A number of states are working to integrate their family-preservation efforts with schools. Among them:
Idaho has a pilot project in the Boise schools that is working to prevent child abuse, foster-care placement, and delinquency. The program places social workers and nurses in several elementary schools to offer wide-ranging preventive and emergency services for families.
Missouri has used the principles of its statewide family-preservation effort as a springboard for state and local partnership groups to design comprehensive community services linked with schools. The Caring Communities program in St. Louis, which is the model for the effort, has family-preservation workers serving several schools.
Michigan‘s Families First program, which is the largest network of intensive family-preservation programs in any state, has also been a catalyst for collaboration among state agencies, including education, and more family-centered services at the local level. Families First sends mentors to school with some children it serves to provide extra support and keep them on track.
