Saint Francis Ministries awarded Texas Home Visiting grant

April 2024 · Press Releases, Texas

Saint Francis Ministries is one of 15 organizations to recently receive the Texas Home Visiting (THV) grant award from the Prevention and Early Intervention Division of the Department of Family and Protective Services.

THV provides evidence-based, voluntary parent education and support programs in which early childhood and health professionals visit the homes of expecting parents and families with a child 0-5 years of age using select home visiting models. In addition to offering in-home parent education and support, THV programs connect families to community resources and services by partnering with health, social service, and child development systems and professionals.

Saint Francis Ministries has elected to use the Family Check-Up® evidence-based practice in both Bell and McLennan Counties to serve 36 families each month.

The Family Check-Up® is a brief, strength-based intervention program for families with children ages 2-17 for use in a range of service settings such as schools, community agencies, and primary care. It is an evidence-based, preventive approach to mental health and resilience that was designed to support families from all cultural communities.

“Our goal is to strengthen families so they can live together independently of any external support systems,” said Dr. Nicole McCauley, SFM vice president of prevention. “SFM’s current prevention programs maintain families together in the home 93 percent of the time, and we look forward to similar results in the Waco area.”

Over the coming weeks, Saint Francis Ministries will hire an executive director and additional staff to provide services to families in both counties.

The Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) Division of DFPS, as well as Family Support Services in Chapter 137 of the Human Resources Code, in partnership with the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), announced the grant awards this month.