We have a lot going on in the coming months, and would like to keep you updated on the steps we’re taking to create and build an efficient, effective collaborative services center with many partners whose missions align with FAN!
WHO
EIPC - Early Intervention Planning Council (EIPC), entity of the City-County Council and creator of the Early Intervention and Prevention (EIP) Initiative, “seeks to eliminate and prevent child abuse, neglect, and juvenile delinquency through comprehensive community efforts that coordinate, build capacity, and advocate for high-quality early intervention and prevention services in Marion County.” EIPC chose MCCOY to be the coordinating agency for the EIP Initiative, including Family Access Network.
MCCOY - Marion County Commission on Youth (MCCOY) was appointed as the “convening and coordinating organization for the EIP Initiative” in 2010. This organization’s role is to strategize ways to prevent Marion County children from entering the foster care and juvenile justice system, and to implement and build these strategies, notably the Family Access Network, for the EIP Initiative.
NWEIC - Near West Early Intervention Collaborative, Inc. serves to “promote the welfare of children, families, and communities in Marion County,” and primarily functions as developer and operator of the Family Access Network. The Board of Directors includes MCCOY staff and board as well as a representative from each Family Access Network founding partner—Goodwill, Fairbanks, Midtown Mental Health, and the Children’s Bureau.
Westside CDC - Westside Community Development Corporation’s mission “is to stabilize and revitalize the Near Westside via housing and commercial development, property management, and community planning. WCDC’s secondary mission is to stabilize families by developing a range of affordable housing options and related supportive services.” WCDC partners with FAN to identify real estate opportunities and services on the Near West Side.
Goodwill - Goodwill “works to enhance the dignity and quality of life of individuals and families by strengthening communities, eliminating barriers to opportunity, and helping people in need reach their full potential through learning and the power of work.” Goodwill may support FAN in numerous ways, potentially through their Goodwill Guides, employment services, education and/or their prenatal/early childhood programs (Nurse-Family Partnership).
Fairbanks -Fairbanks is “focused on recovery from alcohol and other drug problems, serving as a resource to improve the well-being of individuals, families and communities by offering hope and support through its programs and services.” This organization offers the only recovery high school in Indiana, Hope Academy, a charter school intended to keep young adults on track for sobriety and academic excellence. Due to their expertise in this field, Fairbanks will primarily offer adolescent addiction services in the Family Access Network center.
Midtown Mental Health- Midtown’s mission is to “serve persons with serious mental illness and chronic addiction, as well as seriously emotionally disturbed children and their families.” Midtown will primarily offer adult and child mental health and addiction services, along with primary healthcare.
Children’s Bureau - Children’s Bureau’s mission is “preserving families and protecting the future of Indiana’s children.” Children’s Bureau will primarily offer child abuse prevention services through the Neighborhood Alliance for Child Safety (NACS) program, general case management, and child care service allowances for low-income families through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF).
Summit Realty - Summit Realty group has aided Family Access Network in research and site availability on the Near Westside for one year and a half. This talented group has helped narrow Family Access Network’s future building site to an area near Washington St. and Tibbs Ave.
Morse and Bickel - Morse and Bickel Law Firm initially helped FAN to create the NWEIC, and continues to advise MCCOY on all legal issues including MOUs and lease agreements.
Polis Center - Polis Center, a “self-funded research unit…at IUPUI” dedicated to providing the largest community information system (SAVI) in the nation, has worked with MCCOY since 2010 to provide all levels of data for the advancement of FAN. In the near future, the Polis Center will work to create a data dashboard for the Near Westside, which will highlight important information about this community’s needs.
John Peirce (Peirce Consulting) - Peirce consulting has worked with MCCOY for one year on the FAN collective impact initiative, which fosters greater collaboration between partnering organizations and tracks indicators and outcomes for FAN.
Although we have acknowledged quite a few helpful partners and organizations above, there are many other organizations whose advice and expertise has been absolutely essential to the development of Family Access Network. Thank you for your hard work!
WHAT
Since 2010, MCCOY has accomplished much in the development of Family Access Network. Here are a few of our recent achievements that brings us steps closer to the opening of Family Access Network…
• MCCOY recently received $128,000 in funding from the Department of Child Services, specifically for continued Family Access Network project development.
• MCCOY staff regularly attended Near West steering committee meetings to keep the community informed and to receive community input.
• FAN partners met with many organizations and representatives, including the State and Marion County Health Departments, Indiana Youth Institute, Department of Metropolitan Development, Wellpoint Foundation, Buckingham Foundation, Nicholas Noyes Foundation, Christel DeHaan Family Foundation, Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust and other various potential funders/interested parties.
• FAN partners conducted and attended various meetings, including NWEIC Board Meetings, Near West town hall meetings, EIPC meetings, Summit Realty Meetings, and Collective Impact meetings.
• FAN partners obtained and analyzed Near West data to develop indicators and outcomes specifically related to the work of the Family Access Network and its partners.
WHEN
In upcoming months, here’s what we intend to focus on:
• Establish a location.
• Develop and begin implementing a process to more deeply engage about 10-15 neighbors on the Near West Side, representing each of the neighborhood associations, in planning for the new site.
• Develop indicators to track and measure progress of families served through FAN; develop a collaborative referral and data sharing system; and create a data dashboard to be used by all FAN partners.
• Begin collecting baseline data where possible.
• Initiate fund development efforts to support site development.
WHERE
We would love to share some exciting news with you! MCCOY and partnering organizations have narrowed the home for our future building to a location near W. Washington St. and Tibbs Ave. Stay tuned for more information as it comes!
If you’re interested… to see the history of our decision to build the FAN center in the Near West, please take a look at our 2010-12 progress timeline.
WHY
The issues of child abuse, neglect, and delinquency are heartbreaking and affect every member of our community. People who experience abuse and other traumatic events in childhood are at increased risk as adults for substance abuse, missed work, severe obesity, depression, and suicide attempts. Links from early trauma and later problems include:
• 60% of first teen pregnancies are preceded by an incident of child sexual abuse.
• Young girls who are sexually abused are three times more likely to develop psychiatric disorders and/or substance abuse problems in adulthood than girls who are not sexually abused.
• Male survivors of child sexual abuse are 70% more likely to seek psychological treatment for issues such as substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, and attempted suicide.
Family Access Network will be located in the Near West neighborhood, but will be available to all residents in Indianapolis. This neighborhood was chosen because families in the Near West community have numerous risk factors for abuse, neglect and delinquency:
• 31.6% of residents over the age of 25 have no high school diploma.
• 38% of kids in the Near West live in poverty.
• 22% unemployment rate in the Near West.
• 65% of families are single-parent families.
• 16.5% of babies born are born to teen mothers.
The numbers show that Indianapolis families need help and support. Isolated services, although common, are not an effective prevention strategy. Comprehensive, coordinated, and integrated systems focused on building protective factors have demonstrated the most effectiveness in preventing children and families from becoming involved in the child welfare or juvenile justice systems (Anderson, et al., 2006).
Nonprofits in Indianapolis have the opportunity to work better together. By collaborating and sharing space and overhead, the organizations are able to focus more on their core missions. Further, if parents are able to access, in one location, the many services that build protective factors, they are more likely to be successful in managing life situations and stressors in order to provide a safe, healthy and nurturing environment for their children.
We appreciate your interest in the Family Access Network, and look forward to continuing to share the future of this project with you! If you’d like to learn more, please visit the FAN website.
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