MULTI-AGENCY FAMILY SUPPORT CENTERS

The County of Los Angeles is engaged in numerous service integration efforts to strengthen the health and human service delivery system to improve the well-being of children and families in five outcome areas:

• Good Health
• Safety and Survival
• Social and Emotional Well-Being
• Economic Well-Being
• Education/Workforce Readiness

In July 2002, the Chief Executive Office issued a Multi-Agency Family Service Center Strategy Report for the development of County-sponsored, community-based, integrated, multi-agency centers that would provide health and human services and resources in a seamless manner. The Report identifies several success factors for developing effective multi-agency facilities, including:

• Designing the facility to be inviting, welcoming, and engaging;
• Providing assembly/meeting facilities for the use of the community and reduce the potential stigma of a “County” facility;
• Ensuring the building is safe and secure; and,
• Designing and operating the facility to be responsive to the unique needs of the community it is intended to serve.

In December 2002, the Board adopted a policy to develop multi-agency family service centers that provide children and families with accessible, responsive health and human services, based on the recommended prototype in the Multi-Agency Family Service Center Strategy Report.

Click here to view December 23, 2002 Board Motion.

EAST SAN FERNANDO VALLEY FAMILY SUPPORT CENTER

The County is currently designing a multi-agency, community-based center for residents of the East San Fernando Valley, called a Family Support Center that provides integrated and coordinated prevention and intervention services to improve the lives of children and families by helping families achieve economic stability and self-sufficiency and protecting children from abuse and neglect.

The Center is intended to provide the following:

• Family-focused, needs driven, strengths-based services that are linked to a range of County and community resources;
• A warm, welcoming and supportive space in the community for families to access health and human services, and to serve as a gathering place for community-based activities; and
• A comprehensive information, referral, and screening for children and families within the communities served by the Center.

The service delivery design of the FSC seeks to build on the County’s existing service integration efforts by implementing a cross-agency, multi-disciplinary team approach to serving select target populations at the Center through the use of integrated tools such as common intake forms, multi-disciplinary screening, assessment and case management.

The Family Support Center is scheduled to open in early 2008.

Click here to view the project fact sheet.