Engaging Open & Affirming Faith Communities

To connect with open and affirming faith partners that can provide support and engagement to youth in care and their families. Company Description:The CFWB Department is the County's new approach to empowering children, youth, and families to have the support, connections, and resources to be healthy and remain together (without system involvement). The new department integrates the First 5 Commission of San Diego, Child Welfare Services, childcare services, and other critical resources to partner with children, youth, and families. The goal of the Department is to focus on equity, prevention, and supporting families before foster care becomes a necessary intervention for keeping children safe.CFWB hopes to:Keep families together.Hold the family’s voice as the expert in how to best keep their children safe.Provide family strengthening and prevention services to families in a more holistic, equitable, and integrated way.Reduce unnecessary child protective actions that have historically harmed and separated families.Problem Statement:The Child & Family Wellbeing Department has not been able to engage open and affirming faith communities to support LGBTQ youth and their families. Previous attempts have not been sustainable and have not led to better outcomes for our youth. Context: The Child & Family Wellbeing Department currently has robust partnerships with other faith communities that have worked to support families with emotional support as well as tangible items, such as cribs, beds, clothes, and other tangible items that help to support youth to stay in a home. Because LGBTQ youth tend to have additional challenges, CFWB is interested in improving their outcomes by connecting them and their families to supportive resource. Open and affirming faith communities provide resources for both youth and their parents, making them an ideal partner to support our youth.