Family Finding

The Prevention Network’s Family Finding Program utilizes principles of strength-based goals with open and honest communication to collaborate with providers and permanency team members to support the ongoing care of at-risk and vulnerable children in the Child Welfare System and find a stable, permanent home. Prevention Network’s team of dedicated professionals utilize more than a decade of experience and knowledge, working hard to serve families struggling with barriers between healthy family units. Family Finding team members motivate, empower and advocate work with children and families entrenched with mental health, drug & alcohol diagnoses, and other barriers to their well-being. The Family Finding team engage and support cultural and family values while facilitating change for family. Our team strengthens support for children and families referred by Beaver County Children & Youth Services.

What is it?

The Family Finding services are voluntary. With the family’s consent, the team works collaboratively with Beaver County Children & Youth Services to serve at-risk and vulnerable children and families that would benefit from this program. The Prevention Network Family Finding team obtains background information to begin the search and identification of family members, friends and supports for their level of commitment, identifying engagement. If the permanency team decides a Family Group Decision Making Meeting would be beneficial, a Family Group team member will begin the process of coordinating and facilitating a Family Group Conference. This conference brings everyone to the table to help the family develop a plan that includes the children, family supports, care providers and permanency team. Facilitators assist the family in identifying their strengths, naming concerns, assessing possible solutions for the situation and assigning tasks for follow through. The family is empowered to reach a solution they will be able to fulfill. Follow-up conferences and team meetings by Family Group or Family Finding team members may be carried out for the continued support of the Family Service Plan and Individual Permanency plan concerns have been addressed. Evaluation of the Family Finding Program and the success of the permanency solutions outcomes are determined by outcome forms and surveys completed by family and professionals.

Goals and Objectives

The goal of the Prevention Network’s Family Finding program is to help provide each child with the lifelong connections that only a family can offer. We accomplish this through our six steps of permanency from the Family Finding Model. Core beliefs inherent in this approach are: every child has a family, loneliness can be devastating and particularly felt by foster children, meaningful connections to family help a child develop a sense of belonging, and the single most identified factor contributing to positive outcomes for children involves meaningful connections and lifelong relationships with family. 

How It Works

· Step 1: In collaboration with Beaver County Children & Youth Services a referral for services, our goal is to discover a minimum of 40 family members and other adults who can plan for and support an identified children’s welfare now and in the future.

· Step 2: The Family Finding team begins the engagement process of family and supports who know the child best. They are most likely to help meet their needs preventing as much disruption as possible in the child’s life.

· Step 3: The Family Finding team works hard to facilitate and coordinate a Family Team Meeting. This youth driven meeting includes family members in the creation and execution of the service and permanency plans for children. Then, a Family Group Decision Making Conference utilizing The Prevention Networks Family Group Decision Making Program team brings together all parties, including service providers, family, friends and any identified supports for the purpose of the well-being of the children.

· Step 4: The Family Finding team continues to identify supports, engage family members and help support the family’s plan developed during the Family Group Decision Making process. The team does this by remaining engaged and through continued collaboration with providers and permanency team members for the support of the ongoing care of these children. This verifies that there is a continuation of care plan in place for family and continues to help the permanency team to remain focused on the goals of permanency for the child.

· Step 5: The Family Finding team will continue to support the child and permanency team through follow-up conferences and meetings in collaboration with Family Group Decision Making Conference coordinators and facilitators.

· Step 6: The Family Finding team will collaborate with service providers, family, friends and identified supports to ensure that the children and family have on-going access to supportive services and key relationships needed for the continuation of care and sustained success.

Program Services

The Prevention Network’s Family Finding program focuses on identifying family members, friends and supports in hope of developing a permanency plan for at-risk children and identified through Beaver County Children & Youth Services. We collaborate with family and service providers to establish and promote alternatives to foster care placements while serving to shorten the lengths of stay for out-of-home placement.

Please contact Emily Linkenheimer at (724) 869-2222 or by email at e.linkenheimer@thepreventionnetwork.org .

Family Finding:

Contact Your Caseworker At:

Beaver County Children & Youth Services

1080 8th Avenue

Beaver Falls, PA 15010

(724) 891-5800

Contact your Juvenile Probation Officer At:

Beaver County Juvenile Services Division

Beaver County Courthouse

810 Third Street #1

Beaver, PA 15001

(724) 774-8870