Grantee Profile: SHIELDS For Families

Fortunately, the family was transformed through a referral from the Department of Children and Family Services, which provided an intervention from SHIELDS for Families, Inc., a First 5 LA-funded Partnerships for Families (PFF) grantee. Through the SHEILDS PFF program Achieving Change Together (ACT), the children received mental health counseling and academic aid. Both parents successfully completed classes in domestic violence, healthy relationships and parenting.  They also received housing assistance, resulting in a healthier family dynamic.

"We work with families who may be living by their purse strings and are unaware of the services available to them," says Lynnette Jenkins, program supervisor for SHIELDS for Families. "Situational stressors often lead them to engage in behavior that may harm them and their children."

The ACT program provides in-home psychosocial assessments to determine a family's needs and to develop a comprehensive service plan to address those needs. Services offered under ACT may include job skill development, mental health referrals, clothing, food, furniture, as well as academic, child care, housing and health care assistance. There is also an after-care component allowing ACT program "graduates" to mentor incoming participants, enabling them to put their new knowledge to use by helping others.

Serving 3,000 families a year, SHIELDS for Families is one of the few L.A. County agencys that provide both residential and outpatient services, keeping families intact. Under the PFF program, a First 5 LA-funded child development center is housed at the SHIELDS facility. Here, children 0 to 5 may participate in developmental activities while their parents attend ACT classes.

Jenkins attributes SHIELDS for Families' effectiveness to accessibility. "Most of the support services they need, we offer. If we can't meet that need, we're in partnership with someone who can."

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