By Tony Fortier-Bensen
WCIV ABC News 4
South Carolina will join two states and Los Angeles County in a new national program that will redesign the typical child welfare program into a child and family well-being system.
The S.C. Department of Social Services announced that they are partnering with Children’s Trust for a new program called, “Thriving Families, Safer Children: A National Commitment to Well-Being,” that focuses on supporting the family as a whole.
Instead of being “reactive” to child protection, the program aims to be proactive and offer resources and support to prevent child maltreatment and keep families together.
“Having South Carolina chosen as one of the four demonstration sites in the entire country shows that SC DSS is making progress in serving our state’s children and families. There is no better time than right now to move our state from a reactive child welfare system to a system that enables greater, more fluid interagency coordination and collaboration in serving families.” said DSS State Director Michael Leach. “We want to create a system of robust community based interventions and services available for all families, that takes into consideration social determinants of health. Families are one of our society’s greatest strengths and it’s time to change how the system thinks and serves children and families to create a structure that removes the stigma of seeking assistance and shifts towards a narrative that normalizes help, one that is accessible, and feels accessible, to all families regardless of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. There has been no better time than right now to make this fundamental shift.”
South Carolina is joining Nebraska and Colorado as the first states to join the new program.
“As the state leader for the prevention of child abuse and neglect, we work to help families find the resources, skills and abilities to provide their children a happy, healthy and safe environment in which to grow up,” said Children’s Trust CEO Sue Williams. “We are excited to be partners in this project and look forward to working with a wide variety of community stakeholders to establish a child and family well-being system that delivers proven prevention programs in communities across our state.”
