Tag: North Fort Worth

Walking Alongside a Kinship Family

When unexpected loss reshaped her family overnight, one aunt found guidance, resources, and reassurance through ACH’s Kinship Navigator program.

About a year ago, Ana a mother of four children, stepped into a caregiving role no one ever plans for. Overnight, Ana took in three nieces and nephews after the children’s mother suddenly passed away. In an instant, her household suddenly grew, bringing with it more responsibility, higher expenses, and deep grief.

“It all hit at once,” Ana shared. “I didn’t always know what to do or what was coming next.”

Ana became a kinship caregiver outside of the foster care system and without a CPS case. Families in these situations often face the same challenges as foster families, but with fewer formal supports.

Case In Point

A school counselor called about concerns with one of the children in Ana’s care. Ana was caught off guard and wasn’t sure what it meant or what she was supposed to do next. Everything felt uncertain. Not long after, she connected with a Kinship Navigator at ACH Child and Family Services, who helped bring clarity during an overwhelming moment.

That conversation changed everything.

Navigators walk alongside caregivers, helping them understand their options, and connecting them to resources during difficult transitions.

Over the past year, the Kinship Navigator worked closely with Ana to create stability for her family. Together, they tackled immediate needs like enrolling the children in Medicaid and SNAP, applying for programs that offered the children new beds, and securing everyday necessities such as diapers, pajamas, toiletries, and school supplies.

Support Beyond the Basics

ACH’s Kinship Navigator also helped connect the family to affordable haircuts through a community partnership and invited them to attend ACH’s Back-to-School event, to receive free school supplies, and holiday events, such as Christmas and Halloween celebrations, for free, festive fun.

Those moments mattered. “Every time I told the kids we were going to an ACH event, they got so excited,” Ana said. “With a lot of kids, it’s hard and expensive to do family outings. These experiences meant so much to them.”

One favorite memory was an expenses-paid family day trip to Fossil Rim, a bright, joyful moment during an otherwise heavy season.

Prioritizing Emotional Support

The children had experienced the loss of their mother, and their fathers were not in the picture. Some of the children participated in skill-building classes, while others began counseling services through community partners. Ana and her spouse even attended couples’ counseling, something she later described as unexpectedly helpful amid the stress and change.

ACH also helped address one of the biggest hurdles Ana faced: legal support.

As Ana and her husband move forward with adoption, ACH provided assistance toward legal fees, easing a significant financial burden. What once felt overwhelming became manageable — one step at a time.

Building a Stronger Future Together

Reflecting on Ana’s journey, our Kinship Navigator shared, “She has been such a wonderful caregiver to work with. She is resilient and persevering, and she always wanted to do everything she could for the children in her care. As she transitions out of the program, it is bittersweet. I am incredibly proud of everything she has accomplished, even as we prepare to say goodbye.”

For Ana, the greatest impact of Kinship Navigator was not feeling alone. “It’s an amazing program,” she said. “There are so many resources, and you don’t feel like everything is falling apart because you finally know what comes next.”

Ana’s story reflects the heart of Kinship Navigator — meeting families where they are, walking alongside them through uncertainty, and helping them build a stronger future together.

About Kinship Navigator

ACH’s Kinship Navigator program serves families outside the child welfare system who are caring for a relative’s children. The program offers outreach, education, and hands-on support, connecting caregivers to essential resources such as food, clothing, medical care, school support, and legal aid.

Many kinship caregivers step in during a crisis with little preparation or guidance. Kinship Navigator walks alongside these families, providing stability, emotional support, and help navigating complex systems. By empowering caregivers and connecting them to a supportive community, the program helps children remain in safe, familiar homes with the love of extended family — preventing entry into the foster care system.

Finding Healing Through Intercept®

He learned what it felt like to lose everything familiar — his home, his sense of safety, and the certainty that his mom would always be there.

What he hadn’t learned yet was that healing is possible when the right support steps in.

At just seven years old, Diego* has already experienced more instability than many adults face in a lifetime. After being removed from his home due to his mother’s mental health crisis, he spent time in foster care while his family worked toward reunification. During that time, the separation was deeply frightening for him. He worried constantly about whether he would be able to go home again, struggled with anxiety about being taken away, and was easily overwhelmed by loud noises and unfamiliar environments. His restless energy made it difficult to settle into routines at the foster home.

Diego’s mother, who lives with bipolar disorder, PTSD, anxiety, and depression, worked hard while he was in foster care to stabilize her mental health and reunify with her son. The Intercept team began working with the family in the weeks leading up to reunification and continued supporting them as Diego returned home, helping ensure the transition was safe, stable, and successful.

Even after reunification, Diego’s mother remained committed to her mental health and to building on the progress she had made. She understood that recovery is an ongoing process, not a single milestone. But with reunification came new stress and responsibility, and she needed specialized, intensive support to sustain her progress and strengthen her family’s stability during this critical time.

She was committed to getting better for her son — but recovery rarely follows a straight line.

With the support of a permanency worker at OCOK, she engaged in comprehensive services over 12–18 months and made significant progress. At the point of reunification, the complexity and intensity of her needs — common in cases involving mental health, addiction, and other high‑risk factors — necessitated referral to a program to help sustain change and reduce the risk of children returning to foster care.

That’s where Intercept® came in.

Restoring Safety

Intercept® specialists walk alongside families during their most vulnerable moments, helping them strengthen relationships, restore safety, and develop tools to thrive together. With Diego’s family, our focus was on building trust, consistency, and structure — the cornerstones of trauma-informed care.

Through multiple weekly visits and coaching, our Intercept® Specialist, Alesia Burciaga, worked with Diego’s mother to create predictable routines, manage her mental health needs, and learn positive parenting strategies. We helped her coordinate with medical providers to stabilize her medications and guided her in using grounding techniques when anxiety began to spiral. For Diego, we introduced calming strategies, social skill-building activities, and ways to express big feelings safely.

Slowly, the home began to feel different. Diego began sleeping through the night. His mother communicated openly with her treatment team and became more confident in her parenting. The constant fear of another removal began to fade, replaced by connection, laughter, and hope.

Through Intercept®, a program of Youth Villages, ACH helps reunite foster children with their families.

Building a Safer, Steadier Home

After several months, the family’s case closed as a positive discharge. While their journey continues, Diego and his mother now have the tools and support network they need to move forward — together.

Intercept® continues to stand out as a groundbreaking approach to family preservation — one that meets families where they are, honors their resilience, and helps them heal from trauma with compassion and evidence-based care. It’s not just a program; it’s a lifeline for families like Diego’s, proving that with the right support, change — and healing — are always possible.

*Name and likeness changed for privacy purposes.

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About Intercept®

Intercept® is a trauma-informed approach that offers a variety of evidenced-based and research-informed practices that meet the individualized needs of the family and child. The Intercept® model includes a systemic therapeutic approach to parenting skills education, school interventions, development of positive peer groups, and extensive help for families and children in accessing community resources and long-term, ongoing support.

The intensity of services is highly successful in helping families achieve and maintain stability so that children can remain in the home and avoid continued interactions with the court, child welfare, juvenile justice, and mental health systems.

The Youth Intercept Intercept program has helped tens of thousands of youth and families in 20 states since 2006.

The Boy Who Didn’t Know It Was His Birthday

A boy blows out candles on a birthday cake.
A boy blows out candles on a birthday cake.

A belated birthday party becomes a powerful moment of healing, showing why safe, stabilizing care for children in crisis matters more than ever.

When 5-year-old Leo* arrived at the Pat O’Neal Youth Emergency Shelter with his two older brothers, he carried no belongings, no toys, and no sense of what it meant to be celebrated.

The boys had been living in an environment marked by neglect. Their parents were in and out of incarceration, drugs were present in the home, and the children were often left unattended. At one point, neighbors reported them wandering door to door, asking strangers for food. That’s how authorities intervened and directed the boys to the shelter. Once the boys were in a safe place, they were they were transferred to ACH’s Secure Assessment Facility (SAF).

The SAF is designed to meet the needs of children ages 5 to 17 who are in the child welfare or mental health systems and are experiencing a crisis or a transition between placements. The program provides a safe and secure setting for children in the midst of the crisis and offers assessment and treatment services until the the best placement to meet their needs is determined.

At SAF, for possibly the first time, Leo and his brothers had a stable, safe place with attentive adults they could trust.

Thank you for . . . Everything

From the moment the boys arrived, staff noticed how unusually grateful the boys were for every little thing. At their first meal, they marveled at everything, including the plates, cutlery and napkins. They thanked staff for every detail, saying “Thank you for the plate” and “Thank you for the food.”

It was clear how little they had been given before, and how much even the simplest kindness meant.

While reviewing paperwork, a caseworker realized that Leo’s birthday had just passed. When staff wished him a happy birthday, he looked confused. He didn’t know it was his birthday. He didn’t even know how old he was.

For children in survival mode, birthdays aren’t marked on calendars. They aren’t counted down with excitement. They simply pass unnoticed.

Finally Seen and Celebrated

Determined to change that, the staff quickly organized a party. They bought balloons, cupcakes, and even a slip-and-slide for the backyard.

That afternoon, Leo and his brothers laughed and played until dinner, then gathered for cake and celebration. For the first time, Leo experienced what it felt like to be noticed, cherished, and celebrated. The joy on his face told the staff everything. They had given him more than a party. They had given him a memory of belonging.

After about six weeks at SAF, Leo and his brothers transitioned to a foster home where they could stay together. While their journey is far from simple, that birthday marked a turning point—a reminder that even small acts of care can restore dignity and hope.

*Name and likeness changed for privacy purposes.

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About Our Secure Assessment Facility

In recent years, there has been a troubling increase in self-harm, runaway incidents, and other high-risk behaviors among children in crisis. To meet this urgent need, ACH launched the Secure Assessment Facility (SAF) in 2023.

The SAF provides a safe, structured environment for children ages five to 17 who are part of the child welfare or mental health systems and are experiencing a crisis or transition between placements. Within this setting, children receive therapy, close supervision, and comprehensive assessment services.

The goal is simple but vital: to stabilize children during their most vulnerable moments, give them the support and treatment they need, and work alongside them to identify the next placement that best fits their long-term needs. Above all, the SAF ensures that every child is protected, cared for, and given the chance to move forward with hope.

Our 2026 expenses for the Secure Assessment Facility are greater than our resources and we are projecting a funding gap of $1,204,821.

If you can help, please consider donating. We appreciate any support, as it helps our community with needed programs and services like the SAF.