Community Family Advocates Inc

BH Fellows Program - Allegheny County engaged CFA to assist in implementing this groundbreaking program to develop and retain social services professionals in the field by assisting with the payoff of student loan debt. Working in collaboration with the Jewish Healthcare Foundation and Allegheny County, CFA plays a pivotal role in the loan review process and ensures the programs standards align with reinvestment requirements. The organization handles transcript verification, reviews loan documentation, tracks employment and training participation, and manages the disbursement of loan repayments. Originally conceived to deliver services to 5 cohorts through 2026 the program has been approved for 10 cohorts through 2028, 8 of which have been enrolled (156 participants). The first cohort (23 professionals) has completed the program achieving repayment of nearly $925,000 in student loan debt.

Office of Behavioral Health (OBH) Support - CFA has a contract with Allegheny County Office of Behavioral Health to provide personnel with specialized experience in behavioral health programs to assist in the design, development and implementation of programs established to address the needs of disadvantaged populations by improving outreach, access and delivery of services.

The Winter Shelter Program expanded the role of Community Family Advocates under a contract with Allegheny County from providing crisis staffing for services to homeless individuals during severe winter weather to include providing a safe and secure facility with the capacity to provide meals and a place to stay the night through the winter months of November through April. CFA served an average of over 100 homeless clients/night for the duration of the Winter Shelters operation, providing in addition to shelter, both dinner and a take away breakfast as well as transportation to and from the facility.

ACTES Program: This program supports clients in becoming employable through a combination of stipends and temporary employment. CFA oversees the employment of participants for six months, working with providers to ensure clear expectations. The organization developed an employee handbook for this initiative and actively interacts with participants to address any questions related to employment or stipends.

County CYS Programs - CFA provides the system and back office support structure to facilitate the acquisition and distribution of resources to CYF families in need and eligible for benefits and to do so in a compliant and accountable manner. More recently CFA has provided personnel with specialized experience in behavioral health programs to assist in the design, development and implementation of programs established to address the needs of disadvantaged populations by improving outreach, access and delivery of services.