There are so many different ways that Home Start helps strengthen families to protect children. One of our programs is Community Services for Families. CSF focusses on educating parents, prioritizing those who become involved with Child Welfare Services.
The goal of Community Services for Families is to promote child safety, child well-being and stable living environments for children. We work to create a stronger parenting base and ultimately reunite the family.
Sarah’s Story
A young mother, we’ll call her Sarah for privacy reasons, was referred to CSF in Fall of 2019 due to substance abuse. Her two children had been removed from her care at the ages of two and one years old.
Due to her substance abuse, Sarah was not able to care for her family and found herself homeless. She was accepted into an inpatient treatment program where she started on her journey towards making the necessary changes and eventually became a mentor to new incoming patients.
When CSF first began working with Sarah, she would cry when her oldest son threw violent tantrums because she felt overwhelmed and didn’t have the tools to calm him down. She said that this was the first time she was parenting them sober and everything was new to her. She would cry and beg for help. Something most parents can relate to.
“After weeks of CSF Services, she became more and more confident with setting boundaries, expectations, and following through on consequences.”
After weeks of CSF Services, Sarah became more and more confident with setting boundaries, expectations, and following through on consequences. By the end of the Parent Child Interaction Module, she no longer asked for help and had learned how to calmly handle the violent tantrums, among many other valuable parenting lessons.
Sarah’s Success
Sarah participated in the Healthy Relationships Module (Domestic Violence Education) and is now able to have better communication with her own mother. She later got into the Substance Abuse Treatment Voucher Program and obtained safe housing. Since then, she has successfully reunified with her children, and her Child Welfare Services (CWS) Case was closed. She has even chosen to continue to participate in CSF Services of her own accord.
Our Mission
The mission of Home Start is to assure the safety and resiliency of children by strengthening families and their communities. We do this through a wide range of programs that address the variety of situations families face every day. Find out more about Community Services for Families at the link and, of course, donations are always appreciated and go 100% to support our work and the families we serve.