TUPELO – The Family Resource Center of North Mississippi has received one of only nine federal child welfare grants awarded for 2019 by the Administration of Children and Families.
The $2.7 million Community Collaborations to Strengthen and Preserve Families grant will be implemented in collaboration with the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services and a network of local community providers. The federal Children’s Bureau will also provide on-site support, programmatic guidance and technical assistance to the Mississippi project, created to demonstrate how engaging at-risk families and connecting them with community-based primary prevention programs improves child safety and well-being – and resolves family issues before they escalate, families are disrupted and children are placed into state custody for their protection.
The five-year project will target at-risk families and children living in Lee County. Federal officials plan to highlight the Mississippi project – and lessons learned during implementation — as a model for other states to replicate.
Grant activities will be evaluated by The Stephen Group, a New Hampshire-based consulting firm which has worked with MDCPS and other Mississippi health and human service providers.
