Keeping Families Safe and on a Path that is Self-Sustaining
Our goal: to provide an open forum and a call to action for state and community organizations to share resources, ideas, and activities they are using to connect directly with children, families, and vulnerable adults to prevent abuse and neglect while promoting resilient communities.
The ask: making direct contact with children, families, and vulnerable adults now, and building community-level strategies to strengthen families and build resilient communities for the future.
Our next meeting will be held on Friday, July 14th at 10:00am. See below for meeting information or register to receive future calendar invitations.
Community Family Support Forum
Friday, July, 14 2023 · 10:00 – 11:00am
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/sst-ggrv-vwn
Or dial: (US) +1 575-323-9011 PIN: 121 097 204#
More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/sst-ggrv-vwn?pin=4934075981801
If you have general questions, feedback, or would like to present at a future forum, please contact Danielle Marks at danielle.marks1@wyo.gov.
Monthly Calls
Monthly Calls
June 9, 2023
May 12, 2023
- The May 12th meeting was a community partner focus group for the Child and Family Services Review. No meeting recording is available.
April 14, 2023
- The May 12th meeting was a community partner focus group for the Child and Family Services Review. No meeting recording is available.
March 3, 2023
February 10, 2023
January 13, 2023
December 9, 2022
October 14, 2022
September 9, 2022
August 12, 2022
July 8, 2022
June 10, 2022
May 13, 2022
April 8, 2022
March 11, 2022
- Recording coming soon!
- Slides
No Meetings in January and February 2022
December 10, 2021
- No recording or slides available
November 12, 2021
October 8, 2021
September 10, 2021
July, 13, 2021
June 11, 2021
January 8, 2021
December 11, 2020
November 13, 2020
October 9, 2020
September 11, 2020
August 14, 2020
July 10, 2020
- No Recording
- updated child protective services and adult protective services intake data
- overview of a statewide effort forming around prevention and treatment of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
June 5, 2020
May 22, 2020
May 8, 2020
April 24, 2020 Meeting
April 10, 2020 Meeting
Actions
Actions
- The Wyoming Non Profit Network and United Way of Laramie County are holding weekly calls with local nonprofits to discuss service provisions.
- HeadStart programs are closed throughout the state, however they are continuing to maintain contact with families for food, education, and family service needs.
- Wyoming Hunger Initiative created resource cards to go in all of their mobile food pantry boxes.
- Adult Protective Services is working to provide PPE to workers, so seniors will feel comfortable allowing caseworkers into their homes.
- Senior Centers have increased the number of meals delivered and are reaching out to older adults by phone.
- Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services have increased their limit on home-delivered meals to three meals a day for individuals on the Community Choices Waiver.
- Public Health Nursing has switched to telehealth for home visiting and is still doing LT101 assessments.
- The Wyoming Association of Municipalities is encouraging their members to link families to 2-1-1 and consider reaching out to households that suddenly stop paying utility bills for assistance.
- LCSD#1 is using school resource officers to touch base with families.
- WY Quality Counts has many resources for parents on their website.
- Teton Youth and Family Services has started parent support groups and is doing respite walks with kids from high-risk families.
- YES House staff are available 24 hours a day for tele- and video support to youth and families.
- The Parents as Teachers and Kinship Navigator programs are continuing to provide virtual visits and services to parents.
- DFS, WDH Aging Division, & WDH Public Health Nursing are collaborating on a screening tool to check for abuse and neglect among homebound, elderly residents. They plan to train both staff and volunteers to use the tool.
- The Wyoming Afterschool Alliance is conducting a survey of their members to identify challenges and activities to support the adults who are supporting young people.
- The WDH Aging Division and First Lady's Office are working together to send cards to seniors. You can send cards to 5001 Central Avenue, Cheyenne WY 82009 or email Trista Ostrom at trista.ostrom@wyo.gov to participate.
- The screening tool jointly developed by DFS, WDH Aging Division, and WDH Public Health Nursing is ready! This tool can be used by staff and volunteers to screen for abuse and neglect among homebound, elderly residents and includes a training video.
- WYAA collaboration survey
- Please share and complete the WY After School Alliance's survey !
- DFS is beginning to have informal conversations with community members about prevention.
- The Public Health Division, Maternal and Child Health Unit (MCH) is looking for public input on its past and planned work for 2021-2025 to serve women, infants, children, adolescents, and young adults, including those with special health care needs. Individuals who respond to the survey who live in Wyoming and who are not public employees are eligible to receive a $10 Walmart gift card as thanks for their time, while supplies last. The survey can be found here, and people who are interested in learning more about MCH can find additional information here.
- Wyoming is participating in a learning collaborative focused on prevention and treatment of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) through the National Governors' Association (NGA). This work is being led by the Governor's Office and is just beginning, stay tuned for more information and opportunities to engage!
- The adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) module of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is live in the field this year for the first time in Wyoming. Results are not expected until late in 2021. For more info on the BRFSS ACE module, visit the CDC website, and check the WDH BRFSS website for results.
Homework (October 9)
Over the next four weeks, we invite you to be a mindful observer of the system. Take note of specific examples, cases, and interactions you experience with respect to the following questions.
- Observe your interactions with clients. What needed to be in place for you to feel confident that the child, family, or vulnerable adult was safe? Where did you find those resources or supports? What was the alternative?
- We all agreed that collaboration and relationship-building is key to this work, but that barriers often stand in the way. What stopped you from partnering effectively with others? What would have turned out differently for the client if that partnership had been more effective?
- Change requires us to do our work differently, to reallocate time, money, and resources. What am I, as an individual, willing to do differently? What about my organization? My community?
Recently Added
Last week we heard about examples from our peers of interventions at the individual, community, and state levels to build resilience in our families and communities. We began to discuss our homework questions from our call on 10/9, and will continue to discuss our answers to those questions on our next call on Friday, December 11th at 10am.
- Hangouts Meet link: meet.google.com/zdb-pujm-khz
- Phone: +1 334-518-1203 PIN: 736 807 160#
Resources
Resources
- Wyoming 2-1-1
- Wyoming Quality Counts - resources for early childhood, professionals and parents.
- Salvation Army
- The Foundation of the Episcopal Diocese of Wyoming has given every Episcopal church across the state $10,000 to help with community needs. Dan Mayer can assist with making connections if needed.
- Flyer - Protecting At-Risk Students from a Distance - DFS flyer with tips and strategies for professionals to assess children for abuse and neglect from a distance.
- Donations Flyer
- AARP Mutual Aid Groups
- Protective Factors in Practice - a training tool using vignettes to identify protective factors that strengthen families under stress.
- Educational videos from the YES House Learn & Grow team
- A series of informational videos for older teens and young adults from the YES House Independent Living & Transitional Living team
- WDH, Behavioral Health Division COVID-19 webpage
- WDH Covid-19 webpage
- Applications are open for assistance from the COVID 19 Community Crisis Fund for Laramie County, through United Way.
- The WDH, Maternal & Child Health Unit can provide care coordination and gap-filling financial assistance to families with children with special healthcare needs who need to travel for health care.
- St. Joseph's Children's Home is offering outpatient mental health services for youth ages 6-18 through telehealth, including evaluation, medication management, individual, and family therapy.
- Strong Families Academy - online learning sessions for building family engagement
- Family Wellness Check-In Tips from the Flamboyan Foundation
- U.S. Office of Head Start resources
- Dr. Gilmartin's slides
- Interested in learning more about protective factors and how to use them to serve your clients? The WY Children's Trust Fund and Wyoming Kids First can provide training. Contact Becca Steinhoff at director@wyokidsfirst.org
- Slides from the 5/22 "WY Home Matters" presentation
- Video of Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, Surgeon General of CA, and Angelina Jolie discussing safety of children at home and self-care for advocates
- CA's ACES Aware campaign
- Tip Sheets for strengthening families from the Children's Bureau (in both English and Spanish)
- Child Well Visit flyer
- Community Opportunity Map from the Casey Family Programs
- Tools to Thrive - mental health resources from Mental Health America
- Upcoming webinar on June 11th - "Resources for Supporting the Mental Health and Well-being of Children and Families During COVID-19" from the Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network
- My Life Youth Festival - virtual events sponsored by Magellan for youth with experience with mental health and substance abuse issues and/or foster care
- WYSAC Survey - Impact of COVID-19 on Women, Children, and Families in Wyoming - Survey Questions. Publication of the results is pending.
- Family Voices United Survey Results. Family Voices United works with youth, birth parents, and relative caregivers with lived experience in the child welfare system. This survey asked what supports are needed for reopening.
- Slides from the DFS child protective services and adult protective services intakes data update on 7/10.
- DFS intake data
- The Title IV-E Clearinghouse was established by the Children's Bureau (CB) as part of the Family First Prevention Services Act. The clearinghouse contractor reviews the evidence for prevention services and provides a rating the CB uses to determine federal reimbursement for prevention services. You can sign-up for their email list to be the first to know when new services are added.
- DFS intake data and DFS FFPSA slides
- Upcoming webinar from the Institute for Innovation and Implementation, A Conversation on School Mental Health: Supporting Students, Families, and Educators as School Restarts During COVID, 9/22 1:30-3 MST
- October 9 Slides
- Wyoming 2-1-1 Flyer
- DFS intake data and presenter contact information
- Wyoming 2030 flyer
- Parenting Check-In Challenge Flyer
- Lessons from the First Wave: Resilience in the Age of COVID-19, a collection of stories from Shareable about community-led mutual aid efforts during the pandemic.
- Slides - intake data
- Upcoming webinars on 12/15
- A resource for trauma-informed care: https://teenpregnancy.acf.hhs.gov/resources/creating-safe-spaces-facilitators-guide-trauma-informed-programming
- Please join the Wyoming Children's Trust Fund for a virtual Mandatory Supporter training on January 29, 2021 at 2pm MST. Registration is open until January 22, 2021 at this link. This training provides an overview of mandatory reporting requirements of child abuse/neglect and discusses the importance of mandatory supporters for youth and families. All who are interested are invited to attend! If you have any questions, please contact Wyoming Children's Trust Fund at 307-777-5452.
- Slides - intake data
- Wyoming2030 is hosting discussions every Tuesday in January.
- Please join the Wyoming Children's Trust Fund for a virtual Mandatory Supporter training on January 29, 2021 at 2pm MST. Registration is open until January 22, 2021 at this link. This training provides an overview of mandatory reporting requirements of child abuse/neglect and discusses the importance of mandatory supporters for youth and families. All who are interested are invited to attend! If you have any questions, please contact Wyoming Children's Trust Fund at 307-777-5452.
- Parents as Teachers (PAT) will be providing Mothers and Babies training to local program staff and are opening it up to other agencies that are interested in learning more about or providing the Mothers and Babies program. Mothers and Babies is an evidence-based program that has been highlighted as one of the most effective interventions for the prevention of postpartum depression. There will be an introductory meeting on February 8th at 10am MT. If you are interested in attending, please contact Angela Ward at angela.ward@parentsasteachers.org Training sessions will be 3/3 noon-3pm, 3/8 noon to 3pm, and 3/10 9am -12noon. If you are interested in the Mothers and Babies program but would like to receive training at a later date that is also possible. PAT will be participating in a train-the-trainer program and have capacity to train community agencies at later dates.
Recently Added
- Casey Family Program: Community Opportunity Map
- Title IV-E Approved Prevention Plan