It Starts with Trust

Every year, the federal government spends around $1.3 billion to support foster care. The numbers for the state of Indiana are close to $11.44 million. In this context, last week’s post from the Clayton Christensen Institute highlighting the Strengthening Indiana Families (SIF) project led by Dr. Susan Mariscal, Associate Professor at IU School of Social Work, is important.

This groundbreaking prevention-oriented community-based organization (CBO) has been hailed as an innovator in the field and has decreased the number of children entering foster care in Indiana by around 46%. SIF focuses on supporting families, building on family strengths and protective factors, reducing risk factors, and engaging community resources and connections, all of which improve child well-being. Unlike other CBOs, SIF focuses on trust-building as a guiding principle.

Using surveys, interviews, and focus groups with a wide range of stakeholders--public and mental health professionals, early childhood specialists, childcare workers, families, and judges--the team created a structure centered on Family Resource Centers (FRCs) that can be trusted by families. Designed with community input, these welcoming, family-focused, supportive spaces host events, meetings, counseling sessions, recovery coaches, and other services that are more likely to be used because of that foundation of trust. Rather than increasing parental anxiety about welfare organizations taking away their children, FRCs created under this model have become a valued resource that families go to for support.

Thanks to funding from the Indiana Department of Child Services (IN DCS), this model will also be financially sustainable after the initial federal funding ends. IN DCS made this commitment thanks to the positive response from the families that use the FRCs.

Nothing could be more important than serving our children, and Dr. Mariscal and her team deserve our applause and admiration. Another example of what a premier public urban research university can do: use research to make a difference in the communities we serve.

Go Jags!

Latha Ramchand
Chancellor