Jane and her family were referred to the Family Care Network’s Familia de Novo program when Jane transitioned home after being placed in foster care. It was determined that in Jane’s transition home, the family be provided with Wraparound services through the Familia de Novo program to help them to improve their relationships and establish a more stable home environment. Jane had been placed in foster care because her mother’s unmet mental health needs interfered with her ability to provide the family with stability. When it came time for Jane to return home, Jane’s distrust of her family resulted in her acting out. As a family, each member dealt with multiple issues, ranging from anger management to substance abuse, all of which caused strained family relations.

When the Familia de Novo team began working with the family, meeting together to discuss needs and set goals, Jane’s mom shared how she felt overwhelmed and didn’t trust her ability to raise her daughters. Likewise, each daughter expressed their distrust for program staff and for one another. The Familia de Novo team—consisting of agency staff, the Department of Social Services and Behavioral Health—could tell that the family cared deeply for one another, but that each member faced barriers on how to express themselves in appropriate ways. To help with the family’s collective and individual goals, the team connected each of them with individual therapist. Jane also worked with Family Care Network In-Home Support Counselors (IHC) to target her anger management skills. And Jane’s mom was matched with a Family Care Network Family Partner who helped her to establish boundaries and provide consistent consequences—working to empower her as a mother.

The Familia de Novo team knew that Jane’s family wasn’t going to be healed overnight, but worked to celebrate the family’s many small successes. These successes, including Jane finally talking calmly to her mom during a disagreement and her mom putting the needs of her daughters’ before those of her friends, demonstrated the family’s increasing strength. With each success, the team watched the individual family members grow in their self-confidence, and, as a result, they grew stronger in their relationships.

Since Familia de Novo began working with Jane and her family, they have seen a disjointed family come together in amazing ways. As individuals, each family member has matured and learned more appropriate pro-social skills, which have helped them to function more successfully. Additionally, the family has become more aware of their community’s resources and how to utilize them. While the family isn’t perfect, and they still have mountains to climb, they are confident in their newfound abilities to overcome life’s many obstacles together—and that’s a huge success in anyone’s book!

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*names and photos of clients are ficticious to protect their identity