Families First Court Initiative

The Families First Court Initiative (Families First) provides Family Court-involved youth ages 12-18 and their families with intensive supports on abuse and neglect, juvenile delinquency, persons in need of supervision, and order of protection matters, in order to reduce the use of congregate care and prevent further system involvement. The approach employs a two-generational, community-engagement model that seeks to change the way families, the Family Court, child protective services, probation, foster care agencies, and clinical service providers understand the unique developmental needs of court-involved youth, communicate and share information, and collaborate to provide wrap-around support to prevent the use of congregate care and prepare the county for achieving goals aligned with the Families First legislation.