Shawn Sivly, Friends of Youth | Abbi Griffin, YMCA of Greater Seattle

1
Family Reunification Permanent Connections for
Youth and Young Adults

• Shawn Sivly, Friends of Youth Abbi Griffin,
  YMCA of Greater Seattle
• Washington State Conference on Ending
  Homelessness May 22, 2014

2

• VISION
• Friends of Youth envisions all youth having every
  opportunity to succeed.
• MISSION
• We deliver a broad range of services to youth
  and their families to improve their emotional
  stability and self-sufficiency.

3
Client Services

• Friends of Youth provides services to at-risk
  youth and homeless young people at 20 sites in 17
  cities, primarily in east King County. With 60
  years of experience and national accreditation,
  we provide safe places and emotional support for
  youth in challenging circumstances.
• In FY 2013, Friends of Youth served over 5,100
  youth and their families through our three core
  programs.

4
Three Core Program Areas
5
Youth Haven Shelter

• Shelter provides immediate need for youth in
  foster care, runaway, homeless and street youth
  under the age of 18 on the Eastside of King
  County.
• 24 hour intake phone to respond to any youth or
  family needing help.
• 12 beds of shelter and supportive services for 6
  girls and 6 boys (4 beds reserved for RHY and 8
  beds reserved
• Youth and their families receive counseling
  services and community referrals to assist them
  in moving to reconciliation.
• Structured time apart can provide space and time
  for youth and families needing to make a plan for
  a safe and stable future.

6
Youth Haven Services

• Within 24 hours of first contact
• Intake Assessment completed
• Within 72 Hours
• Youth meets with a Master Level Therapeutic Case
  Manager who completes a Psychosocial Interview
  and initial Case Goal Plan which includes a
  domain that addresses family planning/reunificatio
  n.
• A Master Level Therapeutic Case Manager contacts
  the youth parent/s and or legal guardian .
• A family session is scheduled.
• Within 5 days
• First Family session is completed.
• Youth can stay from 21 to 30 days. Youth Haven
  offers 24 hour staff support, a therapeutic
  environment, structured schedule, rules and
  expectations, level system, assessments (D/A
  issues, mental health issues, Independent living
  skills), weekly individual and family sessions.

7
Causes of Youth Homelessness

• Family Conflict
• Economic Problems
• Residential Instability
• These factors define youth homelessness on the
  Eastside of King County. Intake information on
  youth entering Friends of Youth shelters parallel
  data on youth homelessness in King County, the
  state and the nation. At our Youth Haven
  emergency shelters, runaway and homeless youth
  report the following issues at intake

• Family Conflict 41
• Abuse 35
• Runaway 23
• Homelessness 12
• Substance Abuse 9
• Eviction 6
• Respite 5
• Mental Illness 4
• Legal Issues 2

8
Family Conflict

• Many young people leave home to escape abusive
  family situations. According to the UWKC
  Community Assessment, 17 to 35 of homeless
  youth have suffered physical or sexual abuse.
  Other youth leave home due to parental neglect,
  where parents under extreme stress cannot
  continue to care for their child or assume that
  their teen/s are old enough to care for
  themselves outside the home.
• Other family problems that lead to a youth being
  displaced from their home youth come out or
  identify as LGBTQ, drugs/alcohol, mental
  health/emotional issues, economic issues,
  conflicting personalities, etc.

9
Youth Outcomes

• Increased sense of safety
• Includes goals in areas of the youths life
  surrounding safe and stable housing and
  immediate, basic needs, including immediate
  medical needs.
• Increased sense of well-being
• Includes goals in the areas of long-term
  medical/health needs, substance abuse treatment,
  mental health counseling, and development of
  coping skills and interpersonal skills.
• Increased self-sufficiency
• Includes educational and vocational goals and
  independent living skills development goals.
• Increased number of permanent connections with
  caring adults
• Includes goals for family counseling and
  reunification, if appropriate goals for
  aftercare treatment with community mental health
  and substance abuse treatment providers
  discharge placement goals for safe and stable
  housing following shelter exit.

10
Strategies for Engaging Families

• Clear, honest, and respectful communication with
  families, which helps set a foundation for
  building trust.
• Commitment to family-centered practice and its
  underlying philosophy and values.
• Sufficient frequency and length of contact with
  families, their identified formal and informal
  supports.
• A strength-based approach that recognizes and
  reinforces families capabilities and not just
  their needs or problems.
• Shared decision-making and participatory planning
  which result in mutually agreed-upon goals and
  plans reflecting both the TCM training and the
  familys knowledge of their own situation.
• Broad-based involvements by both parents,
  extended family members, informal networks and
  community supports (Wrap Around Services).
• Individualized service plans that respond to
  needs of youth and parent/s
• Concrete services that meet immediate needs for
  food, housing, child care, transportation, and
  other costs, and help communicate to families a
  strong desire to help.
• Praise and Recognition of parents who are making
  life changes that result in safe and permanent
  living situations for their youth

11
Family-Centered Practice

• Identify the family unit as the focus attention.
  Focus on the needs and welfare of children and
  youth within the context of their families and
  communities.
• Assist the family to strengthen their ability to
  function together effectively.
• Provide individualized, culturally responsive,
  flexible, and relevant services.
• Link family and youth with comprehensive,
  diverse, and community-based networks of supports
  and services.

12
Evidence Based Approaches

• Strengths-Based Perspective Provide a
  strengths-based perspective in their handling the
  day-to-day intensive support of our youth. The
  strengths perspective is based on the belief that
  individuals possess abilities and inner resources
  that allow them to cope effectively with lifes
  challenges.
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy The primary goal of
  DBT is to help youth develop skills (their
  interpersonal skills to improve their
  relationships with adults and peers, learn to
  adapt to new situations, develop coping skills,
  and increase their capacity to regulate their
  internal emotions).

13
Mindfulness Skills

• Pay Attention
• Be less impulsive
• Focus
• Be flexible
• Wise Mind (balancing the rational mind over
  emotional mind)
• What Skills- What I need to do to be mindful
  (observe, describe, and Participate)
• How Skills- Be non-judgmental (Focus on the
  facts), Be mindful, Effective (focus on what
  works instead of what doesnt work).

14
Distress Tolerance

• Cope with pain and crisis
• Skillfully distract yourself
• Accept Reality
• ACCEPTS (Activities, Contributing, Comparisons,
  Emotions, Pushing Away, Thoughts, Sensations
• Radical Acceptance

15
Interpersonal Effectiveness

• How to make a request
• DEARMAN (Describe, Express, Assert, Reinforce,
  Mindful, Appear Confident, Negotiate)
• Building Relationships
• People Skills
• GIVE (Gentle, Interested, Validate, Easy manner)
• Building Self Respect
• FAST (Fair, No apologies, Stick to Values,
  Truthful
• Understanding the feelings of others

16
Emotional Regulation

• Accepting Emotions
• Changing emotions
• Observing and Describing Emotions
• People Skills
• Opposite Action
• Please (Physical, Eating habits, Avoid
  mood-altering drug/alcohol, Sleep, Exercise)

17
Problem Solving

• 5 easy steps in solving a problem
• Describing the problem
• Brain Storm
• Pros and Cons
• Evaluate the Results
• Make a choice and take action
• 4 options for dealing with any problem

18
Youth Haven Outcomes

• 17 RHY served (October 2013-April 2014).
• 11 out of 17 families engaged in family therapy.
• 16 out of 17 youth exited to safe and stable
  housing (11 of those youth returned to family).
• 16 out of 17 youth accomplished 50 of their
  goals on their case goal plan.
• 8 out of 11 youth reported that their
  circumstances. improved within the home.
  Aftercare was continued with these 8 families.

19
Thank You!
On behalf of the homeless and at risk young
people who rely on our housing, counseling,
employment, shelter, and case management
services, thank you! 
Resident of New Ground Bothell, Transitional
Housing for Homeless Moms 18-21 and their babies.
20
YMCA Lifelong Family Connections Program

• Abbi Griffin
• Seattle, WA

21
YMCA of Greater SeattleWe are more than a gym

• Family Services and Mental Health
• Strengthen health and safety of youth, families
  and communities
• Evidence-based practice
• Support of natural networks and community
  partners
• Provide strengths-based, solutions-focused,
  culturally competent, individualized crisis
  support, mental health, permanency services, and
  training that is costumer-driven
• Advocates for child healthcare, mental health,
  and child welfare systems change

22
YMCA Young Adult Services

• Youth and Young Adults aging out of foster care
  and homeless youth up to age 25
• Staff support and assistance for education,
  employment, family connections, housing,
  financial assistance and life skills
• Drop-In center resources
• LFI
• Affordable Healthcare
• IDA
• Youth Housing Connection

23
Program Overview

• What we do
• How we do it
• Where we do it

24
What We Do

• Former and current foster youth
• Ages 11-25
• Limited to youth and young adults without any
  supportive adult connections (not counting social
  service professionals)

25
What We Do Challenges

• Family commitment/consistency
• Engagement with Department restrictions
• Adoption Records
• DSHS records/history

26
What We Do Successes

• Youth engagement/enthusiasm
• Statistics
• Partnerships
• Casey Family Programs
• United Way of King County
• Street Youth Ministries
• Northwest Adoption Exchange
• DSHS
• Seneca Center

27
How We Do It Tools

• Mobility Map
• Connectedness Map
• Connection Bubbles

28
Mobility Map Example
29
Connectedness Map Example
30
Connection Bubbles Example
31
How We Do It Strategies

• Seneca Center Search
• DSHS Relative Search Unit
• Public Resources
• White pages
• King County Jail
• Vital Records
• Social Media
• Facebook
• Linked In
• Pipl.com

32
Where We Do It

• Everywhere in King County!
• Coffee shops
• Restaurants
• Libraries
• Schools
• 2100 Building

33
Resources

• Mobility Mapping http//www.pacwcbt.pitt.edu/curr
  iculum/20720Family20Finding/Day201_2/TrnrRsrcs/
  Res04_MbltyMppng_FlwDgrms.pdf
• Connectedness Map http//www.pacwcbt.pitt.edu/cur
  riculum/20720Family20Finding/Day201_2/Hndts/HO1
  6_OthrFmlyFndngTls.pdf
• Casey Family Programs-Austin, TX Office
  http//www.casey.org/Locations/Texas/Austin/
• YMCA Webpage http//www.seattleymca.org/Locations
  /FSMH/Pages/Home.aspx
• United Way of King County http//www.uwkc.org/
• NIPFC http//www.familyfinding.org/

34
Questions?
35

• Shawn Sivly, Friends of Youth
• shawn_at_friendsofyouth.org
• Abbi Griffin, YMCA of Greater Seattle
• abbigriffin_at_seattleymca.org