The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is widening its net to catch more families post-foster care with the statewide expansion of its Success Coach program. Announced through a press release, this initiative focuses on strengthening families and avoiding foster care reentry by offering various forms of support. Developed by partnering up with Catawba County Department of Social Services and the Duke Endowment, after discussions with families, the program now goes beyond post-adoption help, reaching out across North Carolina to adoptive, reunified, and kinship care families, as per NCDHHS.
The essence of the Success Coach program is to support familial units with a menu of services that stick for up to two years or can be engaged multiple times, depending on what the family's trajectory looks like. "Every child deserves a safe, loving and stable family, and Success Coach is a key part of our commitment to making that a reality for all families exiting foster care," NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai mentioned, in the hopes of stabilizing family units once they step out of the foster care system, according to the NCDHHS' release.
In more practical terms, families will get a dedicated Success Coach: a social worker to guide them through creating a customized success plan, crisis prevention, and link them up with community resources which include everything from job assistance to housing. This extra layer of support is crucial, especially in rural North Carolina, where resources are not as plentiful. Program results from Catawba County already show promising signs, like better mental health and stable family placements, with no child reentry noted into foster care within a year of exiting.
"Success Coach is already showing great results for improving permanency among families in Catawba County, and we know this program is a game-changer for children and families across the state," Catawba County DSS Director Karen Harrington shared, addressing the essence of removing barriers to access with in-home services. To roll this out state-wide, NCDHHS is pouring in a hefty $16.5 million in funds for the next three years. This expansion will leverage the local expertise of three regional vendors to implement the program effectively, the details of which were emphasized in the NCDHHS announcement.
Eligibility for Success Coach extends to any family that leaves foster care, whether through reunification, guardianship, or adoption, including private and relative adoption. Families can rejoin if they wish for fresh support sessions or face new hardships, indicating the program's commitment to adaptability and long-term relationships. Through this significant broadening of support, North Carolina is laying bricks for a stronger permanency setup, which, according to NCDHHS, could become a benchmark nationwide.
