Children's Issues 

Co-Chairs: Sarah Merrigan, LICSW and Becky Parton, LICSW

The Children’s Issues group goal is to identify the broader causes of social problems within the local and state community, and to actively work toward the elimination of these causes of dysfunction through advocating change of the social service system itself. Furthermore, we work collaboratively with other child advocacy groups to address issues, as well as work with the SLAC committee to improve social institutions, systems, legislation, and practice that impose hardship on children and families.

For more information you can reach out to Becky at granitestater@gmail.com or admin.naswnh@socialworkers.org

Click here for more information about our next virtual meeting!

A conversation with NH DCYF, Evident Change, and the Community Navigator program about the new Community Response Guide coming out in 2024 (related to reporting to DCYF) and the Community Navigator Program that is being piloted now

The CRG is a tool to help people who are worried about a child or family andmust decide whether they should connect the family with community services or report their concerns to the DCYF Central Intake Unit. The reporting decision is not easy. New Hampshire has developed a tool in order to do the following:

• Provide resource options to individuals to help children and families who would be better supported outside of DCYF (because their concern does not need DCYF or law enforcement intervention).
• Help people who need to make a report but may not know how or when to make a report to DCYF.
• Help ensure that concerns about children and families that require a child protection response are promptly reported.

If you still have questions, you can email Becky Parton and she will compile them to share with the team. granitestater@gmail.com
You can also email DCYF directly at: DCYFConstituentRelations@dhhs.nh.gov

Main ideas shared in the meeting:

• The Community Response Guide will be an online tool for professionals and community members to help make decisions about whether to report, get a consult, or take no further action
• The CRG is part of a larger initiative to reform and shift Child Welfare in NH and encourage community members to move from “reporters to supporters”
• The CRG is still being built, no current “go live date”. There is still time to give input and/or join a group
• More information at: https://docs.evidentchange.org/newhampshirecrg/

The Community Navigator program is being piloted statewide now with 4 main groups:

• Pregnant people
• Parents under the age of 26
• Families with children under age 3
• Kinship care providers

This program is run by Granite Pathways (professionals with lived expertise) and is accessed after a call has been screened out by Central Intake. The goal is to connect families to programs in their own community. Right now it is support by phone and if the family doesn’t respond they will get a “closing letter” with resources.

Eventually the goal of the Community Navigator program is to be the “consult” when a call is not screened in.