ACDSS Family Support Program

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What is the Family Support Program?

The Family Support Program is a partnership between Albemarle County Department of Social Services and Albemarle County Public Schools. This free, voluntary program provides prevention and intervention services to children and families experiencing risk factors that are impeding a child’s healthy development and ability to succeed in school, home, and the community. The Program’s goals are to promote safe and stable families, ensure child safety, permanency, and well-being, strengthen families, support children's growth and development, and promote school engagement through home, school, and community collaboration.

The Program's Mission Statement underscores the understanding that a child's ability to learn in school can be greatly impacted by unmet needs. Through home-school partnerships and community collaboration, supportive services can enable children and families to reach their full potential. Guiding principles of the Program are that families have the primary responsibility for their children’s development and well-being and that some families may need resources and supports to enable them to fulfill the responsibilities of parenthood.

Family Support is designed to help families and children by:

• Developing supportive and trusting relationships with families while building on the family’s strengths to promote self-sufficiency.
• Assessing the family’s protective and risk factors to determine service needs.
• Enhancing the parent-child relationship.
• Supporting child(ren)’s growth and development.
• Collaborating with families to identify and access community resources to reduce stress, including enrichment and education opportunities for children and adults, economic and financial support, and counseling.
• Assisting with crisis intervention and problem solving.
• Partnering with school staff to build home-school connections to increase collaboration between the school, home, and community.
• Helping families to identify and/or build their natural support system.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Students and their families can be referred for Family Support Services by school staff, community providers/community members, DSS staff, or by self-referral through completion of the Family Support Referral Form.

• Referrals can be initiated by the Family Support Worker when the need for services is identified through their partnership with school teams and neighborhood programs.

• Completed referrals are emailed to the Family Support Program Coordinator, Kim Harris, at kharris@albemarle.org

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Expand/Contract Questions and Answers

What are the typical program components?
Monthly home visits with caretakers and the family, monthly contact with the child(ren) at school (and at home), and regular communication with the classroom teacher, school counselors and other school administrators as needed.

Life skills training: This may include family literacy, education, employment or vocational training or enhancement of personal development skills such as problem solving, stress reduction and communication.
Parent information and education: This may include classes and support groups to provide instruction in child development and opportunities for parents to share their experiences and concerns with peers.

Creating opportunities for parent-child groups and family activities which provide occasions for parents to spend more time with their child(ren).

Information and referrals to enrichment and education opportunities for children and adults, economic and financial support and counseling, and access to other community resources such as mental health or substance use counseling.

Meetings to provide parents with opportunities to talk with teachers about their child(ren)’s progress.

Crisis intervention and support services to address special concerns about their children, specific family issues and to stabilize the family and prevent child abuse and neglect and out-of-home placement.
Provide connection to support services such as connection to resources for clothing, emergency food and transportation, referral for financial assistance and medical needs.
What do Family Support Workers do?
Family Support Workers provide short-term assistance through information and referral services or longer-term support when needed. Support includes information and referrals to enrichment and education opportunities for children and adults, economic, financial, mental health, or substance use support and counseling. Through monthly home visits with the parent(s)/guardian(s) and family, monthly contact with the child(ren) at school, and regular communication with the classroom teacher, school counselors, other school administrators, and community partners, Family Support Workers provide wrap around support to families.
Where can you find a Family Support Worker?
Family Support Workers serve the public elementary and middle schools in Albemarle County.

Additional Information:

For more information regarding the Family Support Program please contact the Family Support Program Coordinator, Kim Harris, at kharris@albemarle.org or 434-972-4010.

Family Support Brochure 2022

Family Support Brochure 2022 SPANISH

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