Summary of Specifications:
The Department of Social Services hereby announces the intention to request for proposals for the provision of Intensive Family Preservation Services, Homebuilders Program.
Homebuilders is an in-home, intensive family preservation service (IFPS) and reunification program for families with children (newborn to 17 years old) returning from or at risk of placement into foster care, group or residential treatment, psychiatric hospitals, or juvenile justice facilities. The Homebuilders model is designed to eliminate barriers to service while using research-based interventions to improve parental skills, parental capabilities, family interactions, children’s behavior, and family safety. The goals are to prevent the unnecessary out-of-home placement of children through an intensive, onsite intervention and to teach families new problem-solving skills to improve family functioning.
Homebuilder’s Therapists (“Therapists”) work with youths and families involved in the child welfare, juvenile justice, and mental health system. For high-risk families involved with the Child Protection Service “CPS” system, the goal of the program is to remove the risk of harm to the child instead of removing the child. Therapists work with families to teach them new behaviors and help them make better choices for their children, while ensuring child safety. In addition, Homebuilders also works with youths and their families to address issues that lead to delinquency, while allowing youths to remain in the community. Homebuilder’s staff work with youths to ensure they attend classes regularly, adhere to curfews, comply with the courts, and learn anger management and conflict-resolution skills to avoid getting into more trouble. Finally, the program works with youths so they can avoid the trauma and stigma of psychiatric hospitalization or residential treatment for mental health related issues by providing crisis intervention and skill building, involving the families in the youths’ treatment, and broadening the continuum of care.
