Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Family First Prevention topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Family First services in Kansas reach thousands and show positive short-term outcomes, presenters say
Summary
Program overseers reported more than 6,600 families referred since 2019 and documented improvements in child social-emotional measures and caregiver mental health for families who complete services.
Kayla Byers, joined by Megan Chiesick of the KU Center for Public Partnerships and Research, summarized evaluation findings and system oversight for Kansas’ Family First Prevention Services at the Kansas Early Childhood Government Summit.
Byers described Family First as a use of Title IV-E funds to expand upstream community services — including mental-health care, substance use treatment, in-home parent skill building and kinship navigation — intended to prevent entries into foster care. She said the interagency and community advisory board (ICAB) and a 21-member Family Council with lived experience help monitor implementation and iterate program changes.
Presenters provided evaluation highlights: more than 6,600 families have been referred to Family First services since 2019; families who completed Family First programs showed statistically significant improvements in child social-emotional functioning and caregiver mental health measures (anxiety, depression and stress), caregiver perceptions of parenting skill, and substance-use outcomes. Byers and Chiesick said families who receive Family First programs were 51% more likely than families receiving other prevention services to remain safely together at one year, and that 90% of families who received Family First services remained safely together one year after referral.
Byers described how the Family Council contributed a vision and specific recommendations for the five-year renewal of Kansas’ Title IV-E prevention plan. Recommendations include phased additions to the service array — notably peer support — and expanding community-based pathways to access services. Presenters said DCF and partner agencies are evaluating which recommendations can be phased into the plan as capacity and funding allow.
Ending
Byers and Chiesick said the ICAB and family council will continue rapid-cycle feedback and that recommended changes will be phased into the state plan subject to capacity and federal approval processes.
