Allegheny Family Network

Mental health (mh) - afn works, in collaboration with other county providers, to support families already participating in other human service programs throughout the county. Client families are referred to afn for services by other county providers. Afn provides a family support partner (fsp) to each family served. Afn also staffs the afn chat line to answer calls requesting support for families going through the mh and emotional issues of their children. Afn offers family support groups throughout allegheny county.

Fathers involved now (fin) - the fin program focuses on the issues and concerns that fathers of children with mental health and emotional concerns face daily, as well as providing avenues for a nurturing connection with their children. In this program, a father support partner works with fathers to access resources and negotiate the mental health, educational, juvenile justice and children youth and families systems. The father support partner supports parents in giving them a voice and choice for their children through educating them on the systems and their rights to advocate for their children. This program connects with dads in jail, through fathers' support groups, faith-based community referrals, juvenile justice, cisp program doing a 24/7 dads curriculum with adolescent fathers and supporting dads out in the communities of allegheny county.

Joint planning team (jpt) - community care behavioral health organization (ccbh) contracts afn to assist children, ages from birth to twenty-one years, and their families to cope with mental health challenges. This assistance is provided through the family-driven, strength-based approach known as high fidelity wraparound. The funder identifies the children with a mental diagnosis, and which are eligible for medical assistance and their families that are to be served by afn.circle of parents - the circle of parents program is offered to any parent but is designed for parents who abuse or are at risk of abusing their children. If parents are involved in cyf, they are welcome to attend the groups. Afn is the state chapter for the circle of parents in pennsylvania. All staff have been trained in the model. This is an opportunity for parents to help parents through conversation and support of each other with a lead parent and supervisor from afn available if needed. During the group, childcare is provided so parents are able to participate without interruptions. It is a structured childcare designed to talk about things that may help and support the children as well. The groups are free for anyone in a parenting role. Parents lead the groups with the help of a parent lead (trained facilitator). A supervisor from afn is available if needed. Highlands partnership network (hpn) - the highlands partnership network is a community group in the northern part of allegheny county in the highlands school district. This community group formed and began addressing areas of the community that needed support for families. Afn is the fiduciary and writes grants for hpn. Currently, one grant is through allegheny county for a teen program called the teen spot. Afn oversees the grants, finances, and supplies the needs of the program. Those that work in the program are consultants. Afn reviews and approves the contract mandates and receives the contract awards for hpn. Pa parent and family alliance - the pa parent and family alliance (parent alliance), the statewide program of afn, provides peer-to-peer support for parents and caregivers raising children with emotional, behavior, and mental health challenges. The parent alliance supports parents across pennsylvania in all counties beyond allegheny through one-on-one fsp services, on-demand resources, training for both parents and professionals, and representation on local, county, and state committees. Families also benefit from a statewide library of tools, including webinars, podcasts, blogs, parenting courses, and the iep bootcamp, which provide practical strategies and support at any time. In addition to these services, the parent alliance holds contracts that expand its reach by providing fsp hiring and supervision for programs, as well as partnerships that create topic-specific materials and trainings as well as targeted social media campaigns. The parent alliance also contracts locally to meet county priorities: in washington county, partnering with child and youth services (cys) to support parents in child welfare cases, and in greene county, partnering with behavioral health services to provide one on one fsp support tailored to rural families. These combined efforts strengthen pennsylvania's system of care by filling gaps, amplifying parent voices, and ensuring families across the state have access to consistent and responsive support.allegheny county incentive program - the allegheny county incentive program is a pass through from allegheny county for afn to supply financial assistance through gift cards for different categories to provide to community participants for their expertise. The categories that these incentives are delegated for are as follows: homeless advisory board members, homeless research participants, homeless rfp process participants, homeless child and family advisory board members, child and family research participants, and child and family rfp process participants. Adult education program - afn provides adult education classes for adults to receive a g.e.d. And offers the g.e.d. Testing facility. Afn funds this program by sourcing grants to alleviate obstacles that prevent individuals from pursuing their g.e.d. At no cost to the participants, afn provides transportation to the class through a shuttle that circles the communities in the area and also provides childcare during the program. The participants are also provided support and a listening ear by a community family support partner. These partners provide referrals and resources to meet the needs of the participants. After participants receive a g.e.d., afn provides continued assistance to prepare for the next steps such as college, trades, or any areas of interest. To date the adult education program has had 7 graduates.