Fusion for Families

About the Program

Category: Children and Youth (Best in Category)

Year: 2009

Hennepin County’s Child Protection System’s goal is family reunification. Caregivers can’t reapply for public assistance benefits until after reunification occurs. Fusion for Families (FFF) seeks to offer service to all families in which a child or children are to be reunified with their caregivers after an out-of-home placement. FFF is designed to reduce disconnects faced by reunifying families who are also trying to navigate the public assistance system. Approximately 20 families being reunified each month fit Fusion for Families criteria. Upon referral by a reunifying family’s child protection social worker, an integrated team tailored to the family’s situation, which could be made up of staff from several departments, meets with the client and their social worker to discuss the family’s needs and facilitate application for public assistance benefits. The goal is to provide services to the family as efficiently as possible by addressing potential barriers and disconnects between the requirements of the child protection system and the eligibility supports system. The anticipated long-term result is that this type of integration activity will help stabilize families and might also result in reduced out of home place costs.