Family Impact Team making a difference in Macomb
As a family resource specialist Shana Bush is among those who appreciate the Family Impact Team (FIT) initiated by the Director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Elizabeth Hertel.
And she told her so Wednesday during the director's visit to Macomb County.
"We have heard excellent feedback from the families that have been referred to (us)," said Bush.
Before the initiative was launched over the summer many families felt no one was listening, no one understood what they were going through, or that they were being treated unfairly by the DHHS.
"This has aided in removing any past frustration that they might have felt," Bush said of the initiative created to assist families within the Child Welfare System including Child Protective Services and Foster Care with the help and financial support needed to recover from crisis situations.
Hertel said many families that come to the attention of the child protection system need help with providing their children with housing, food, healthcare coverage, quality childcare and other necessities so that they can be safe and healthy. In that past they would have to navigate the system on their own to find the help. Now they are contacted by a family resource specialist who coordinates the resources they need through FIT so their families can stay together safely.
"I am so pleased by what I've been hearing so far," Hertel said of the program following a tour of the DHHS offices in Clinton Township. "I have not been to a county where the workers have not expressed their gratitude for trying to make it easier (and faster) for them to access the resources their families need."
The initiative has also helped to prevent further problems for a family.
Child Protective Services, for example, might be called if a teacher suspects that a student is suffering from homelessness, prompted by the fact that the child is wearing the same clothes to school every day. It's considered neglect but it might just be that the family's washing machine broke and they don't have the money to fix it.
That's where FIT can help.
"The goal of this collaboration is to improve support to children and families involved with the child welfare system and to reduce barriers accessing safety net programs," said Bush. "This partnership is intended to reduce, shorten or remove family's need for child welfare intervention."
"They've really helped me," said Khadijah Powell of Macomb Township.
Powell was among the first clients served by FIT and the mother of three children who is still trying to recover from several traumatic experiences that turned her life upside down including her father being murdered and a DHHS child abuse investigation involving herself and a former boyfriend.
"We're finally at the end of it. Me and my children are back home in Michigan and starting our lives over," said Powell, who moved into her grandmother's mobile home but was in need of appliances.
After meeting with Bush she was referred to FIT for help and now has a new refrigerator and stove.
"It's a very big deal," Powell said.
When someone is struggling to make ends meet they have to pick and choose what they can buy with the little money they have. Is it new shoes for the kids? Food for the table or new appliances?
"That took a lot of weight off my shoulders and I didn't have to ask my parents, who were already helping so much," added Powell, who is working to earn a certificate in medical coding while pursuing her passion for music and entertainment.
The first phase of the FIT project started in August and was available in Allegan, Barry, Chippewa, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Luce, Mackinac, Oakland, Sanilac, St. Clair and Wayne counties. Now it's in 23 counties including Macomb, where it has served more than 200 families.
