Start presenters say mentors "meet families where they are"; resident questioned how county finds people on the street

During public questions, a resident described seeing people in downtown areas and asked how the county reaches individuals who will not self-refer. The resident recounted a recent personal encounter: "There was this guy walking around the corner very slowly... he had a Phillips screwdriver tucked in his hand," and asked how START would bring such people into services.

Rebecca Smith and team responded that START is typically a child-protective-services-linked, non-self-referral program that can become a mandated response when allegations meet legal definitions. "We are nonvoluntary service," Smith said, explaining that if an intake indicates a child is unsafe the agency will assess and, where appropriate, open a START referral and meet families "where they are," including jail visits when a parent is incarcerated: "The family mentors can go into the jail, meet with mom, try to create a plan," she said.

Presenters emphasized the role of family mentors' lived experience in building trust with parents who are disengaged from formal treatment. "They talk in their language... they plant these seeds," Smith said, and described mentors accompanying parents to appointments and driving them to treatment early in the process.

The exchange highlighted the distinction between voluntary community-based programs and CPS-mandated services, and the presenters underscored that START's model is intended to provide intensive, hands-on engagement for families identified through CPS or partner referrals rather than through walk-in enrollment.