Project Connect keeps children safe and families together. The program serves families statewide who are identified by the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF). It is designed to support children ages 0-17, their families, and pregnant and parenting youth.
We recently sat down with Geneva Washington, Project Connect Home Visitor, and asked about this special program. This October marks nine years since Geneva joined the Project Connect team at Children's Friend.
Q: What are the program goals?
Geneva: The children are our focus. Ultimately, we are working to find the most appropriate living situation for the children.
Q: How do you set the individual goals for the people you're working with?
Geneva: A lot of it depends on why they were referred. If the goal for that parent is reunification, we are trying to get their mental health stabilized, we are trying to get them to achieve sobriety.
Q: What are some of the supports and services Project Connect offers?
Geneva: We have a parent educator that we assign to the case to help clients. The parent educator supports visitations with parents and children. Some of the visitations are supervised, which means someone must constantly be in the room. Others are lightly supervised, which means someone must be close during the visit. The visitation program provides an independent eye to see what’s going on and how the parent interacts with their children.
Q: How do you monitor progress during treatment?
Geneva: Every client has a case plan with the department (DCYF). We help them to achieve each of the goals outlined in the plan. Each goal achieved marks their progression towards reunification.
Q: How often do you meet with clients?
Geneva: Twice a week.
Q: How do you deal with a crisis or emergency?
Geneva: It depends on how and when that crisis happens. Depending on the nature of the crisis, I help the client work through it and make the appropriate decisions. If it’s calling the police, contacting the landlord, or contacting DCYF. If it’s something beyond that, I work with my supervisor to decide the next steps. In an elevated crisis, this might include getting the family out of the home to someplace safer. We also have an on-call staff person here at Children's Friend. All our clients have that emergency number, so they have someone to call after hours.
Q: Are you able to treat clients with dual diagnoses?
Geneva: Many of our clients have mental health issues along with substance abuse issues. So, we help them find mental health support.
✨ Read the full interview on our website to learn how Geneva and Project Connect managed to serve clients during Covid, how they support families after relapses, and what keeps Geneva coming back >>>
