C&A Frequently Used Terms

LAN 12 - C & A Frequently Used Terms

Ad-Hoc group - a group formed to address a specific need.
Advocacy - The act or process of giving support, pleading the cause of another. A synonym for advocate is encourager.
ASFA - Adoption and Safe Families Act (a federal law which current funding is supported).
C & A LAN - The Child and Adolescent Local Area Network.
Co-Convener - two people elected by the group to coordinate meetings and act as contacts for DCFS, DHS, IL State Board of Education, etc.
DASA - Department of Alcohol & Substance Abuse
DCFS - Department of Children and Family Services
DHS - Department of Human Services
DMH - Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities
Disseminate/Dissemination - to share to disperse throughout.
Family Intervention Services - formerly family preservation services - (as defined by the Family Centered Services Initiative) typically include services designed to help families alleviate crisis that might lead to out-of-home placement of children.
Family Resource Service - a service developed to allow families to access a variety of family services with one phone call. (Funded by the C & A LAN.)
Family Resource Alliance - a group of service providers that meets to determine ways of making services more accessible. It is a collaborative effort led by Chestnut Health Systems, Community Counseling Center, Children's Home & Aid Society of Illinois, and Hoyleton Youth and Human Services.
Family Support Services - (as defined by the Family Centered Services Initiative) "community-based", preventative activities designed to alleviate stress and promote parental competencies and behaviors that will increase the ability of families to successfully nurture their children; enable families to use other resources and opportunities available in the community; and supportive networks to enhance child rearing abilities of parents.
Fiscal Agent - agency that acts as the manager of funds for specific purposes.
Gatekeeper - supervisor or monitor. A centralized way of responding to needs, sometimes a single point of entry. May be agency or individual. For example, hospital staff are considered gatekeepers when the LAN tries to reach parents of newborns.
ISBE - Illinois State Board of Education
Liaison - a person that establishes and maintains mutual understanding. In the Inter Agency Management Team it is a person that serves somewhere else for communication and informational purposes.
Linkages - Family Centered Services funding expects the LAN activities to show they work with ("link with") existing services like the Department of Health, DASA programs, etc.
Protocols - an established way to carry out a task or treatment provision.
Provider Profile - a document to be completed for the Family Resource Service to define a provider's services including sites, hours, and credentials.
PRC - Parent Resource Committee
Respite - a break. Giving families an interval of rest or relief from responsibilities, especially from stressors that increase the possibility of child abuse.
RFP - Request for Proposals. Letter with specific details about how to apply for funding.
SASS - Screening, Assessment, Support Services.
Stipend - a fixed sum of money paid periodically to defray expenses.
Time-Limited Reunification - child/children have been removed from parental home by DCFS with a specific time frame for the children to be returned.
Tier 1 Service - a service offered through the Family Resource Service where an appropriate caller will not be declined services based on income.
Tier 2 Service - services offered through the Family Resource Services that have categorical limits.
WRAP - a model of providing services to children and families which centers on strengths and individual needs of the family. It sometimes incorporates special fund for needs not addressed by other categories of services.