Joining Forces for Families
Joining Forces for Families (JFF) was created in 1993 to ensure the success of children, youth and families in school, home, and community throughout Dane County. United Way, the Dane County Human Services Department, local and county law enforcement agencies, school districts, local and county public health departments and neighborhood groups combined their resources to form the JFF teams. Each team is comprised of a police officer, a public nurse, a county community social worker, school personnel and a community support specialist (at some locations). JFF advances the community's Agenda for Change by using strong collaborations to achieve measurable results.
To date, 26 JFF teams have made a significant impact in 26 areas of the county. By preventing the escalation of problems and reducing the need for more intensive and invasive costly social services, our combined work has netted large social dividends to the residents in these areas and to you through taxpayers savings. A few of those social dividends include:
- A decline in child maltreatment referrals to human services intake in areas served.
- Deflecting families away from court involvement, resulting in a substantial saving of system resources.
- Crime has decreased and neighborhood environments have been dramatically improved.
- The provision of employment, housing, and basic human needs assistance in the neighborhoods where access is often limited.
- Connections with local faith-based communities that have resulted in additional resources in these areas.
- Assuring that needed services are accessible, integrated, customer-focused and address local needs.
- Empowering residents with pro-active problem solving skills.
Results accomplished through this collaboration include:
- Crime statistics lowered in neighborhoods targeted for evaluation
- School behavior improved in targeted neighborhoods
- Increased resident involvement in neighborhood activities
- 20 families per site receive intensive team intervention each month
- Increased levels of immunizations
For more information about Joining Forces for Families, please contact Angela Jones at (608) 246-4376 or angelajones@uwdc.org.