Extended Family Support Program

The overall philosophy of the Extended Family Support Program (EFSP) is to improve the lives of children who are being cared for by relative family members when their biological parents are unable to do so. The program philosophy is that children are best cared for within a familiar environment by either parental or extended family members, with as little intrusion as possible from outside child welfare programs. As a result, EFSP supports relative caregivers (grandparents, aunts and uncles, older siblings, etc.) to achieve long-term stability for their related children and to ensure these children remain outside the formal child welfare, foster care system.

Many of these relatives are often and suddenly thrust into the role of caregiver without adequate support and resources. EFSP works with families to ensure the safety of these children and supports the caregiver’s ability to provide the most basic physical, emotional, social, and development needs. If a family doesn’t have the financial means to meet these basic needs, CCCS will provide assistance in this area, as well as provide counseling, tutoring, mentoring and other services as needed.

The most significant impact of EFSP is that it supports the child and family without the traumatic experience of becoming part of the formal child welfare system. Children are able to remain in a familiar environment and as a result, the child’s anxiety in minimized. In many circumstances, the extended family members have already been providing a large portion of the caretaking thus ensuring the child’s sense of routine and belonging while minimizing changes to their daily lives.