Wyoming Department of Family Services

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Community Family Support

Welcome to the Community Support Resource Hub!

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 during the COVID pandemic 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.

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Monthly Calls

Weekly Calls

April 10, 2020 Meeting

April 24, 2020 Meeting

May 8, 2020

May 22, 2020

Monthly Calls

June 5, 2020

July 10, 2020

  • No Recording
  • updated child protective services and adult protective services intakes data 
  • overview of a statewide effort forming around prevention and treatment of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)

August 14, 2020

September 11, 2020

October 9, 2020

October 9, 2020

November 13, 2020

December 11, 2020

January 8, 2021

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.
  1. 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?
  2. 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?
  3. 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.
Resources

Resources

Recently Added

  • 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.