|
The
Family Reunion
Project Receives Significant Funding
With significant funding from
the Chambers Family Foundation, the Oregon Community Foundation
through the Elizabeth S. Holden Fund, and the Oregon Department
of Human Services (DHS), the
Family
Reunion project is
turning the corner on child abuse and addiction!
Since
the project began in October 2006, over 38 families have
participated in the
Family
Reunion project. In the
first year, the project has achieved a 92.5% success rate in
keeping families together (the national average is 76%). As
one-of-its-kind in Oregon, the
Family
Reunion project offers
real help and hope to families that are torn apart by alcohol
and drug addiction, and who are facing the permanent loss of
their children because of it.
The
Family Reunion project
offers a safe and effective alternative to foster care by
providing intensive parent training, treatment, specific
services and intervention, and 24-hour-a-day support targeting
family preservation and family reunification. With fewer than
half of the Lane County children in foster care
ever going home to their
parents, these services are critically needed.
Because Willamette Family allows children to live with their
moms at the Child Development Center while she is in treatment,
this project is unique in our community. In fact, it is the only
one in all of Oregon that offers specific family preservation
and reunification services at a residential addiction treatment
center that also has a child development center with public
health and medical services onsite.
The
Family Reunion project
does not duplicate services offered elsewhere. It builds a solid
foundation for families that have experienced child abuse and
drug addiction. It is the
first step
in recovery and in helping families grow strong, together.
In
addition to the major support Willamette Family received from
foundations and D.H.S., the
Family
Reunion Project
received substantial donations from
OnPoint
Credit Union, Jerry’s Home Improvement Centers, and Pacific
Continental Bank. These
incredible sponsors
stepped up to break the
twin cycles of child abuse and substance addiction.
For
more information, or to help sponsor this incredible project,
please contact Susie Dey at 684-4150 or
SusieD@wfts.org today!
Together, we are turning the corner! |
|
Thank
you Chambers Family Foundation!
With great appreciation, Willamette
Family received a substantial grant from the Chambers
Family Foundation for the
Family Reunion Project!
This award will allow the project to provide intensive
therapeutic visitation services to return children in
foster care to their parents who are in treatment for
alcohol and drug addiction. Therapeutic visitation is a
key element of the Family Reunion Project.
The Chambers’ funding will also allow Willamette Family
to contract for training from the National Family
Preservation Network (NFPN) on their nationally
acclaimed reunification protocol. Utilizing the scale
developed in North Carolina, the protocol measures
family progress in key areas, such as safety,
attachment, family functioning, and others. Parental
involvement in the process is vital: the information
obtained through the protocol helps them focus on
aspects of parenting that need improvement while
learning effective skills to use.
This generous gift will bring new hope and skills to
our community to support child safety, families in
recovery, and to reduce the length of time children will
be in foster care. Thank you, Chambers Family
Foundation, for helping our community turn the corner.
Thank you, Chambers Family Foundation, for helping our
community turn the corner.
|
|
Oregon Community Foundation Awards
Second Year Funding to Willamette Family
The Family Reunion
Project received second year funding from the
Oregon Community Foundation, through the Elizabeth S.
Holden Fund , providing continuing support for these
one-of-a-kind services. On behalf of the children,
families, and staff at Willamette Family, THANK YOU!
In the first year of the Project operation, 28
children were reunited with their mother while she was
in residential treatment, with 92.5% of them still
together at the end of that period. This far exceeds the
national overall successful reunification target of 76%.
It is widely recognized in child welfare that parental
substance addiction is the principal barrier to families
remaining together. The estimated
cost savings in
foster care during the first year of Project operation
significantly exceeds $50,000.
Lives have been changed for the better because of the
generosity of Elizabeth S. Holden Fund and the Oregon
Community Foundation. Willamette Family is proud to be
a recipient of this wonderful award. It’s a partnership
that works!
|
|