The Family Visitor Program provides staff members to complete in-home visits with families identified by Larimer County Department of Human Services (LCDHS). Families are identified as a result of a report being made to their agency by a concerned community member regarding their child.
The visitor’s role is to discuss areas of need for the family, briefly meet children included in reports to assure they are safe, address reported concerns, and offer community resources. Family Visitors are expected to be kind, non-judgmental, and helpful. The visitor then submits a report of the visit to LCDHS.
Family Visitor Program FAQs:
The Jacob Center receives referral information from Larimer County Department of Human Services. When a report is made to LCDHS with concerns about a child’s safety, contact information and details about concerns are recorded from the reporting party by an intake worker. The intake worker then takes that information and submits it to a RED team which is made up of a team of social workers who review information and determine how to respond. If the RED team determines the information provided is low-risk and does not warrant sending a county caseworker to visit the family, they can assign a Jacob Center Family Visitor to check in with the family and assure child safety.
All reporting party information is kept confidential by LCDHS. The Jacob Center does not have access to reporting party identities.
The Jacob Center cannot provide copies of Family Visit reports; however a request can be made to Larimer County Department of Human Services for a copy by contacting DHS records at 970-498-6564.
Families are not legally required to speak with our agency, however we hope families are willing to allow our visit so we can provide them resource information in the community. Should a family choose not to meet with our agency, we will submit a report as a no-contact. LCDHS reviews all no-contact Family Visits and may choose send a county caseworker if a Family Visitor is unable to make contact.
Family Visitors have a lot of knowledge about accessing and navigating local resources including, but not limited to: Educational Resources, Financial Aid Resources, Independent Living Programs, Grief and Loss Resources, Nutritional/Food bank information, Domestic Violence information, Medical/Health Care Needs, Parenting Resources, Mental Health Programming and Resources, Substance Abuse Resources, and Recreational Resources. Family Visitors work hard to provide a kind, non-judgmental approach to families and write an objective report that accurately captures how families are doing. This includes documentation about family strengths, current resources and supports as well as a family’s narrative about reported incidents
