Approved Minutes of November 20, 2024

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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH November 20, 2024 VII. Educational Sessions A. Family Success Alliance (FSA) Update Crystal Kelley, Health and Human Services Manager, and Erika Cervantes, Family Success Alliance Connections Program Manager, presented an update on the Family Success Alliance (FSA) program over the past year. Some highlights of their presentation are below: • Ms. Kelley began with a recap of the FSA program and its objectives. She reminded the board that the goal of FSA is to help connect families, especially those below the poverty line, to resources, and briefly reviewed the various components of FSA: System of Care/partner network, the Gateway initiative, the Navigator program, and the Connections program. • FSA staff helped draft mission and vision statements for the FSA program, which Ms. Kelley shared with the board. She explained that FSA follows a "teaching people to fish" model and aims to work with families for 6-9 months before sending them on their way, though this doesn't always happen. The Navigator program offers more concentrated support for a shorter period, while the Connections program offers a lighter level of support for as long as it's needed. • Feedback from FSA Navigator program clients is overwhelmingly positive and reflects that the health of families and their access to resources and healthcare improves after being involved with FSA. Most families self-refer to FSA. • All FSA navigators are certified Community Health Workers (CHWs) and are trained in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) and in working with neurodiverse individuals. Additionally, two FSA staff members are now trained to safely install car seats for families. Each case manager works with approximately 18-21 families, and each family has about four children on average. • Ms. Kelley shared that FSA has increase its partnership with maternal healthcare at the health department and has connected more closely with the Family Home Visiting program, as Family Home Visiting works only with children under five, while FSA is not limited by the age of children. Additionally, the Mobile Dental Clinic recently came out to Gateway Village for two days and provided services there. • The Connections program is being expanded, and Ms. Cervantes has been promoted to program manager. Ms. Cervantes shared that the Connections program offers wraparound support to anyone in Orange County and serves many families who have graduated from the Navigator program. There are almost 300 families currently served by the Connections program, which has two navigators and a program manager on staff. However, it is a softer touch than the Navigator program and does not offer home visits, though people can seek support in person, online, or over the phone. Families who graduate from the FSA Navigator program have a "warm handofff' where their navigator introduces them to a Connections navigator who helps explain the Connections program and how to utilize it. Connections also offers a newsletter about available community support programs and is exploring promoting more resources through social media. • The Connections program has four components: intake/needs assessment, case management, satisfaction surveys/data management, and community engagement/Community Council. The Community Council meets for nine months out of the year and offers the opportunity to apply for mini grants. These programs both allow for community improvement and empower families to understand grant writing for initiatives they may wish to apply for in the future. Ms. Cervantes shared several S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2024 Agenda and Abstracts/ November Page 4