FIRST and Safety Management Services
Prevention and Diversion Services - FIRST
The Family In-Home Resource & Support Team (FIRST) is Neighbor To Family's innovative prevention and diversion programs. Designed to prevent the placement of abused and neglected children into foster care, FIRST provides intensive, family-centered, strength-based and solution-focused services in the homes of families in crisis.
The ultimate goal is to preserve family unity and promote the safety and well being of children and their families. Services are designed to stabilize the crisis which put children at imminent risk for out-of-home placement, and keep the child, family and community safe by defusing the ongoing risk and safety factors. This allows the family and particularly the children to reduce stress, enhance positive thinking and builds resiliency.
Neighbor To Family provides services through a 2-level system of care: Safety Management and Family Support Services. Workers in each level of service build upon family strengths while encouraging the creation of coping strategies and enhancing protective capacities. Using early engagement with the family, a momentum is established of partnership and support to the family. This partnership provides the opportunity to build rapport, encourage the “buy-in” from the family and incite change.
The goal of the programs are to equip families with the tools and resources to properly care for their children in a safe and stable environment. FIRST services are offered in Daytona Beach and Bartow.
Safety Management Services
Safety Management Services are intended to mitigate present and impending danger by restoring families in crisis to an acceptable level of functioning, enhance child safety and prevent unnecessary placement of children into out of home care by ensuring compliance with an in-home safety plan. NTF Safety Management Services are intended to range in duration from 14-90 days. Three Florida locations provide Safety Management Services (Bartow, Daytona Beach and Treasure Coast).
