Indian River Whole Child

A Lawton Chiles Foundation Initiative

HISTORY

The Lawton Chiles Foundation was created by Rhea Chiles in order to continue the Governor’s commitment to children by assisting communities to become Whole Child Communities.The Whole Child concept presented the opportunity to provide a preventative, holistic approach - one that considers the history of the parents, the physical home environment and the social, spiritual and cultural connections that help sustain and support the family.

HISTORYGovernor Chiles understood that successful nurturing and development of all children required a dramatically new approach. An approach that:

• Starts early – before conception• Provides continuous support to parents• Is grounded in the family•Is holistic, considering the physical, economic, social, cultural and spiritual environment in which the child lives• Creates a “no wrong door” culture whereby service providers are committed to building collaborative service delivery networks instead of competitive, single strategy agencies and institutions• Builds a partnership across all sectors of our society whose activities impinge on the lives of children

How Whole Child Connection Works

•The Whole Child Connection is a comprehensive web-based service delivery system that helps families access much needed services.

•Parents can go to the WCC website to complete a profile about their family.

•The profile covers the gamut of potential needs a family might have, many that are vital: heath care, insurance, housing, child care, school readiness, special needs programs, parenting education and so much more.

How Whole Child Connection Works

Once a profile is completed, the system identifies all the appropriate providers

for the family. The families are then connected with the respective providers

quickly and easily, either through the internet or with the help of an advisor.

•Clothing Emergency Services•Food Emergency Services•Other Emergency Services•Shelter•Employment Assistance •Family Literacy •Family Planning •Family Practice / Internists •Financial Counseling •Hearing Screening •Housing •Immunizations •Infant / Child Mental Health Screening •Law Enforcement and Legal Assistance •Mental Health Services •Neighborhood Crime Watch •Nutritional Guidance •Parenting Education •Pediatricians •Prenatal Care •Safety •School Readiness •Speech Language Evaluation and Other Therapies •Transportation •Vision Screening •Women’s Health Needs

Nearly every service your children need is available in our community. The best way to find them is through Whole Child Connection. Get access to:

•Adult Education •Alternative Education •Adult Health •Animal Control •Child Abuse Prevention •Child Care •Youth Organizations •Child Health •Code Enforcement •Community Activities•Cultural and the Arts •Community Activities•Faith Based, Religious Community Activities•Mentoring Community Activities•Parks and Recreation Community Activities•Volunteering •Community Support Groups •Counseling •Dentists •Developmental Disabilities Screening•Developmental Screening•Domestic Violence Prevention •Drug, Alcohol, or Substance Abuse Emergency Services

Confidentiality and Privacy

• The Whole Child Connection respects the need for confidentiality regarding the personal information entered in the Whole Child Profile. All of the information in this profile is confidential and will only be shared with the client’s permission with those he/she designates. Unauthorized users will not have access to any of the data.

How Families benefit from The Whole Child Connection

Enables parents to examine their situation and make decisions about appropriate services to meet the needs of their children

Electronically and quickly links parents to available services

Strengthens accountability on the part of providers to be responsive

Provides the community with immediate information on family needs, local providers and gaps in the system that need to be closed

Ultimately propels families toward self-sufficiency, children toward healthy, productive lives and communities toward overall enhanced quality of life

Testimonies "Because of Whole Child Connection, I learned that Tykes and

Teens counseling services were available at my child's school. Whole Child Connection enabled me to take action and positively affect my child's future by showing me how easy it is to access the services my children need.“

"When I was unable to secure the funding I needed to

purchase a home, Whole Child Connection connected me to credit counseling services. Now, I have been approved for a home loan, my credit score has improved, and I continue to successfully manage my income more easily than ever before!"

Testimonies

“When I moved to Martin County, I had no idea where to find speech therapy for my son. The Whole Child Profile connected me with Easter Seals, and I am so impressed with how easy it was to find the help I needed through Whole Child Connection!”

“I was living at Safe Space after escaping an abusive relationship. I completed a Whole Child Profile at the shelter and was connected to a wealth of resources that helped me pick up the pieces and give myself and my children a fresh start."

Example of Whole Child Connection Accomplishments

•The Whole Child Connection system went live in Martin County in May 2006 and has provided access to more than 357 services. •Currently, more than 4,281 profiles in Martin County have been submitted to the Whole Child system.

Example of Whole Child Connection Accomplishments

• Over 12,912 resources have been accessed through the Whole Child System in Martin County

• 4301 Service Requests have been generated to date, 99% of those were answered by a WCC Provider in Martin County

WCC Community Data is a Valuable

Resource

Example: Highest Referral Rates amongst the Service Providers

Health Families who needed health insurance 982/1885, 52% Families who have not waited 2 years in between pregnancies 37/61, 60%

Environment Families who needed transportation 614/1783, 34%

Economic Families who needed help paying for food, housing, utilities or clothing 1392/1795, 77%

Example: Highest Referral Rates amongst the Service Providers… cont’

Social Families who were interested in youth programs for their children 116/224, 51%

Education Families who are not reading/sharing stories with their children several times a week 266/296, 89%

Spiritual/Identity Families who want information on how to teach their children to obey the rules 148/238, 62%

Example of Gaps in Resources in our Community

Service # of Family Needs between 2006-2009

# of Current Service Providers

Adult Ed 2963 29

Adult Health 3288 11

Case Management 1966 9

Child Health 2145 6

Mentoring 2269 6

Dentist 2504 5

Developmental Disabilities/Screening

1670 1

Emergency Services – Clothing

3628 10

Emergency Services – Food 3969 26

Gaps in Resources in our Community– con’t

Service # of Family Needs between 2006-2009

# of Current Service Providers

Financial Counseling 4298 15

Health Insurance 1563 9

Immunizations 983 2

Infant/Child Mental Screenings

1262 5

Nutritional Guidance 1257 4

Parenting Education 2713 22

Pediatricians 2701 11

Prenatal Care 1133 10

School Readiness 2089 10

Transportation 1465 7

Client SatisfactionLast fiscal year, 396 Martin County clients were randomly selected to answer a survey to address the measurable objectives listed below:

Advisors

There are two kinds of Advisors:

• Community Advisors and

• Junior League Advisors

Whole Child Advisor

The Whole Child Advisor has the following functions:

• To assist families in completing the Whole Child Profile • To assist families in prioritizing services on the Whole Child

Resource list to their specific needs • To help families build a Whole Child Plan that is as

comprehensive as possible • To assist clients that have completed profiles on their own• To educate the community (providers, advocates, civic groups,

businesses, policy makers, funding agencies, faith-based groups and families) about WCC

• To advocate on behalf of the family• To follow up on family and provider’s performance on their Plan

Whole Child Profile

Connecting Kids to

the Communit

y