Hillside Institute for Family
Connections®: Family Finding
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As part of Hillside’s commitment to help ensure that all youth have permanent connections, we offer Family Finding services, training, and consultation for public or private agencies in the areas of child welfare (foster care, adoption, out-of-home placement), juvenile justice, mental health and developmental disabilities.
About this Program
Family connectedness is essential to healthy child development.The single factor most closely associated with positive outcomes for children/youth are meaningful lifelong connections. Youth who experience out-of-home living environments are at great risk of becoming disconnected from family members and supportive adults. Without these essential connections, youth are more apt to experience increased loneliness, isolation and decreased hope about their future.
Hillside’s Family Finding service is designed to locate and engage caring adults to create lifetime networks for disconnected youth and young adults. The service offers a model to discover, engage and support biological family, fictive kin and other natural supports in order to effectively plan for the youth’s legal and relational permanency.
Family Finding: 6 Steps
Hillside’s Family Finding model supports pathways to permanency using six defined steps.
1 – DISCOVERY
The Permanency Specialist partners with families to search for and identify new family members and natural supports for the youth in need.
2 – ENGAGEMENT
Family members and natural supports are contacted and engaged in person, by telephone or letters. In this process, family and natural supports are asked to assist with decision-making and educated about the urgency of the youth’s situation.
3 – BLENDED PERSPECTIVE
Family members and natural supports share their knowledge of the youth, learn why their voice and support is needed. Family members and natural supports are asked to become a part of the youth’s permanent lifetime network.
4 – DECISION MAKING
The lifetime network is asked to make key decisions to support the youth’s need for permanency, safety, and well-being.
5 – EVALUATION
Key decisions are evaluated for practicality and sustainability, and to ensure their role in the youth’s safety and well-being. An individual from the lifetime network is identified to organize and facilitate future meetings and communications.
6 – FOLLOW-UP SUPPORTS
The youth’s lifetime network is assisted in identifying and accessing services and supports necessary to maintain the plan.
Positive outcomes of Family Finding services can include:
- For Youth—decreased loneliness and isolation, and increased hope for the future; an increased understanding of their families and themselves, including knowing their own story; and increased and stronger connections with supportive family members and natural supports.
- For Families—healing and restoration through re-connection with their family member.
- For Funders—cost savings are realized when youth in care discharge to a lower level of care or are able to leave care or avoid care altogether.
Eligibility
Youth who reside in out-of-home placement and have few or no permanency connections. Additional eligibility criteria are based on youth’s county of origin and/or current placement. Contact us for details.
Open to eligible individuals from all counties in New York State: Albany, Allegany, Bronx, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware, Dutchess, Erie, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Genesee, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Kings, Lewis, Livingston, Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, Nassau, New York, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Orange, Orleans, Oswego, Otsego, Putnam, Queens, Rensselaer, Richmond, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, St. Lawrence, Steuben, Suffolk, Sullivan, Tioga, Tompkins, Ulster, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Westchester, Wyoming and Yates.
Locations
Rochester/Buffalo Office
1 Mustard Street
Rochester, NY 14609
Syracuse Office
215 Wyoming Street
Syracuse NY 13204
Contact Information
Michelle Belge, Director
Hillside Institute for Family Connections®
585-256-7500
info@hillside.com
For details about this or any Hillside program, contact us 24 hours a day at 585-256-7500 or info@hillside.com
These services are supported by the NYS Office of Children and Family Services, NYS Office of Mental Health, Monroe County, and Onondaga County Department of Social Services,.