Connecting Idaho Families to Resources

The Idaho Behavioral Health Council collaborates with public agencies and community partners to connect Idahoans with needed resources and services. As part of their 2024-2028 Strategic Action Plan implementation, they are leading a project to optimize findhelpidaho.org for connecting Idaho families to resources.

To achieve this goal, the council is seeking community support in the following areas:

Resource Development and Validation
Recruitment and Support
Public Outreach and Awareness

As this project is led by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, the initial focus is to support foster youth and families by prioritizing resources for mentorship, caregiver support, academic assistance, and behavioral health.  However, the project intends to provide a network of high-quality resources to support all Idahoans.

If you are interested in joining a team of IDHW and findhelpidaho.org staff with this effort, please indicate one or more areas you would like to support.

Resource Development and Validation

Identify resources and ensure they are accurate, up-to-date, and easily accessible on findhelpidaho.org.

 Example Tasks:

• Look at programs, services, and resources available across the state and find gaps in services
• Regularly check and update resource listings so information stays correct.
• Organize and label resources to make them easier to navigate and search for.

 Recruitment and Support

Expand capacity and quality of existing resources on findhelpidaho.org, especially mentorship, caregiver support, parent engagement, and connections to social-emotional and academic support programs.

Example Tasks:

• Develop solutions for recruiting and training mentors.
• Connect families to specific programs.
• Host formal and informal talks with families and community partners to learn what is working and what could be improved.
• Strengthen caregiver engagement through programs like Parent Cafés and kinship support groups accessible through findhelpidaho.org.

 Public Outreach and Awareness

Coordinate outreach and communication to ensure targeted populations and the public are aware of and actively using findhelpidaho.org resources.

 Example Tasks:

• Develop and implement phased outreach campaigns.
• Deliver targeted outreach to foster families, kinship caregivers, schools, and IDHW staff.
• Partner with nonprofits, schools, libraries, clinics, and faith-based groups to extend reach.
• Evaluate campaign reach and engagement.