North Jersey LGBTQI+ Family Support Program - ABSTRACT Summary. The North Jersey Community Research Initiative (NJCRI) is proposing a program to prevent health and behavioral health risks (e.g., suicide, depression, homelessness, drug use, HIV) and to promote well-being for LGBTQI+ youth in the context of their families/caregivers, cultures, and communities in Essex County, NJ, with a focus on Newark. NJCRI will serve 250 unduplicated individuals annually with grant funds and 750 over the entire project period. Project name. Essex County LGBTQI+ Family Support Program Populations to be served. PCOM’s population of focus (POF) will be Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning and Intersex + (LGBTQI+) youth and their families/caregivers, with a focus on Black populations in particular. The catchment area where services will be delivered is Essex County, NJ, with a focus on Newark. Strategies/interventions. Program activities will include: 1) develop and implement an outreach and engagement strategy plan to connect LGBTQI+ youth and their families with counseling and supports; 2) develop and implement a public awareness communications plan to engage families of LGBTQI+ youth and promote family support; 3) develop and implement screening and referral protocols to identify LGBTQI+ youth and their families needing family counseling and support services; 4) identify and coordinate referral pathways with community-based service providers for LGBTQI+ youth referred to the family counseling program; 5) develop and implement a training and workforce development plan for its internal mental health counselors, case managers, and supervisors, on the implementation of the Family Acceptance Project; 6) implement the Family Acceptance Project; 7) establish an LGBTQI+ youth and family advisory workgroup; 8) develop and implement training sessions about family counseling intervention(s) for LGBTQI+ youth-serving, community-based organizations and providers; 9) coordinate efforts and access relevant TA and resources; and 10) provide peer and family support services through its Parents Partnering as Peers program. NJCRI will also implement the following EBPs: the Family Acceptance Project, Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT); Motivational Interviewing (MI); and Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Project goals and measurable objectives. The program’s goal is to prevent health and behavioral health risks (e.g., suicide, depression, homelessness, drug use, HIV) and to promote well-being for LGBTQI+ youth in the context of their families/caregivers, cultures, and communities by establishing a LGBTQI+ family counseling and support programs and training providers on family counseling and support interventions. Objectives for the proposed program include: 1) Conduct outreach and engagement strategies, reaching up to 500 persons from the POF per year; 2) Conduct a public awareness campaign to engage families of LGBTQI+ youth and promote family support of such youth, reaching 5,000 individuals per year; 3) Screen and assess at least 250 persons from the POF per year needing family counseling and support services; 4) Partner with at least 6 community-based organizations per year to receive referrals to the family counseling program for LGBTQI+ youth who have a diagnosed mental or substance use disorder and need more intensive or long-term clinical services; 5) Implement the evidence-based Family Acceptance Project family counseling project for at least 100 members of the POF per year; 6) Convene an LGBTQI+ youth and family advisory workgroup that meets quarterly; and 7) Provide training in family counseling interventions to at least 25 LGBTQI+ youth-serving, community-based organizations and providers.
