Chicano/Latino Family Resource System
The Chicano/Latino Family Resource System, commonly known as “FRS” was established in 1995 in response to the growing need for community based services that were both linguistically and culturally appropriate for Latino families. The original intention of FRS was to be a prevention program, a “safety net” for families who were considered at risk for involvement in the Child Welfare System and who often fell through the cracks of other systems of intervention, it has grown to not only be a prevention service, but also an early intervention for families already associated with the child welfare system. The San Francisco County Human Service Agency (HSA) funded the program to meet the growing needs of the diverse city, recognizing the importance of community involvement when it comes to family issues for the Latino population. Over the years, FRS has continued to have a strong relationship with the City and County of San Francisco through various collaborations that strive to provide the best services possible to Latino families living in San Francisco.
The FRS consists of four agencies located in the culturally rich Mission District of San Francisco, with Instituto Familiar de la Raza, Inc. (IFR) as the fiscal and program lead agency. The other collaborating agencies are La Raza Community Resource Center, Mission Head Start/Mission Neighborhood Center, and Mission Learning Center. The program’s purpose is to combine the efforts and staff of the collaborating agencies to develop prevention, early intervention, and intensive case management services which reinforce family preservation with high-risk families residing in the Mission District and Chicano/Latino families throughout San Francisco.
Our Providers
The FRS team reflects the population it serves. Consistent with our commitment to culturally relevant and competent services, all of the FRS providers are bilingual and bicultural and are either Latino immigrants themselves or recent descendants of Latino immigrants. The team consists of a Program Manager, a Senior Mental Health Specialist, two Family Resource Specialists, and two Case Managers/Family Advocates and interns during the academic year. All of the providers have a deep personal commitment to offering the best service possible to families.
Our Services
The FRS program at IFR has grown over the years from being a mental health focused collaborator to becoming a leader in case management and parent education best practices. The following is a brief description of the services offered through FRS that demonstrate our commitment to families.
Casa Corazon: Group Activities for families with children that offers effective and appropriate early intervention programming for parents and children that are both educational and fun.
Ask for our monthly calendar to find out which activities are coming up!
- Parent Workshops are offered on a weekly basis and provide parents the opportunity to learn and share with one another while their children participate in groups designed for their developmental stages. This group is instrumental in providing education to parents in a manner that is informal and thought provoking. Workshops are typically 4 sessions long, past topics have included: Anger Management, Child Trauma, Child Safety, Early Literacy Development, Understanding Your Child’s Behavior, and more.
- Children’s Group is an educational setting designed for children while their parents participate in the workshops. Children participate in a school-like setting that includes activities that promote early literacy and motor-skills development, such as songs, arts and crafts, dancing, and free play.
- Parent-Child Activities are held weekly for parents and children to participate in together. The group promotes healthy attachment and relationship building within the family unit by offering a fun setting for parents to create positive interactions with their children.
- Nutritional Information is offered once a month during the Parent-Child Activities. Once a month, parents and children learn how to prepare a healthy meal together and about the different nutrients that can be found in foods and snacks.
- Compartiendo Ensenanzas (Sharing Teaching) is also held once a month, when a parent who has participated in activities, leads a group and teaches the other families one of their cultural traditions. Parents selected for this meet with agency staff in advance to prepare their “lesson” and feel a great sense of pride at passing on traditions often devalued in the United States. Past sharing has included, braiding ribbons, cross stitching, songs, pickling peppers, dance, and more.
- Support Groups are offered twice a year for mothers. The group is peer led by the mother’s themselves who rotate responsibility for each session. The group often includes a variety of arts and crafts that the women enjoy working on while they share and talk about the stressors of motherhood.
- Triple P Parenting Classes are offered at least twice a year. This class follows the evidence-based curriculum developed by Dr. Matthew Sanders and is certified to meet requirements for court. The course teaches parents new skills in managing their child’s behavior as well as offering an opportunity for them to self-reflect on their triggers.
Parent Support Services: These services are typically offered to parents to help address the various needs of the family as well as improve access to resources available.
You may access these services by calling or visiting the agency.
- Information and Referral (I&R) is a less formal service than case management that consists of linking families with appropriate services provided either within FRS or by another agency. This service often occurs on a one-time basis and does not include regular or consistent follow-up with families.
- Case Management/Family Advocacy is a formal intervention and coordination of services to address the problems that are affecting the health, safety, or wellbeing of a family or individual. There is regular and consistent contact over a period of time and formal monitoring to track the progress towards meeting family needs. This may require a referral or formal linkage to other services not provided by FRS.
- SafeStart Family Advocacy is provided specifically to those families with children under 6 years old who have been exposed to violence. The Family Advocate has received intensive training on the impact of violence on children and is sensitive to issues particular to families who have experienced domestic violence. In order to provide the most effective service possible, this worker is connected to other systems of intervention such as the San Francisco Police Department Domestic Violence Unit and Child Protective Services.
- SafeStart is an initiative to reduce the impact and incidence of violence on children. In addition to providing a citywide campaign to increase public awareness of the impact of violence on children, this initiative has been instrumental in changing public policy and service implementation around children and domestic violence.
- Mental Health Services consists of intensive therapeutic counseling to address the needs of families facing social, psychological, cultural, and spiritual difficulties. Families may receive individual, child, family, and couples counseling as appropriate. Mental health services through FRS are intended for those who do not have coverage by neither private nor public insurances.
- Parent Leadership is encouraged throughout by allowing parents to have a voice in developing new activities. The Concilio de Compadres (Parents Council) is held twice a year with those parents who have participated in at least 6 months of programming. Parents receive leadership training and provide program evaluation and recommendations.
Child Welfare (HSA) Related Services: FRS has developed a strong partnership with HSA that includes a variety of services to meet the needs of family and to help ensure that families remain safe and intact.
Access to these services is limited to those families referred by HSA only.
- Team Decision Making (TDM) Meetings- As part of the new Child Welfare Reform Act, Child Welfare Workers who are considering changing the placement of a child need to conduct a TDM meeting and invite all stakeholders in the child’s life. For many parents this can be an intimidating process so FRS provides a Family Advocate to accompany the parent during this meeting to voice the parents’ concerns and questions.
- Differential Response (DR)- In collaboration with HSA, this program provides services to families who have been reported to Child Protective Services (CPS) but do not meet the requirements for a full investigation. Recognizing that these at-risk families are in need of early intervention to prevent repeat reports to CPS, FRS works directly with Child Welfare Workers to offer the following services:
- Referral Coordination for all DR referrals within the City and County of San Francisco is managed by the DR Coordinator working through FRS. This coordinator receives the referrals and then assigns them to the appropriate community-based partner.
- Case Management/Family Advocacy is offered at the time of the joint home visit with the Child Welfare Worker. A plan is created based on the family’s needs and routine follow-ups are made to ensure family functioning is maintained. For many families, receiving services through a community-based organization is less threatening, more appropriate, and more effective than receiving services through the child welfare system.
The Chicano/Latino Family Resource System is an example of continuous program evolution to meet the needs of the families it serves. As much as the program has evolved over the years to meet the growing needs of families, there continues to be a steadfast commitment to the original intention: Provide culturally competent services to families with an emphasis on maintaining families healthy, safe, and intact. In addition, our philosophy includes providing services without walls and an emphasis on building relationships with families.
Our Collaborative Partners
La Raza Community Resource Center
Mission Neighborhood Center/Bernal Dwellings
Central American Resource Center
San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center (SafeStart lead agency)
Our Funders
San Francisco Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF)
San Francisco First 5 Commission
San Francisco Human Service Agency (HSA)
For more information, contact frs@ifrsf.org.
