Dear Community Partners,
We continue to be so encouraged by the collaboration happening in Nevada County. We have heard so many examples of the Community Support Network mission of facilitating collaboration among public and private family support organizations so that Nevada County children, youth, and families thrive, in action.
We’ll have our next CSN meeting on January 5, 2022 from 3:30-5pm via Zoom. Click here to register for the meeting. We will be using the meeting time to reflect on the amazing work over the last year and looking forward to ways that we can continue to build the network and increase collaboration to help our children, youth, and families thrive in 2022.
This week we want to highlight the collaborative work of the Rapid Response Team. The Rapid Response Team (RRT) is a community-based service that utilizes a strength-based approach to supporting families in accessing supports and achieving individualized goals. This is a collaborative partnership between Nevada County Child Welfare Services and Victor Community Support Services. Click here to read the results.
Solution and Innovation: The Rapid Response Team (RRT) works in tandem with Nevada County Child Welfare Services in a three-pronged approach: First, a member of the RRT participates daily in Review Evaluate Decide (RED) Team with the Nevada County Child Welfare Emergency Response Unit to assess all referrals that come to the Department to determine the appropriate response and if a referral should be made to the RRT. Second, when a referral is assigned, social workers and members of the RRT respond together to initiate service from the very first contact. This collaboration eliminates the time gap that the Department had recognized as a needed improvement to engage families, promote safety, decrease recidivism and mitigate higher levels of intervention. Third, whenever a client is placed outside the county and initiating services takes time, the RRT can provide immediate support until more permanent services are implemented. This approach meets the immediate needs of the family and prevents the possibility of a higher level of intervention.
Some of the services offered through Rapid Response include but are not limited to:
- Immediate and long-term safety planning.
- Linkage to necessary community services and supports such as mental health and SUD treatment.
- Coordination with schools and other existing systems and natural supports.
- In-home support to address behavioral needs and/or provide coaching to caregivers.
- Child and Family Team meetings to create systems for sustained change and improvement.
- Monetary assistance to families for emergency and immediate needs such as paying electricity bills and garbage, rental assistance, car repairs, food, gas, etc.