Reuben Lindh Family Services

1. Reuben Lindh Family Services Improving Children’s Outcomes Dianne Haulcy, Executive Director, Reuben Lindh Family Services National Conference on Ending Family Homelessness February 8th, 2008 Seattle, Washington

2. Reuben Lindh is dedicated to: • Increasing the parenting, social and independent living skills of at-risk families • Providing culturally-sensitive childcare and family support services • Developing the full potential of children through occupational, speech/language, physical, and music therapies • Strengthening family relationships through individual, family and play therapies • Offering community resource support

3. Combining early childhood education with therapy & in-home family work • RAP (Rebuilding Appropriate Parenting) • Intensive support services to women who have completed chemical dependency treatment or aftercare programs, and are making the transition to sober parenting • HOPE (Healthy Outcomes/Parenting Education) • In-home parenting program for families involved with Hennepin County Child Protective Services • Family Focus • Helps families facing multiple challenges such as poverty, housing, isolation, lack of parenting skills, mental health issues, substance abuse, and other conditions contributing to family instability. Services are offered to families involved in the Multicultural Therapeutic Preschool • STRONG (Strengthening Our Next Generation) • Collaborative between three agencies. Designed to integrate housing, child development, chemical dependency, and mental health services into one seamless system

4. RAP From December 2006 to December 2007. • Mothers/parents who achieved parenting goals:    71% • Mothers/parents who demonstrated 2 or more new parenting skills:   70% • Mothers/parents with open CPS cases at intake whose cases closed at closure:     62.5% • Children reunified at closure of RAP services:   73% • Mothers who were sober at service termination:     68% • Clients who independently utilized 2 or more community resources:  78%

5. HOPE • Contracts with Hennepin County • Direct client contact: 50 hours or 6 months • Genogram and Eco-maps • HOPE workers work with clients to mutually define strategies toward highlighted goals Tools: • Parenting Assessments • Family Worker observation • School attendance records Outcomes: • 78% of participating clients demonstrated improvement in parenting skills • 93% of school age school children were in school on time/daily

6. Family Focus • Support of: RLFS’ Unified Therapy Department and Family Therapy Department • Family workers • Family workers and preschool teachers work together to support the children and their families. Tools • Reuben Lindh Parenting Skills Evaluation • Family support service workers staffing goals & teachers’ written behavioral goals • The social emotional checklist

7. A Comparison of Reuben Lindh and Minnesota State Children entering kindergarten on 2005 (Children entering Kindergartentested with the P4 Work Sampling) List comments your child/ren make about school or teacher: Talks about playing. Likes to go to school everyday. Talks about homework. Counts number, sing, dance, play Likes teachers, drivers, friends, therapists, and her pictures. They want to go to school, they like their school. She talks about how she played with her friends at school, how good she was and about what she ate. He loves his teacher and coming to school. She says she likes her school and her teacher.

8. My child/children like coming to preschool. • Always 84% • Sometimes 16% I have noticed changes in my child/children’s behavior since participating in this program. • Yes 91% • Sometimes 2% • No 7% Family Focus, continued

9. STRONG • For mothers under 25 with at least one child under age 5 • Families are homeless or at risk of being homeless • Five-year national pilot program funded by Hilton Tools: • Infant and Toddler Development or the Miller 1st Step • ASQ • Client satisfaction survey • Housing assistance, parenting skills and chemical dependency counseling as provided as needed Outcomes: • 13 of the STRONG women are employed (one with two jobs) • 8 of the women are in school working towards their GED, • 2 of the women have completed chemical dependency treatment. • 39 children have been screened

10. Important Components to Success

11. Parental Involvement • Getting into homes • Relationship is key to client’s motivation to change • Setting up regular schedule of home visits increases success rate / family worker accountable and adding structure • Family Worker dependability • Looking for parents’ learning style (i.e. reading, modeling, provide experience)

12. Family Therapy & Counseling Services • Culturally sensitive individual, couple, family, group and play therapy • Integrated client staffings in the Family Focus and Four Directions Family Center screen and identify mental health issues and the need for therapy • Highest service provision each year is to children ages three to five receiving play therapy. Outcomes Client report of changes and improvements: • 73% Feel better about self • 68% Can better handle problems that arise • 70% Can name and express feelings • 70% Communication with others has improved Nine families (children and parents) in the STRONG program have been referred to Reuben Lindh Therapy Services

13. Unified Therapy • Combined specialized services offered by occupational therapy, physical therapy, music therapy and speech/language therapy • In-center or the home visiting programs for all children and their families who demonstrate need Tools • Therapy staff will screen all children in each Preschool using standardized tools and follow-up assessments. • Pre and post therapeutic intervention assessment • Ongoing contact with family workers, phone contacts and home visits.

14. Quality Preschool Program preparing children for Kindergarten • Culturally appropriate curriculum • Family involvement/ home visits • Regular testing

15. Screening and Testing and Intervention for children and families • Screen children for developmental delay (speech/language, hearing and vision), emotional stability • Parents are screened for parenting skills (AAPI) and evaluated for community and family resources (Eco-gram) • Testing in preschool (ASQ-SE) and ASQ, COR, Work Sampling (Preschool and 4D)

16. Track Outcomes and Indicators Annually • Annual program reports