These services are achieved thanks to the support of our sponsors: St. Johns County, Community Partnership for Children, Central Florida Cares, Inc., The State of Florida and the Department of Children and Families.
Click here to access our Meet our Funders page for more info.
Please, see below to access our STRIVE Brochure:
S.T.R.I.V.E. BROCHURE
Please, see below list to access our referrals forms:
Referral from Orange
Referral form Volusia
Referral form St. Johns
Program Philosophy
The STRIVE Program believes that every family deserves to feel supported, valued, and empowered. We understand that life’s challenges can sometimes create uncertainty, but no family should have to face them alone. With Support, Trust, Inclusion, Vision, and Empathy, we walk alongside families, offering compassionate care that strengthens bonds, restores hope, and nurtures lasting healing.
Our approach is rooted in understanding, not judgment—honoring each family's unique journey while providing the tools and guidance they need to overcome obstacles together. We listen deeply, celebrate strengths, and help families build a foundation of stability and resilience.
More than just a service, STRIVE is a promise—a promise to keep families together whenever possible, to surround them with unwavering support, and to help every child feel safe, loved, and at home. We provide not just assistance, but hope, healing, and a path forward—together.
Program Description
The Supportive Trusting Relationships with Inclusion, Vision, and Empathy (STRIVE) program is a compassionate and comprehensive enhanced family stabilization service designed to complement case management services by providing intensive in-home family engagement through supportive and therapeutic services. Our goal is to help families successfully prevent the removal of their children and/or reunite them when safe, fostering resilience, healing, and growth for every family we serve.
The STRIVE team provides intensive, in-home services to oversee, support, and stabilize youth who have entered the child welfare dependency system and who are dually involved, or at risk of becoming involved in the juvenile justice system. Services are designed to unify the family and implement preventative measures to strengthen and stabilize the family unit. Through collaborative efforts with community-based partnerships, we work to prevent children from entering out-of-home care, ensuring the safety, well-being, and permanency of children and families. Above all, our approach promotes resilience in both youth and families, helping them navigate challenges and emerge stronger together.
Through intensive, in-home services, the STRIVE program oversees and supports families in Volusia, Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns, and Orange counties. The STRIVE program services are guided by the principles of Motivational Interviewing and Family Team Conferencing; we assess the risks and protective factors within and outside of the family that impact the youth’s development. At the heart of our work is building resilience by helping families identify their strengths, overcome adversity, and foster lasting change.
STRIVE also connects each child and family to vital community resources, such as substance abuse treatment, mental health support, educational services and career development opportunities. These services are identified through a personalized assessment process, ensuring that each family’s needs are met with compassion and respect.
STRIVE is not just about addressing current challenges, but about helping families develop the resilience to face future challenges independently and confidently. By partnering with families to implement preventive strategies and offering continuous, compassionate support, STRIVE aims to create environments where families can thrive, heal, and grow stronger together, creating a foundation for long-term stability and resilience.
Program Goals
- We aim to prevent child removal and support reunification by providing in-home services and resources for families to create a stable, nurturing environment.
- We equip families with tools and resources, fostering a compassionate, strength-based approach to help them face challenges with resilience and hope.
- Through evidence-based interventions, we stabilize families and implement prevention strategies for lasting change and future stability.
- We support safe reunification by providing tailored interventions and ongoing support to prepare families for challenges and ensure long-term permanency.
- Our personalized, in-home services address conflict, improve family dynamics, and create a safe, nurturing space for healing and connection.
- We collaborate with community services and providers to ensure families have access to the resources and support they need for lasting success.
- Help families access critical resources like food, housing, and care, providing compassionate support to ensure their security and stability.
- We empower families for long-term growth by offering ongoing support, tools for success, and lasting relationships to ensure independence and connection.
Provision of Services
- Contact the referral source within one (1) business day of receiving the referral for an eligibility screening and to gather information.
- Contact the guardian(s) via telephone within one (1) business day of acceptance of the referral to initiate services and to assess needs.
- Make face to face contacts with each family at the frequency determined necessary in the staffing but no less than twice (2) per week.
- Facilitate staffing for all cases at a minimum of once per week.
- Assist families in accessing flex funds to meet their needs for food, clothing, housing, transportation, and other needs through coordination with the case manager and other providers.
- Participation in court proceedings pertaining to the child (both juvenile justice and child welfare).
- Holding a closure staffing at the conclusion of services with a closure report and completing and delivering closure documentation.
Supportive Services Offered
Individualized Service Plans
Safety Planning
Parenting Support and/or Coaching
Direct and Supportive Teaching
Assessments
Behavior and Mood Management
Community Support and Advocacy
Extended Family Support
Population Served
Youth and families who have entered the child welfare dependency system and who are dually involved, or at risk of becoming involved in the juvenile justice system.
Admission Criteria: (included but not limited to)
· Children who have been identified as being in need of intensive in-home family stabilization services in order to successfully prevent removal, reunify and or support permanency with the family.
· Children who are involved, or are at risk of becoming involved, in the Juvenile Justice and/or Child Welfare systems.
· Children who engage in disruptive behaviors and/or who are experiencing emotional challenges.
· Children who reside in contractually approved counties.
·At least one adult member of the household must be willing to cooperate with program services.
Duration
STRIVE will serve each family for approximately ninety (90) to one hundred twenty (120) days, in order to provide pre-reunification intervention, effective and therapeutic services and supports, and crisis intervention/stabilization that will enable families to effectively care for children placed in their homes with the goal of strengthening and maintaining permanency.
Additional days of intensive services can be provided to the family after the child is returned home in order to ensure all needed supports are in place and the child can remain safely in the home.
Transition from Program
As families approach the conclusion of their journey with STRIVE, our team collaborates closely with each family to ensure a compassionate and seamless transition. We conduct a comprehensive closure staffing and transition plan to celebrate the progress made and to identify any remaining goals or services that may benefit the family. This collaborative discussion allows us to address any lingering concerns and to acknowledge the resilience and growth demonstrated by the family throughout their time with us. Any recommendations for future service needs for the family are addressed at this time.
During this meeting, we review the status of each recommended service, clearly documenting the family's achievements and any ongoing needs. We provide detailed information on referrals, connections to community resources, progress status and the efforts made by our team to support the family's journey. Our goal is to empower families with the knowledge and tools they need to continue thriving independently, reinforcing the strengths they have developed and ensuring they feel confident in navigating future challenges.
At STRIVE, we believe that the end of our formal engagements is not an end but a new beginning for the family. We are committed to standing by families during this transition, offering continued support and guidance as they move forward with hope, stability, and love.
