When we received funding to launch Project CONTACT, our agency created a new position which we had never had before: the Family Engagement Specialists (FES). These positions are designed to serve as a bridge between referral and formal entry into the Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention. The FES help families complete onboarding paperwork and then identify barriers that might interfere with the family’s full participation in therapy. For example, they can arrange transportation to and from appointments. The type of assistance the FES have been able to provide are wide and varied. While we are fortunate to be able to provide childcare for the entire family while clients are at our agency for therapy, our FES have been able to help families find viable options for childcare outside of therapy as well. Many of the families we serve have financial difficulties, and our FES have been able to help caregivers apply for and receive rental and utility assistance. Other services our FES have been able to arrange for families include legal counsel and supplemental food delivery.
When I created the dashboards to examine the services that our FES provided, I was overwhelmed by the amount of work they’ve been doing. In the past month, they completed:
– 73 collateral services (e.g., reminder calls, resource referrals, consultations, etc.)
– 960 minutes of direct services with clients
– 1,021 minutes of case management services on the behalf of the families they serve.
You can learn a little more about our FES Catherine Boyd and Gracie Kinder on the Project CONTACT “Our Staff” page.