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Families First Partnership outlines 'Find Help' directory and local early-childhood collaborations; housing and utilities top needs
Summary
Families First Partnership presented a quarter-4, 2024 summary of a local resource directory and referral system called Find Help, reporting 170 coaching referrals and noting housing and utilities among the top needs; the group described outreach methods, a 48-hour response target and upcoming early-childhood events.
Carolyn Sabin of Families First Partnership described a new community tool called the Find Help directory and summarized last-quarter data during the county commission meeting on Feb. 10.
"The find help directory is really a new option that Nebraska Children has asked communities to start doing, and it's an online directory," Sabin said. She described the directory as a centralized, searchable list agencies and community groups can add to so families seeking assistance can be connected to local resources.
Sabin said Families First Partnership recorded about 170 "coaching referrals" in the fourth quarter of 2024; those referrals come from people who complete an online intake requesting help. She said the live database lets the group track needs in near real time. "Housing and utilities are still the biggie," Sabin said, and she noted dental services are "really lacking in our community." She added that low-level needs such as food, phone bills and birth certificates also appear frequently.
Jada Venezi, a representative from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services who participated in the discussion, described operational details and response times: "Generally, 48 hours unless there's a weekend or a holiday in between," she said, referring to the typical time for the DCR center navigator to contact applicants after intake.
Program staff described multiple access paths for people with limited internet access: phone-based intake, paper applications and assistance through partner agencies or local case managers. Sabin said printed materials and bilingual (English/Spanish) summaries would be left with county offices and other public locations.
Sabin also gave a brief update on the High Plains Early Childhood Collaborative, a regional partnership of child-care and early-childhood organizations that coordinates events and parent training. Upcoming activities included Plays the Way (end of month), Week of the Young Child (first week in April, the board was told) and parenting classes such as Circle of Security and Parents Interacting with Infants.
Why it matters: A searchable, up-to-date resource directory helps local agencies and residents find services quickly and can reduce duplicated effort among nonprofits and public agencies. Quarterly data are tied to state reporting requirements for parts of Families First Partnership's funding.
What’s next: Families First Partnership will provide the board with printed flyers and the county agreed to make materials available in public areas of the courthouse and other county buildings.
