecting to Early Intervention

Streamline referral process between primary care providers, homeless providers, and the early intervention system

Pilot early intervention services on-site at housing and shelter programs– Develop child-friendly space, cross-training of EI

and homeless providers, determine referral process


6.6 ann marie grimberg

Documents