Family Initiative Incorporated

FAMILY INITIATIVE, INC. IS COMMITTED TO ENGAGING IN COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS TO EMPOWER FAMILIES AND ENSURE THE SAFETY, PERMANENCY, AND WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN. UTILIZING A FAMILY-CENTERED AND HOLISTIC APPROACH, OUR MISSION IS TO MAINTAIN TRANSPARENCY IN COLLABORATING WITH ALL WE SERVICE.

FAMILY INITIATIVE HAS GROWN AND EXPANDED SIGNIFICANTLY IN 2021. OUR FOUR LARGEST PROGRAMS ARE OUR AUTISM COMMUNITY BASED PROGRAMS, APPLIED BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS PROGRAM, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY PROGRAM, AND OUR CHILD WELFARE PROGRAMS IN BOTH MIAMI AND SARASOTA. OUR AUTISM COMMUNITY BASED PROGRAMS INCLUDE OUR AUTISM PLAYGROUP, AUTISM TEEN HANGOUT GROUP, VOLUNTEER SUPPORT GROUP, AND AUTISM ARTPLAY. OUR AUTISM TEEN HANGOUT GROUP PARTICIPANTS INCREASED TO 23 PARTICIPANTS PER SESSION IN 2021, WHICH IS DOUBLE THE NUMBER OF UNIQUE PARTICIPANTS SERVED IN 2020. OUR VOLUNTEER PROGRAM ALSO EXPANDED LAST YEAR AS WE HAD A TOTAL OF 32 VOLUNTEERS (27 FGCU VOLUNTEERS AND 5 VOLUNTEERS FROM THE COMMUNITY). PROGRAMS SUCH AS OUR AUTISM PLAYGROUP AND AUTISM ARTPLAY DID NOT HAVE A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEARS DUE TO THE LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE IN THOSE PROGRAMS DURING COVID RESTRICTIONS. WE SERVED A TOTAL OF 81 UNIQUE PARTICIPANTS IN AUTISM PLAYGROUP AND 7 UNIQUE PARTICIPANTS IN AUTISM ARTPLAY OUR APPLIED BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS PROGRAM TEACHES SKILLS AND BEHAVIORS BY USING PRINCIPLES OF REINFORCEMENT. CLIENTS SERVED HAVE DEMONSTRATED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN ATTENTION, FOCUS, AND SOCIAL SKILLS, ALL WHILE INCREASING LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS, AND DECREASING MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIORS. WHILE DATA SHOWS A DECREASE IN UNIQUE CASES IN OUR ABA PROGRAM COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEARS, OUR RECORDS INDICATE A TOTAL OF 7 NEW APPLIED BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS CLIENTS WERE ADDED TO OUR PROGRAM DUE TO CAPACITY LIMITATIONS. OUR OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO HELP IMPROVE COGNITIVE, PHYSICAL, SOCIAL, AND MOTOR SKILLS, WHICH LEAD TO MORE INDEPENDENCE AND CONFIDENCE IN OUR CLIENTS. MORE CHILDREN WERE ONBOARDED COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEARS. A TOTAL OF 15 UNIQUE CHILDREN WERE ADDED TO THE PROGRAM. OUR CHILD WELFARE FAMILY IMPACT PROGRAM (FIP) IS BASED IN 3 UNIQUE COMPONENTS TO ASSIST OUR CAREGIVERS ACROSS FLORIDA IN BUILDING A STRONGER TRAUMA INFORMED APPROACH FOR OUR CHILDREN WITH A HISTORY OF COMPLEX DEVELOPMENTAL TRAUMA. THE FIRST COMPONENT IS PRE-SERVICE TRAINING, WHERE PROSPECTIVE FOSTER PARENTS WILL LEARN ABOUT BEHAVIOR-BASED PARENTING, DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION TOOLS, AND ARE INTRODUCED TO TRUST BASED RELATIONAL INTERVENTION (TBRI). THIS INTRODUCTION TO TBRI LEADS INTO THE SECOND COMPONENT OF OUR PROGRAM. CURRENTLY LICENSED FOSTER PARENTS WILL RECEIVE A 3-WEEK, 9-HOUR ADVANCED BEHAVIOR TRAINING. EACH WEEK A PRINCIPLE OF TBRI WILL BE EXPLORED AND TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGIES ON HOW TO IMPLEMENT THE CONCEPTS IN THEIR HOME WILL BE PROVIDED. THE THIRD COMPONENT OF OUR PROGRAM IS INTENSIVE IN-HOME SUPPORT. OUR CLINICAL STAFF TRAVELS TO THE FOSTER FAMILIES AND COACH AND MODEL THE PRINCIPLES OF TBRI AND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT IN REAL TIME TO ASSIST THE CAREGIVERS GAIN PROFICIENCY INDEPENDENTLY UTILIZING TBRI. THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THIS PROGRAM IS TO INCREASE STRONGER, MORE STABLE ENVIRONMENTS AND A PLACE FOR OUR YOUTH IN OUT OF HOME CARE TO GROW AND THRIVE. IN 2021, WE SERVED DESOTO, SARASOTA, MANATEE AND MIAMI-DADE COUNTIES. IN ORDER FOR A FAMILY TO BE CONNECTED TO OUR FAMILY IMPACT PROGRAM, REFERRAL IS PROVIDED BY THE CASE MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION OR THE COMMUNITY BASED CARE PROVIDER WITHIN THAT SERVICE AREA. THE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES SERVED WERE ALL ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN THE CIRCUITS DEPENDENCY SYSTEM (CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM). IN 2021 WE SUCCESSFUL SERVED 126 FAMILIES, 142 CHILDREN, AND THE DISRUPTION RATE FOR 2021 WAS 7%.