FAMILY TREE INC

Our goal at The Family Tree is threefold. We want to: 1) build safe, strong, and resilient families who care for and nurture their children, 2) create caring communities that know how to prevent abuse and promote well-being, and 3) advocate for laws that better protect our children and their families. All of our programs, services, and activities are designed to embrace these goals and support this interest. More specifically, our programs are purported to increase the positive functioning of families and reduce the impact of trauma and adverse experiences. We do this by helping families build skill and knowledge, educating the community, imparting information, and linking people to needed resources. As such, we want to not only raise, but raise UP families and children – using safe, positive, and healthy child rearing and family life practices. This includes building caring and involved communities and advocating for public policies that better support parents, children and victims of maltreatment. We believe deeply in the strengths and resiliency families have and their capacity to be their own “change agent" – even in the most adverse of family circumstances or community conditions.

Our complement of services is strong; bringing safety, health, and well-being to over 30,000 families and children each year. Our services are strengths-based, family-focused, and delivered free of charge (or on a sliding scale fee). Desiring both a statewide presence and a local community commitment, services are delivered from our headquarter family center in Baltimore City, two satellite offices in the Greater Baltimore-National Capital Area, 20+ community-based locations, and families' own homes. They include parenting education classes and workshops, an anger management program, support groups, home visiting programs, a family counseling/behavioral health program, community education and outreach, and training for professionals. We also provide service statewide through our leadership on state councils, public policy advocacy efforts, and a 24/7 helpline.

We use best-practice and evidence-informed models of service, have a results-based system of accountability, and actively engage in the evaluation and research of our programs. In fact, since 2008, we have had a relationship with the University of Maryland's social work research center, the Ruth H. Young Center. They have been evaluating the gains made and impact achieved as a result of our hallmark parenting education program and testing new engagement/learning strategies.

The Family Tree has 45 professional staff, a strong and visionary 39 member Board of Directors, and over 500 volunteers who deliver direct service, provide special event/project support and serve on committees. Our Executive Director and Program Director are highly talented and skilled licensed clinical social workers, with years of experience. We also have a strong and dedicated management team that regularly engages in program improvement and quality assurance activities. Our infrastructure is strong and includes a Development Department, Finance Department, and Human Resources Department. We have a $4.5 million operating budget with a mix of public and private support, follow General Accepted Accounting Principles, and have an outside audit conducted annually. In addition, we have an endowment of $3 million to secure our future. We maintain an extensive network of partners that include the Maryland Department of Human Resources, Maryland State Department of Education, Baltimore City Mayor's Office, Local Departments of Social Services, State's Attorney's Office, Parole and Probation, University of Maryland, Local Management Boards, United Way of Central Maryland, Healthy Families America, and numerous community-based providers, schools, hospitals, and faith-based/medical institutions. Lastly, we help lead the State Council on Child Abuse and Neglect and actively participate in well over a dozen committees, coalitions, and advisory boards including the Maryland Coalition to Protect Children and the Citizens Review Board for Children.

In the Fall of 2019, we launched our multi-year, strategic plan Moving Families Forward – in order to deepen and expand services in Baltimore and throughout the state via leadership and public policy advocacy. The changes as a result of this campaign are transformational, affecting not only what we do and how we do it, but also who we serve – with a greater emphasis on the health and well-being of all families, not just those at risk. Although we will continue to lead the State by advocating for policies and delivering programs that prevent child abuse and neglect, we will also concentrate on building the capacity of communities to better care for, protect, and promote the well-being of all children. By embracing technology we are providing services to parents where and when they are needed. For the first time, virtual programs are being provided.

Programmatically, this included piloting a home-visiting program that connects all new Baltimore City mothers giving birth at Sinai Hospital and their babies/families to needed resources. It is a collaborative effort between Sinai Hospital, the University of Maryland's School of Social Work research center (the Ruth Young Center), and Duke University/Medical Center. We have made numerous infrastructure changes to accommodate our new growth and direction. This has included hiring a Manager of Communications and a Manager of Public Health Training; making some capital improvements to our headquarters facility in Baltimore, and introducing a new Family Tree brand and motto - Raising Families UP. We also: 1) rolled out a new, shorter parenting education program with a four-week module, 2) acquired the Baltimore City Child Care Resource Center (BCCCRC), which provides training and technical assistance to child care providers in the City and to individuals wanting to become providers; also serves parents, the business community and others interested in early care and education, 3) established a Respite Center so parents (or agencies serving parents) needing temporary, emergency, or respite child care will have a safe and nurturing place to bring their children, and 4) launched a public health training program - ACE Interface - that teaches people across the state about adverse childhood experiences (ACE's) and ways in which families and communities can build resiliency to guard against and reduce their harmful effects.