News

Bridging academia, public health, and policy: A conversation with Dr. Lorna Thorpe

During her visit to Grupo Nexos, Dr. Lorna Thorpe emphasized how data and community partnerships strengthen public health.

Professional development to transform family welfare services

Empowering professionals to transform family welfare services in Puerto Rico through FORECAST certification and trauma-informed practices.

Specialized training to promote human rights and prevent juvenile delinquency

Trainings to promote human rights and prevent juvenile delinquency, strengthening interagency efforts and supporting youth well-being.

Grupo Nexos receives a grant from the Children’s Trust to implement a transformative project in Puerto Rico

Grupo Nexos receives $117,650 from the Children’s Trust to implement Functional Family Therapy and support families in southwestern Puerto Rico.

Urgent call for Puerto Rico’s children and youth

Enabling a promising future for our youth helps build a more equitable Puerto Rico, writes William Pagán, analyst for Grupo Nexos social policy division.

The normalization of historical trauma

Historical trauma shapes Puerto Rico’s identity. To heal, we must address its roots, embrace our cultural pride, and foster resilience.

Nexo Directo Newsletter | October 2024

Access our quarterly newsletter here: Nexo Directo Newsletter | October 2024

Breaking the cycle of poverty and its effects on mental health

Breaking the poverty cycle requires addressing its deep impact on mental health. Preventive and therapeutic strategies, starting from gestation, can reduce trauma and foster healthy development for children and families.

Atender la crisis de sobredosis desde un enfoque de salud pública

The overdose crisis is a public health emergency. Harm reduction, decriminalization, and community-driven solutions are key to saving lives.

A new approach to family welfare

Puerto Rico has achieved a significant milestone, becoming the first territory in the U.S. to have an approved child welfare prevention plan. This plan, aligned with the federal public policy contained in the Family First Prevention Services Act, not only increases the state’s capacity to recover funds from the federal government but also sets a promising path for our families, children, and youth. What does this historic achievement mean for us all?

First and foremost, the adoption of the plan implies transforming the system to offer services that have been proven effective in preserving families together, using evidence-based and trauma-informed interventions. These services focus on addressing mental health issues and substance use-related problems, promoting parenting skills, and providing support and assistance to relative caregivers.

Evidence-based practices are interventions scientifically proven to be effective and appropriate for addressing specific problems in a particular population. The selection of evidence-based practices for Puerto Rico’s plan favored relevant and suitable interventions for our cultural and linguistic context. The trauma-informed approach ensures that organizations, systems, programs, and services take into account the impact of traumatic experiences. It also recognizes the signs and symptoms of trauma in individuals, families, the workforce, service providers, and others involved in the welfare system while actively seeking to prevent re-traumatization.

Let’s look at a hypothetical example: the Department of Family Services intervenes with a family after receiving a complaint. After evaluation, it determines that the children are not in immediate danger, so they remain in the family home. The family is referred to a prevention plan that includes individual and family therapies. This plan will take into account the effect of trauma on the family, such as intergenerational trauma related to abuse. The therapy plan will use one or more evidence-based interventions to strengthen parenting skills and address any other needs.

As part of the approved plan, Puerto Rico will provide five evidence-based interventions in accordance with federal requirements. These interventions will be offered through the Department of Family Services and include Parenting Fundamentals, Motivational Interviewing, Brief Strategic Family Therapy, Functional Family Therapy, and the Kinship Support Program. These services will expand the resources available to support children, youth, and their families, and it is expected that these resources will continue to grow with the implementation of the prevention plan.

Studies show that when children and youth remain in a family setting, whether with their parents, relative caregivers, or foster homes, they experience healthier development. This transformation supports and complements that approach with interventions proven effective in promoting children’s welfare. This way, our families will receive effective family preservation and prevention services while collaborations between the Department of Family Services and community service providers expand.

(Originally published in the Opinion section of El Nuevo Día.)