Heather is a single mother who was struggling with raising two teenage girls. Her oldest child, Jessica, was dealing with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder due to abuse she suffered from another relative. Unfortunately, Jessica frequently lashed out at Heather, and Heather reacted by screaming at her daughter. Their disagreements turned physical, as Jessica would hit her mother, scaring her younger sister. The family reached a low point when Jessica and a mother had an altercation.
Jessica wound up with bruises on her leg. The Department of Children and Families was called.
At that time, the altercation was the last straw in a long line of the challenges that the family was facing. Heather had been working long twelve and thirteen-hour days to support her family, but Jessica would skip school and start getting involved with drugs and bad friends. To track Jessica down, Heather had to leave her job. This eventually caused Heather to lose her job.
“Heather said that this behavior had been going on for quite awhile,” explained prevention worker Almentha Wyche.
Family Support Services soon got involved, providing a variety of services to assist the family. The Integrated Practice Team made some helpful recommendations for Heather and her children.
“The first step was a family team meeting,” said prevention worker Wyche. “These meetings help because the family starts to take control of their challenges. They choose who to invite to the meeting, including any relatives who have been supportive. Goals are set and then reviewed.
Everyone in the meeting, including the caseworker and the team coordinator, knows what they have to do to help the family.”
The team meeting determined that Heather need to work on her communications skills. “Heather and Jessica would scream and yell at each other when they had disagreements. They were not able to sit and talk without getting angry. They weren’t listening to each other.”
In-home family counseling was started on a weekly basis. The caseworker used Bavolek’s Parenting Curriculum and Nurturing Program to show Heather how she could better communicate with her children. The counseling also helped Jessica deal with her anger and rage.
“Heather had been afraid that Jessica might attack her. The counseling was important. It’s about asking questions rather than making accusations, and finding out what can be done to make the situation better,” said Wyche.
Additionally, Family Support Services provided financial assistance to help Heather keep her family together. “Financial stress was another major source of stress for this family,” Wyche explained. FSS paid the rent and utilities for one month and gave Heather gift cards to Wal-Mart so that she and her children could have necessities.
Today, several months after services started, the family is considered a success. Heather did everything possible to make sure that they got the help they needed to keep her family together.
“She was very cooperative,” Wyche said. “Like many parents, she just didn’t know what services were available in the community to help them.”
This story does not have the typical ending. Jessica had been doing better, but unfortunately, she recently got into trouble. She’s facing a minor shoplifting charge. But as Wyche points out, it’s how the family is dealing with this problem that shows how far they've come.
“When this happened, they were able to talk about it, rather than screaming and then calling me and saying that I needed to intervene. Heather is calmly taking care of the situation, and Jessica is taking responsibility for what she has done. When I followed up with them, we had a good conversation, without yelling and screaming,” said Wyche.
“This program helped us out during hard times,” Heather said. “Everything went beautifully.”
“The family may continue to have minor conflicts, but Heather now has the parenting tools to keep the situation under control,” Wyche said.
SUCCESS STORY: Program Helps Mother Find New Job, New Life
When she was in danger of being evicted from her home, Rasheeda Humphrey had a
two-year-old son and was seven months pregnant.
“I was told to stop working because I had difficulty during my pregnancy. I was five
months pregnant. I wanted to work, but I couldn’t,” said Rasheeda, age 25. She had
gestational diabetes and excessive protein inher body.
The bills piled up as Rasheeda was unemployed. “I was backed up on my rent, phone bill,
and light bill. It was horrible. My child was born two months early, and I think it was due
to stress.”
She didn’t have anyone to turn to. “My family wasn’t able to give that much help. They
were facing challenges in their own lives,” she explained.
The Healthy Start program referred Rasheeda to Family Support Services’ STEPS
(Strengthening Ties and Empowering Parents) program. Rasheeda says that parenting
classes weren’t needed, but financial assistance was necessary.
“Sarah Atteberry was my caseworker. She helped me with my light bill, clothing for my
children and me, paying the rent that was owed, and she gave me bus cards to help me with transportation,” said Rasheeda.
Rasheeda says that her youngest child, born prematurely, is now doing great. “I think the
birth would have been more challenging if I had not met my caseworker.”
Sarah not only helped Rasheeda financially, she also taught her some important skills.
“Before Sarah closed my case, she helped me prepare a budget. That was the first time I
had prepared a detailed budget. I had never done that before.”
Once Rasheeda’s past rent was paid, she began looking for a new home for her family. “At t
her old apartment, there was an ant problem and the paint was chipping. Now, we’re in a
much cleaner, much safer apartment with a washer and a dryer.”
But Rasheeda’s involvement with Family Support Services did not end once she and her
children found a new place to live. She now works for FSS as an administrative assistant.
“Rasheeda was eager to get a job and provide for her family,” said Jennifer Behnam,
Program Services Director of FSS.
The Jacksonville Children’s Commission gives Rasheeda assistance with day care for her
children. Additionally, she plans on starting school at FCCJ later this year, where she will
major either in computer science or sociology.
“I think the Foster Care Redesign is a great program to be part of,” said Rasheeda. “I want
to help others. That’s also why I’m glad to be working for Family Support Services. I think
this program can provide a lot of assistance for parents. A lot of people are in need. This
program helps in every way it can. That’s what I love about it.”
“In a time of crisis, the STEPS program was able to give Rasheeda the support she needed
to get back on her feet,” said Behnam.
Luvenia's Story
Luvenia Grimsley had a difficult childhood. She was born to a parent who struggled with drug abuse issues. She was raised in the foster care system until the age of 13, when she was reunited with her mother. Luvenia was one of nine children. Seven of them were later adopted by other families.
Luvenia’s challenges continued into her adult years. A relative came to her home, asking for money to buy drugs. When Luvenia refused to give him the money, the relative set her house on fire. This left Luvenia and her two children, ages five and two, without a place to stay. But then she got help from the Foster Care Redesign’s Alternative Response System (ARS) program, and her life began to change for the better.
“She received parenting, budget and household management services,” explained Barbara Jones, Lead Prevention Worker with Family Support Services. “Luvenia also received financial assistance for rent, lights, household items, food and clothing. She took part in a focus group for the Alternative Response System, and she completed community hours for the financial assistance she received.”
The prevention program helped Luvenia turn her life around, and improve the lives of her young children. She was referred to WorkSource for employment assistance and referred to the Florida Department of Revenue for assistance with child support. She enrolled in
“Luvenia was very cooperative with the services,” said Jones.
In addition to being helped by the program, Luvenia credits a lot of her survivor skills to another woman she has known who grew up in the foster system and who inspired her to do better.
“She has had a lot of challenges in her life, but she is a survivor,” Jones said.
Corrine’s Story
One of the mothers receiving services in the Foster Care Redesign program talked with two Jacksonville television stations about how the program has helped her become a better parent.
Teen Says DCF Program Made Her Better Mom
Channel 4 News, WJXT-TV
Lepper was pregnant at age 14, and at age 16 she was living with an abusive man. She said she found that man's ways creeping into the way she disciplined her daughter.
"I guess in a way I picked up on his habits, not a lot but a little bit. Like the way could never keep his cool with her," Lepper said. "I'd pop her on her butt, but that's it. That's the way I was brought up, but now they say you don't do that." "(They said) 'You either go into this program for six months or we're going take your daughter from you.' The last thing I ever want was to lose her," Lepper said. "There's no instruction guide or instruction manual on becoming a parent, and this helps teach the parent alternative ways of disciplining them without hitting them," said John Harrell, of DCF. 
While
Police said what overwhelmed young mothers often do not know is that help is available. Another young mother, 17-year-old Corrine Lepper, can attest to that.
She said the state got involved after she reported her ex-husband's abuse and then went back to him.
She said after that she left her husband, put her daughter first and enrolled in a six-month program through the Department of Children and Families.
Two months into the program, Lepper said it has already made her a better mother. "Instead of yelling and screaming at her, I'll put her in the corner and sit and talk with her," Lepper said.
See the full story at Channel 4’s website: DCF Program Keeps More Families Together
Christine is a single mother of two children, a 9-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter. She is due to give birth to her third child this January. Christine had a tough life before she even became a mother. She was abused by her father and began living in a group home when she was 15. Shortly after that, she became pregnant with her first child. As she raised her children, she endured several abusive relationships. Christine reached a low point when a boyfriend beat her up in front of her children. "She completed Anger Management classes through the Salvation Army," explained Monique Weeks, Prevention Coordinator with Family Support Services. "Our caseworker, Angelyne White, helped Christine get into school at Advanced Career Training, and she's doing very well. She received a certificate for attendance, appearance, attitude and academics. She's now working at McDonald's and has been there for almost two months." "I like this program," Christine said. "Angelyne explains everything about parenting. She gives me a lot of encouragement to keep going." Christine's mother is watching her children while she goes to school, and she has applied to the Jacksonville Children's Commission for child care assistance. "Christine is in full compliance with the program," said Monique Weeks. "She is very motivated and has followed through on all assigned tasks given. She's completed parenting skills training and will begin budgeting skills training on her next home visit. She'll have completed her medical assistant program at Advanced Career Training before her due date. They'll provide her with job placement assistance after she has her baby." Weeks also says that a Family Support Services worker helped pay the security deposits for Christine to get a new apartment. "I like this apartment. I feel very grateful," said Christine. When asked what she would say to other parents about the prevention program, Christine said, "It's a good program. If you get referred to it, it's something to stick with, rather than just quitting. This program has helped give me self-esteem."
http://www.news4jax.com/news/16204685/detail.html
First
While most girls her age are learning about math and science, Corinne Lepper is learning how to raise a little girl. As a teenage mom, she faces challenges everyday. Properly disciplining her 2-year-old daughter, Gabrielle, has been the toughest one yet.
"Instead of putting her in a corner for time-out, I would just pop her," Lepper says. The 17-year-old has changed her behavior ever since joining a new program through the Department of Children and Families.
It's called Foster Care Redesign. The goal of the program is to keep children out of foster care and in their homes.
"We believe that if we can provide some in-house counseling services, some close monitoring, that we can keep the family intact," said Family Support Services CEO Jim Adams.
Case workers spend several hours each week teaching at-risk parents like Lepper about budgeting, parenting and behavior management. About 17 parents are currently enrolled in the program in
See the full story at the First Coast News website:
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=107896
Prevention Program Yields Positive Results
"I now know how to be a better parent," said Christine, who has been in the Foster Care Redesign program since April.
"I didn't know about parenting skills," Christine said. "I wasn't working or going to school."
Earlier this year, a caseworker recommended that she take part in Family Support Services of North Florida's prevention program. The caseworker's dedication and Christine's personal motivation are helping create a better life for her and her children.
Mother Receives Help To Keep Her Family Together
Quadrika Robinson was a single mother struggling with many challenges. She had just lost her job and was unable to find new employment for several months. She was facing several bills. And then she heard from the Department of Children and Families.
“The Department received a false abuse call. I took them through my house. I took them through my refrigerator. I took them everywhere because anybody who knows me knows I’m a great mom. I love my children. Once they investigated, they found out that my family really needed services to help,” said Quadrika.
The help Quadrika needed from the STEPS (Strengthening Ties and Empowering Parents) program included financial assistance and help with finding a new job. Her caseworker assisted her in getting that job. Quadrika was so proud of how she was helped by the program that she spoke to CBS 47 News and Fox 30 News in Jacksonville. The stations were doing a story on the successful efforts to end foster care as we know it in our city.
“The number of children in foster care in Duval County is 35 percent lower than it was four years ago,” reported Mike Tolbert of CBS 47/Fox 30 News. “Foster Care Redesign is now being studied as a model for the entire state. They teach adults how to be good parents. They do regular checkups, and build healthy homes.”
Department of Children and Families Northeast Regional Director Nancy Dreicer was also featured in the report. “It’s not the foster parents. It’s the system itself. They (children in foster care) lose time in school. They actually have higher rates of crime. It’s the number one predictor of homelessness. We want to save that child from trauma, and
leave them with their family that they’re bounded to.”
As Quadrika got ready to start her new job, she told CBS 47/Fox 30 News about what the program meant to her.
“I don’t know where we would be if I hadn’t gotten into this program,” she said.