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Home My WebLink AboutC21-130 Early Childhood Partners - Healthy Families VailHealthy Families Vail Valley PO Box 8545Avon, Co. 81620970-331-0493 1 Healthy Families Vail Valley (a program of Early Childhood Partners) and Eagle County Department of Human Services Memorandum of Understanding Healthy Families Vail Valley (HFVV) is a voluntary evidence-based home visiting program serving pregnant women and families of infants and young children. HFVV is a prevention program dedicated to supporting families in their quest to be the best parents they can be. Program services are designed to strengthen families during the critical first years of a child’s life. The child’s age at HFVV enrollment is prenatal to age 24 months as services are focused primarily on prevention through education and support in the homes of new parents. All HFVV Program criteria are based on proven best practice standards. Intensity of services is based on each family’s needs, beginning weekly and moving gradually to quarterly home visits as families become more self-sufficient. Child Welfare Departments contract with community providers who implement the program in local communities across America. FAMILY SUPPORT SPECIALISTS are caring, well-trained home visitors who offer support, encouragement, and services using an evidence-based approach which include the following: ●Providing emotional support and encouragement to parents ●Teaching & supporting appropriate parent-child interaction and discipline ●Providing periodic developmental assessments and referrals ●Linking families with community services, health care, childcare, and housing ●Encouraging self-sufficiency through education and employment ●Providing child development, nutrition, and safety education INTAKE INTO THE HFVV PROGRAM consists of the following steps which generally take place in a potential participant’s home. ●Parents are to be informed, verbally and in writing, of the voluntary nature of participating in HFVV services as early as possible but no later than when families consent to participate in services. ●The Family Support Specialist reviews the Family Rights and Confidentiality handout, which also indicates the services are voluntary. Families will need to complete the signed document before services can proceed. DocuSign Envelope ID: 245C6FCB-3913-4140-BFBE-BB545983C0EA C21-130 Healthy Families Vail Valley PO Box 8545Avon, Co. 81620970-331-0493 2 ● In the event child welfare or the court system attempt to mandate services for a family, HFVV staff will ensure that both the agency and the family know services will be offered voluntarily. ● HFVV Family Support Specialists will complete a Parent Survey interview which is a comprehensive psycho-social assessment identifying early childhood trauma, life stresses, coping skills, parenting styles, etc. which will form the basis of each family’s HFVV Service Plan. ● All intake assessments must occur and the program accepted by the family prior to the target child turning twenty-four months of age. ● Program services for the entire family can continue until the child is five years of age. HFVV WILL PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING TO EAGLE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES INVOLVED FAMILIES: ● Accept referrals from Eagle County Department of Human Services (DHS) staff and provide a screening and/or assessment for the parent(s) in the event the parent(s) chooses to determine eligibility to receive program services. ● While the child is often in parental custody at the time of HFVV intake, situations of newborns removed at birth are appropriate referrals when reunification is intended. ● If a child is in the hospital for a period of time (i.e., the infant is not in the home), the family can be accepted into the program as long as the family retains custody of the child. ● If there is a dependency or neglect case open while the subject child is in-home, such open case does not preclude enrollment in HFVV if all other enrollment criteria are met. ● Should DHS file a dependency or neglect petition and the child is removed from the parent’s custody, there must be a plan for reunification if services are to continue. ● If the parent is involved in multiple services, the HFVV Manager may request a staffing with DHS and the parent(s) to determine the services most appropriate to meet the needs of the individual family. ● HFVV staff will attend DHS case staffings only with the parent(s) permission. ● HFVV staff are required by the program model to report suspected child abuse and neglect at the Colorado Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline 844-CO-4-KIDS. Staff will continue to report observations of child abuse and neglect in families in the program or as families are leaving the program. DocuSign Envelope ID: 245C6FCB-3913-4140-BFBE-BB545983C0EA Healthy Families Vail Valley PO Box 8545Avon, Co. 81620970-331-0493 3 HFVV CAN NOT PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING: ● Supervision for visits between the child and parent(s) and/or transport to/from supervised visits. ● Progress reports to the DHS staff without the written consent of the parent(s). ● Program records to DHS or other government agencies without specific prior written consent of the parent(s) or the receipt of a court order. ● Joint visits to a family by HFVV staff and DHS without the parent(s) consent. ● Testimony in a proceeding without a court order or parent(s) written permission. ● Mandated service for a DHS case plan because program services are voluntary and the parent can terminate services at any time. ● Preference to DHS families. All families are enrolled in services on a first-come first- served basis. ● Upon termination of services, HFVV will be unable to advise DHS of the parent’s status unless the parent gives written consent for HFVV staff to talk with DHS. DUAL ENROLLMENT OF HFVV and Early Head Start (EHS) (a home visiting program at DHS) ● Dual enrollment will be determined on a case by case basis for an EHS center based program option and HFVV. ● Home based EHS program options will not be eligible for dual enrollment in EHS and HFVV. ● When a family is identified that is currently dually enrolled, the EHS Home Visitor or Family Support Specialist will reach out to the other program to schedule a meeting between both home visitation programs and the family. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the differences between the programs and the requirements for each. Each program desires to ensure coordination of services if the family decides to stay in both programs. ● If the family is not currently enrolled in either program and the family meets with HFVV first and meets the eligibility criteria for EHS, HFVV will offer to refer the family to EHS. When a referral is made to both HFVV and EHS for dual enrollment, the two programs will meet to discuss when there will be a potential opening for the family in EHS for planning purposes. This meeting will include the ERSEA Specialist for EHS, Home Visitors and Program managers. DocuSign Envelope ID: 245C6FCB-3913-4140-BFBE-BB545983C0EA Healthy Families Vail Valley PO Box 8545Avon, Co. 81620970-331-0493 4 We look forward to continuing to work together, and appreciate the collaboration with Eagle County. Please sign this agreement, and return to: megan@ecpartners.org at your earliest convenience. This agreement outlining HFVV/DHS protocols needs to be documented with Healthy Families America in order to receive enrollment allowances to provide home based family support for children up to 24 months of age until their 5th birthday. Sincerely, ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Megan McGee Bonta Liz Costaldo Manager, Healthy Families Vail Valley Program Director, Early Childhood Partners (970) 331-0493 (970) 390-8362 ___________________________________ ___________ Signature, Eagle County Date DocuSign Envelope ID: 245C6FCB-3913-4140-BFBE-BB545983C0EA 4/27/2021