Parent partnership member urges caution on cuts, credits statewide supports for reunification

Alice Jeffrey, a member of the OCCY Parent Partnership Board, told the commission about her personal experience with homelessness, recovery and reunification during the meeting's presentation segment.

Jeffrey recounted giving birth in February 2022 while unhoused and uninsured and without prenatal care; her daughter was placed into foster care. She described a sequence of supports she said allowed reunification: family treatment court, supervised visitations at Hope for the Future, outpatient treatment provided through Catalyst, identity document assistance from Homeless Alliance, and housing through Hope Community Services. "Hope Community Services, that would be the center of my wheel of supports because I still use them today," she said.

Jeffrey urged commissioners to consider the "real cost" of cutting services and said some families remain reliant on long‑term supports before they can be independent. "When we do cuts, some of these setbacks that we can cause families can build mistrust between ourselves and the families that we are trying to help," she said. She thanked Director Cartmell for engaging the parent partnership board and encouraged commissioners and staff to continue using the board as a parent voice.

Why it matters: Jeffrey's testimony emphasized that several discrete supports combined to make reunification possible and that short‑term or one‑time assistance may be insufficient for families with complex needs.

Ending: Commissioners thanked Jeffrey for sharing her experience and encouraged continued engagement with the parent partnership board.