The Family Leadership Initiative is designed to get children home to birth parents quickly and safely by involving parents in the process in a meaningful way.

Help for Birth Parents
Birth parents who have had children removed from their homes are often going through horrendous family and personal crises.  They may be homeless, drug addicted, or even victims of violence themselves.  Most have deep feelings of anger, are confused about their rights, and harbor distrust towards the foster care system that took their children away.  They often  face bureaucratic barriers and barriers due to  language, education, and cultural assumptions.  Often, they are simply poor and overwhelmed by the struggle to survive.  To regain custody of their children, they must navigate a system that has deemed them to be unfit for parenthood.

In many cases these parents have made mistakes and must make changes in order to care for their children safely.  But often the system fails to provide the support that will help families reunite.  In order to turn their lives around, birth parents need many supports, including  parenting skills, faster access to substance abuse treatment, financial assistance to overcome practical barriers to bringing children home, knowledge about their rights, and connections to peers who are facing similar problems. 

Parent Advocates
The Family Leadership Initiative is led by Parent Advocates who at one time were in a position similar to that of the parents.. Our Parent Advocates  can relate to their concerns, understand the inner workings of the system, and have access to people who can effect change.  The Parent Advocates are part of the treatment team and they work closely with birth parents,  providing  a voice for them and guiding  them in accomplishing each of the steps they need to take in their quest for reunification with their children.