1. Children, Youth and Families A Brief Overview Presented by Kathleen Betts Assistant Secretary for Children, Youth, and Families Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services

2. Sec. of Elder Affairs Asst Sec. for Disabilities & Community Services Asst. Sec. for Children, Youth and Families EOHHS Secretary Sec. of Veterans' Services Governor Dept. of Children and Families Dept. of Transitional Assistance Dept. of Youth Services Office of Refugees and Immigrants Developmental Services Rehabilitation Commission Comm. for the Blind Comm. for Deaf & Hard of Hearing Dept. of Public Health Dept. of Mental Health Executive Office of Health and Human Services (partial list of agencies) MassHealth

3. Department of Children and Families DCF Mission The Department of Children and Families is charged with protecting children from abuse and neglect, and strengthening families. About Us The Department of Children and Families is charged with protecting children from abuse and neglect and strengthening families. There are currently 8,000 children in foster care across Massachusetts out of 40,095 children in all served by the Department. DCF programs include foster care, adoption, adolescent services and domestic violence services. The number of children placed with kin increased from 20% to 26% The number of children in congregate care decreased from 1,769 to 1,510 a 15% decrease.

4. Department of Transitional Assistance DTA Mission The mission of the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) is to assist low-income individuals and families to meet their basic needs, increase their incomes, and improve their quality of life. About Us The Department serves one out of every eight people in the Commonwealth (863,000 individuals and 482,000 households). Our clients include working families, children, elders, and people with disabilities.. Our 22 Transitional Assistance Offices around the state allow us to use creative outreach efforts and flexible service delivery models to ensure that our resources are accessible to—and work effectively for—our clients. The Department provides the following assistance programs: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamps) provides food and nutritional benefits and is federally-funded. Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC) provides cash assistance to very low-income families. Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled and Children (EAEDC) provides limited cash assistance to elderly and disabled persons, as well as children, who are not covered by our other programs. State Supplement Program (SSP) provides cash assistance to augment federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for elders and people with disabilities.

5. Department of Youth Services Agency Mission As the juvenile justice agency for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Department of Youth Services promotes positive change in the youth in our care and custody. Our mission is to make communities safer by improving the life outcomes for youth in our care. We achieve our mission through investing in highly qualified staff and a service continuum that engages youth, families and communities in strategies that support positive youth development. About Us DYS operates 82 programs, which include: 56 residential facilities, ranging from staff secure to hardware secure programs, 36 of which are provider operated; 26 community programs to service youth who reside in the community with a parent, guardian, foster parent or in a transitional living program. All DYS programs provide educational, clinical and medical services for youth in the care and custody of the Department The DYS population consists of: Approximately 2,500 youth held on bail at DYS detention facilities pending resolution of the court proceedings 1,115 youth committed to DYS until the age of 18 (adjudicated delinquent) or 21 (youthful offenders) Raise the Age

6. Office of Refugees and Immigrants ORI Mission ORI’s mission is to promote the full participation of refugees and immigrants as self- sufficient individuals and families in the economic, social and civic life of Massachusetts. About Us Integration and the valued contributions of immigrants and refugees are at the very core of our mission. Immigrants compose 14% of the Massachusetts population; in the last 5 years over 10,000 refugees have been resettled in Massachusetts. Services include transitional cash and medical assistance (for up to eight months); case management; employment services, including English as a Second Language (ESL); health assessment; school support and foster care for unaccompanied refugee minors. In Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2012, a total of 2,180 new refugees resettled in Massachusetts. The majority of refugees that arrived from overseas were Bhutanese 29%; Iraqi 23%; Burmese 6% and Somali 11%. Our office expects to resettle about 2,500 new refugees in FFY2013. Since its establishment in 1985, ORI has been almost exclusively funded through the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to administer the Massachusetts Refugee Resettlement Program. These federal funds are restricted to work related to the resettlement of refugees.

7. Suffolk County: Boston (Refugee and Immigrant Assistant Center, Jamaica Plain) Refugees Served Ethnicity & Country of Origin Languages spoken Elementary School 161 Ivory Coast French, Somali 12 Somalia 3 Cameroon Middle School71 Ivory Coast French, Somali 5 Somalia 1 Cameroon High School131 Ivory Coast French, Somali 9 Somalia 1 Cameroon 1 Congo 1 Guinea Total students36 French, Somali Parents81 Cameroon 1 Ivory Coast 6 Somalia

8. FY 2014 Budget EHS Family Resource Centers $850,000 total Mass211 24/7 web/telephonic, statewide information & referral system School Liaison in 7 Family Resource Centers (FRCs): Springfield, Worcester, Brockton, Holyoke, Lawrence and (2 in) Boston. Liaison makes vital connection between schools and community. Priority of the Readiness Cabinet. Lawrence FRC Upgrade the capacity of the existing school-based FRC in Lawrence. (Individual Family Support, Group Based Family Support, and Family Activities)

9. Family Resource Worker(s) Office Administrator/ ‘Welcomer” Education Liaison Clinician Family Partner Family Resource Center (FRC) High Level Org Chart/Service Provider Continuum Program Administrator Mental Health Clinic Admin. Services Org. (ASO) (Contract) Hotel space Co-location Program Director

10. Parent walks into to FRC Welcome & Informal screening Self referral CRA Contracted Services Parent referred to FRC services, and community based service network High Level Service Flow for FRC Court Screening, Intake, and Assessment CRA yes Service Plan 211 Parent consent/ choice Other