On January 25, 2022, three new programs were rated and two were approved for federal funding under by the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse
Youth Villages’ Intercept® becomes one of only 12 programs to earn the well-supported distinction from the Clearinghouse, the top category out of three allowing states to spend without bumping into any spending caps (“supported,” and “promising” are the other two categories).
Intercept®, formerly known as Youth Villages (YV) Intercept, provides intensive in-home services to children and youth at risk of entry or re-entry into out-of-home placements or who are currently in out-of-home placements (e.g., foster care, residential facilities, or group homes). The program is designed to reduce foster care utilization by providing prevention services to children and their families of origin.
Family Intervention Specialists use an integrated, trauma-informed approach to offer individualized services intended to meet the needs of children and their families of origin. Specialists address needs identified in children’s schools, peer groups, neighborhoods, and communities. Specialists also support the family in school or legal meetings and are on-call to provide crisis support 24/7.”
In a statement, Youth Villages CEO Patrick Lawler said, “Nearly 30 years ago, Youth Villages made intensive in-home services the foundation of everything we do. This endorsement is a testament to the work of thousands of family intervention specialists and will enable the expansion of the program through direct services and implementing agency partners to help more children and families across the country. We appreciate the Clearinghouse’s role in helping states identify evidence-based programs. The Family First Act’s commitment to providing support for families is a transformational moment for child welfare.”
The second program meeting the law’s requirements, Intensive Care Coordination Using High Fidelity Wraparound, was rated as “promising.” Also known as High Fidelity Wraparound, the model uses an individualized, team-based, collaborative process to provide a coordinated set of services and supports. It is typically targeted toward children and youth with complex emotional, behavioral, or mental health needs, and their families. Throughout the process, youth and their families work with a care coordinator who convenes, facilitates, and coordinates efforts of the wraparound team. The care coordinator further helps the family navigate planned services and supports, including informal and community-based options; tracks progress and satisfaction to revise the plan of care as needed; and ensures program fidelity.
Project phases include stabilizing immediate crises, orienting the youth and family to their plan and the Wraparound team. Taking consideration of the youth and family’s “strengths, needs, culture and goals”, an initial care plan will be created, and action steps will be established. The team will meet regularly and monitor satisfaction and progress to identify areas for plan modification as well as celebrating successes. The last phase includes the creation of a transition plan grounded in community-based supports and services.
The Clearinghouse also announced that “Lilliput Families Kinship Support Services Program is not eligible for review by the Prevention Services Clearinghouse because a written protocol, manual, or other documentation that describes how to implement or administer the practice is not available to the public at this time (Program Eligibility Criterion 2.1.2).
The Clearinghouse, which was established as part of the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA), determines what programs can be funded by FFPSA. The Clearinghouse recently issued a call for recommendations of programs and services for review, which closed in late December. There are caps on how much Title IV-E funding a state can spend on supported and promising programs but not well-supported programs.
