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TEAMWORK LEADS TO CENTRAL
A BREAKTHROUGH
The moment we connect with a family is crucial developmental screening and support for referrals
and having one single point of entry for access to local school systems as needed.
to Children’s Friend’s services allows us to
serve families with a holistic and wraparound First Connections nurse, Meg, and supervisor, Lea,
approach. Early conversations can mean the visited the family right away.
difference between a strong, long-term working
relationship with a family and a series of missed Lucy, the mother, was pregnant. She also had a
connections and opportunities. two-year-old and a seven-month-old. Both were
in need of developmental support through Early
At Children’s Friend, Centralized Intake is just one Intervention. Due to ongoing family challenges,
way to ensure early touch points with families are Lucy had not been able to have them evaluated.
meaningful and create the foundations for a better The First Connections team worked with Lucy to
tomorrow. create a plan, initiate referrals, and ensure she had
ongoing support to meet the needs of the family.
In June, our Centralized Intake team received a Meg kept in touch with Lucy between visits to
referral from a home visitor asking them to connect keep her and her children from slipping through
with a family in need of support. As Keiry, our the cracks.
Centralized Intake Coordinator, gathered more
information about the family, she discovered that Early Intervention’s long waitlist created additional
the family had been referred to Children’s Friend challenges for the family. For many families, being
multiple times but had never participated in any of on a waitlist means a significant delay before
the organization’s services. beginning services. Meg continued to encourage
Lucy to enroll her children in Early Head Start,
When Keiry connected with the family, she which would provide general education and
uncovered multiple complex and challenging developmental screening in the meantime. At
relationships which were putting the children at Children’s Friend, there are also resources to
risk. The family needed support and concrete support Lucy through her pregnancy. Less than
resources. Kiery spent nearly an hour on the phone two months after the initial referral, Lucy was
with the family. By the end of the call, the family excited to participate in these services. She
was ready to meet with our First Connections team. has done incredible work to make the changes
needed for her children.
First Connections provides moms and their children
with culturally competent, comprehensive services Centralized Intake was critical to initiating a thought-
from birth to age three. Services are delivered by ful, family-centered connection with Lucy. By starting
registered nurses and social workers in the client’s from that strong relationship, Meg and the rest of
home and can include connecting families with the the team had the chance to help Lucy recognize that
Department of Human Services, WIC, obstetricians, she could make the changes today that she wanted
pediatricians, housing, and domestic violence to improve her children’s futures.
support. In addition, all children in the home receive
CHILDREN'S FRIEND ANNUAL REPORT 2022
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