El Paso Center for Children is September’s Innovation Grant recipient spotlight

Each month, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services spotlights one of ten PEI Innovation Grant recipients to share about their innovation grant and what they have learned along the way.

El Paso Center for Children is September’s Innovation Grant recipient spotlight.

El Paso Center for Children is a FAYS grantee and is implementing a Promotora support strategy to enhance the safety and well-being of families in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. A promotora provides basic health education to the community and is a valuable resource for Hispanic/Latino communities. Nancy Ortega is the FAYS Promotora and started in November 2022. Nancy’s main role is to welcome new families into the program with a comfort kit. Through her connections with community agencies she may offer resource navigation and other assistance to families that may need additional support services. She also offers stressbuster workshops on a monthly basis and currently serves on the Family Advisory Council.

While hiring a promotora presented an early challenge, the effort has paid off tremendously. Through implementing this innovation, El Paso Center for Children has learned the importance of being able to assist families with basic needs. Staff member Cristina Villalobos highlights this by saying “If families feel supported and know that there is an agency that can assist them not only with their emotional needs, but basic needs, they feel empowered.” Through this program, relief and assistance has been provided to both staff and the families served in their FAYS programming. As the Promotora takes on some of the assessment work to identify which supports will best help a family, the families receive more one-on-one time with a staff member, and other staff have a more manageable workload.

source: www.dfps.texas.gov