Early interventions strengthen families in Las Vegas
Healthy starts for children begin with supportive environments that enable them to thrive. Child abuse and neglect is associated with significant negative impacts to cognitive development, which in turn affect children’s long-term academic, social, and emotional development.1 Children living in poverty, children who are Black or Hispanic are more likely to have adverse childhood experiences, which can significantly impact their lifelong health and well-being.2 Nevada ranks 41st in overall measures of children’s health and 42nd in social and economic factors impacting children, demonstrating an opportunity to provide greater support to Nevada’s youth.3
Preventing child abuse and neglect is crucial, and providing appropriate support for families is essential in addressing this issue. Effective strategies include ensuring that families can meet needs like financial security, education and access to appropriate care and resources.1 To support strong families and healthy starts for kids, UnitedHealthcare Health Plan of Nevada Medicaid has teamed up with Olive Crest.
Olive Crest serves thousands of low-income families in Las Vegas with a wrap-around continuum of services designed to prevent child abuse and neglect, support foster families and assist people who have experienced childhood trauma. This community-based organization also supports social drivers of health (SDOH) like housing and access to care for children who have previously been involved with the foster care system. Olive Crest programs aim to address potential root causes of child abuse and neglect like economic and housing instability, substance use, and mental health conditions.
Served 181 families through resource connection and/or hosting
Created a Care Plan with 100% of families whose children were hosted
99% of children reunified/deflected from child welfare system
Olive Crest’s Early Intervention Pathway aims to prevent abuse and neglect at points of crisis, with the goal of avoiding unnecessary foster care placements and building long-term stability for families. The Early Intervention Pathway includes resources, care coordination and, if necessary, temporarily hosting of children with a vetted and trained volunteer family without relinquishing parental rights. Funding from UnitedHealthcare Health Plan of Nevada Medicaid has expanded access to this program for families in Clark County.
Families in the program receive mental health screenings and complete a protective factors assessment that gauges attributes related to a family’s ability to successfully navigate challenges.4 If needed, families may receive support for immediate emergent needs to prevent a child being removed from the home, such as rent assistance or food. The families can then engage with case managers and resources to resolve crises and establish long-term stability. They may also be connected with the Strong Families program, where they have access to mental health services, parenting strategies and life-skills training to build up stability, support and resilience.
Temporary hosting serves as a last resort for families experiencing a point of crisis. Hospital stays and substance use treatment for parents are the most common scenarios that require a child to be hosted. In these circumstances, parents who lack a support system to facilitate childcare may have to choose between receiving the care they need and keeping their children out of the child welfare system. Temporary hosting provides a safe alternative so parents can meet these critical needs while retaining their parental rights. At the end of each temporary hosting, a Care Plan is created in partnership with parents to outline next steps and what supports may be needed to maintain family stability.
Since January 2024, the Early Intervention Pathway program achieved the following outcomes:
- Served 181 families through resource connection and/or hosting
- Completed GAD-7 and PHQ-9 mental health screens at 100% of intakes
- Complete 5 Protective Factors Assessment at 100% of intakes
- Created a Care Plan with 100% of families whose children were hosted
- Recruited and trained six new Host Families
- 99% of children reunified/deflected from child welfare system.
Today, more families in Las Vegas are able to access comprehensive resources to meet immediate needs, navigate crisis situations and build long-term stability. Hear how one family was impacted through their experience with the Early Intervention Pathway:
Tonya* came to Olive Crest recently when a medical emergency threatened to derail her family's stability. As a refugee, Tonya was fighting for a new and safe life for herself and her three children in Las Vegas, but she found herself alone, with no support network, and struggling daily to get by. This kins of isolation can put families just steps away from the child welfare system. When a medical emergency necessitated a hospital stay for Tonya, and no support system to care for her children, the family's only option seemed to be for the children to be taken into a group home run by Child Protective Services.
Tonya was referred to Olive Crest, where our Early Intervention Pathway made it possible for a loving volunteer family – who had been recruited, background checked, and trained by Olive Crest – to host her childrenfor a temporary stay. Tonya retained all rights and enjoyed video calls with her children while in the hospital. When Tonya was released from the hospital and reunited with her children, our Family Resource Center provided tangible items needed for their home and daily life, while coordinating a connection to our Strong Families program. Through the Strong Families program, one of our family specialists will meet with Tonya in her home to identify and address barriers to stability and reduce the risk that another emergency could turn into a crisis for their family.
