AGENCY SUMMARY
Agency Name: Family Support Services of the Bay Area (FSSBA)
Project Director: Lou Fox, Executive Director
Main Office Address: 401 Grand Avenue, Suite 500, Oakland, CA 94610
Project Address: Services are provided in the clients’ homes and communities, with project office space at:
· 9428 International Boulevard (Healthy Communities, Inc.)
· 1945 High Street (High Street Presbyterian Church)
Phone: (510) 834-2443
Fax: (510) 834.1548
Hours of Operation: Office hours are generally from 9:00am-5:00pm (M-F), but client services are provided at convenient hours for families, including evenings and weekends.
Agency Description
Family Support Services of the Bay Area (FSSBA) was incorporated in 1989 to provide respite care to Bay Area families of children with developmental disabilities and to Alameda County emergency foster home parents. In 2008, we continue to reach families and children in some of the Bay Area’s most needy communities: over 62% of families served by FSSBA are headed by a single adult, over 60% live in poverty, and 33% are headed by a person who speaks English as a second language. Over 75% of families served are families of color. The agency serves the three Bay Area counties of San Francisco, Alameda, and Contra Costa.
Our agency mission is to support children, youth, families and communities by providing services that make them stronger. The agency has four core programs:
1. The Family Preservation Program provides individualized, intensive, home-based services in order to improve family functioning and prevent children from entering the child welfare system or the foster care system. The agency has provided family preservation services in the Bay Area since 1991 and began the East Oakland Another Road to Safety (ARS) program in February 2003. In fiscal year (FY) 2006-2007, our Family Preservation programs provided services to over 190 families with 400 children.
2. The Kinship Program has provided a comprehensive range of services since 2001 to relative caregivers and the children they raise. FSSBA is the lead agency of a multi-agency collaboration of agencies serving kinship families across northern Alameda County. These services include support groups at multiple sites, respite care, case management, legal services, a homework club, weekend youth activities and a summer youth program. Last year the Kinship Program provided services to over 500 families.
3. The Respite Program gives parents and other caregivers a break from the daily demands of caring for their children. For many kinship families, respite is the relief that allows them to continue and succeed in the exhausting work of caring for their kin children. In FY 2006-2007, more than 1,400 children from 600 families received over 90,000 hours of respite care.
4. The OreMi Mentoring Program (“OreMi” is a Yoruba word for “friend”) creates and supports one-on-one transformative mentoring relationships between community members and children of incarcerated parents. Last fiscal year, there were 40 matches between youth and adults. The mentors received more than 300 hours of training to assist them in developing the potential of each child and to work to break the cycle of incarceration.
The agency’s current budget of $5.1 million is supported primarily by public funds which are supplemented by grants and donations. The agency’s 21 contracts account for approximately 85% of the agency’s revenue; the balance of funds are comprised of 15 foundation and corporation grants, as well as numerous individual donors. Agency revenue is supplemented by an ever-increasing amount of in-kind donations that have included sponsoring over 150 families during the holidays and year-round donations for families in need.
FSSBA is the lead agency for each of the program components (ARS, ARS-FM and Kinship) in East Oakland. We propose to continue collaborating with our current partners and to develop new partnerships with several community-based agencies as sub-contractors of services.
FSSBA Program Principles
All of our agency programs are guided by the following principles:
▪ Treat each family as a unit and involve all members of the family - however it defines itself. Whether positive or negative, children have the strongest bond with their families. The trauma of removing a child from her/his home can be deep and long lasting. We work with the entire family and community system to create the most significant impact.
▪ Work in partnership with the family. The family is the ultimate authority on itself. Workers keep in mind the family’s agenda and priorities. Workers balance teaching and modeling with fostering the family’s autonomy. The family is involved in all aspects of goal-setting and decision-making.
▪ Build on the family's strengths. All families have strengths. By focusing on and reinforcing the positive, families can see successes and are willing to try new things. FSSBA staff members become allies with the family. They are there to help the family stay together.
▪ Show respect for the family and build a relationship of trust. Staff members set up an atmosphere of trust by listening to the family members and by being respectful and reliable. A solid relationship is the foundation for successful intervention. Genuineness and honesty - even about problems and setbacks - foster change.
▪ Set reasonable, specific goals and help the family to arrange priorities. Success requires setting goals that are small, achievable steps towards bigger goals. Workers encourage families to take greater responsibility for their goals. At the end of intervention, workers review all goals with the families served to show them how much they have achieved.
▪ Always maintain a child's safety. Workers conduct ongoing assessments to ensure that no child is left in danger.
▪ Provide services in a culturally competent manner. It is important to understand and respect each family's culture and background and how this impacts the family’s situation. We believe that developing cultural competency is an ongoing process for all staff at all levels. FSSBA’s staff diversity allows us to match workers with cultures and backgrounds similar to those of the families served (more on page 15).
▪ Help families obtain resources in their own communities. Families are not always aware of resources for which they are eligible. Sometimes they need help in applying for services. The program teaches families how to find, access and maintain services that will be available after the worker is no longer involved with the family.
▪ Provide easily accessible services. Providing services in the home and community offers convenience for the family, as well as the opportunity to assess the family in its familiar setting and with extended family members and neighbors. A home-based approach to service allows staff to engage clients who are resistant or too overwhelmed to make use of agency-based services.
The Kinship Support Services Program (KSSP)
Team Structure
KSSP is a long established collaborative of agencies that jointly provide a broad array of services to grandparents and other relative caregivers who live in northern Alameda County. FSSBA is the lead agency of this collaborative, whose members are listed in the Statement of Experience section (page 13). The FSSBA Kinship team consists of a Program Director, a Supervisor, two Social Workers, a Program Assistant, a Youth Program Manager, and three Youth Program Aides.
Target Population
KSSP works with northern Alameda County relative caregivers and their families, many of whom face numerous difficulties. Most caregivers have had to step in and raise their kin children as a result of tragic circumstances in the lives of the children’s parents, such as divorce, death, parental chemical dependency, mental illness or incarceration. Kinship caregivers provide critical stability, nurturing, love and support for the children in their care. But for many (especially those who are frail or elderly) it can be an enormous struggle involving financial hardship, social isolation, and great personal sacrifice. Furthermore, the children in these families often have histories of instability, poverty, and abuse. They often under-perform in school, have emotional and behavioral problems, and face difficulties in developing into healthy adults. And, because almost all of the kinship families we serve are extremely low-income, they find it particularly difficult to access resources that can positively impact family physical and mental health.
In Alameda County, recent figures indicate that there are more than 22,000 children under 18 years of age in the county who are living in households headed by grandparents (California Agriculture, 2001). In response to the challenges faced by these vulnerable families, FSSBA has designed programs based on the input of caregivers to help positively impact the stability of kinship families. For the purposes of this RFP, KSSP services will be delivered to East Oakland families including those living in the Fruitvale area, Montclair area and through to San Leandro.
Referrals / Outreach / Assessment / Services
Kinship families, caregivers and children are referred to KSSP by our collaborative partners, school social workers, kinship caregivers, and various agencies and organizations. FSSBA distributes written materials about the program, flyers for display and dissemination to clients at each of the service locations, and coordinates communication with the personnel involved in the overall Kinship Collaborative. These methods of recruitment allow the program to reach out to large numbers of kinship families, especially to children and youth who are most in need of services.
When a referral is received, the Program Supervisor contacts the caregiver and provides the specific services needs, which may include providing information and referrals, crisis management counseling, case management, kinship caregiver support groups, respite services and/or youth services.
By specifically targeting kinship families, we serve an especially vulnerable population. The program helps break down the shame and isolation felt by many kinship youth and families by normalizing their experiences and helping them build bonds and support among one another. In addition, because KSSP is a comprehensive program serving both caregivers and their children, we leverage outside resources, build the stability and overall well-being of kinship families, and, as a result, have a stronger and more lasting impact on families served.
Kinship families receive services based upon their needs. Services include:
▪ Information and Referral. Staff provide critical information and community referrals.
▪ Crisis Management. Workers respond to immediate needs with supportive and time-sensitive services.
▪ Case Management. Workers help the family meet their needs. Assistance can range from parenting skills, systems navigation, advocacy, and school support, to assisting caregivers with paperwork, applications and referrals.
▪ Support Groups. These are offered weekly or bi-weekly in multiple sites and usually include site-based respite, so the caregiver can be sure to attend the group. Support groups provide the caregivers with immeasurable support, strength, information and compassion.
▪ Youth Programs. Both our year-round and summer youth programs promote academic achievement and help the youth develop a sense of accomplishment, pride and a positive attitude toward their future. In addition, the programs incorporate numerous recreational activities in the East Bay parks (including hiking, camping, bicycle riding, team sports, etc.), regular nutrition education and personal hygiene workshops, self-esteem workshops, and workshops designed to increase participants’ ability to resist negative behaviors such as drug use or violence.
▪ Enrichment / Respite. Families and their children benefit from the break and parent training that these services provide. (More on page 6 above.)
Number of Clients
The KSSP Collaborative will provide the following services:
§ Provide information and referral services to 200 calls/contacts.
§ Provide case management services to a minimum of 100 unduplicated families. This includes case management services from FSSBA and LAS.
§ Provide non-case management services to a minimum of 750 kinship families. This includes services from all collaborative partners as follows:
· Provide at least 10 youth activities each quarter
· Provide youth activities for at least 30 unduplicated youth each year
· Provide at least 35 support group meetings per year
· Provide at least 500 support group participant hours per year
· Provide support group meetings to an average of 75 caregivers each quarter
· Provide at least 3 community education/training sessions that address relevant kinship issues
· At least 30 relative caregivers will attend the community education/training sessions
Specific case management services are provided according to the individual case plan. Case management staff continue to be available 9-5, Monday-Friday throughout the year to provide these services. Case management staff will also be available, when requested, to attend evening support groups. Our support groups meet twice a month in the evening. Additional sessions will be scheduled throughout the year at FSSBA’s East Oakland sites.
Language Capacity
We believe services should be delivered in the preferred language of the population served.
The current ARS and Kinship teams are multi-cultural and multi-lingual (English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Farsi, Hindi and French). In addition we have access to and utilize Every Child Counts (ECC) language services and SSA TeleInterpreters, which provide both translation and interpretation for most languages. We are committed to hiring a multi-cultural and multi-lingual staff for the new ARS-FM program. In order to provide a diverse staff that is representative of the East Oakland community, we intend to hire at least one bilingual Spanish-speaking Clinical Supervisor and a team of Social Workers that will include Spanish-speaking/Latino, Asian language-speaking and African-American staff.
Location of Services
Program services (ARS, ARS-FM and Kinship) are typically provided in the families’ homes or their neighborhoods. At times, a family may prefer to meet at the office or attend a community event (e.g., a support group, respite care, a celebration) at FSSBA’s East Oakland site at 9428 International Boulevard and 1945 High Street.
Participation Standards
FSSBA has provided child and family services since our founding in 1989. We have developed strong program management and oversight capacities. This project will be led by experienced and qualified staff members who are familiar with community outreach, research, quality control, personnel, safety, risk-management, administrative, and fiscal aspects of programs.
Alex Atkinson, MSW, provides supervision to the Program Director and trains program staff. Mr. Atkinson has run youth development programs since 1991 and worked with kinship and foster families in the New York City foster care system for five years. Alex has a Masters in Social Work from Hunter College.