BENTONVILLE, Ark. — At Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art on Thursday, 100 Families, a group that works to coordinate local services to get families from crises to careers, launched their program in Benton County.
“We want to make sure that we focus on the results of helping the people in the community go from crisis to stability to career,” Benton County Coordinator for 100 Families Carlos Garbutt said. “It doesn't matter who gets the credit. What matters is that the person is doing better.”
Benton County human services providers in all areas who join in on the 100 Families Alliance will be using Restore Hope’s software design called HopeHub.
Executive Director of Restore Hope Paul Chapman said his organization’s software program will allow local service providers to better coordinate with each other to help residents. According to Restore Hope, providers can make referrals and share data with each other.
They add that the software will also be able to track outcomes amongst families to see which services are working and which are not. Restore Hope said the program meets privacy requirements for communicating sensitive healthcare information.
Chapman added that HopeHub's software is similar to that of a general construction contractor.
“Coordination does not currently exist in our social services and agencies,” Chapman said. “We can build a common plan around a family with that family's input and help them move from crisis to career. And they're going to need a lot of different people in the community that already exist just gaining access to them.”
According to 100 Families, in the last 12 months alone, they have helped move 578 families from crisis to career.
Last year, Restore Hope said counties part of the 100 Families alliance served over 2,583 parents.
Chapman added that on average in Arkansas, it takes around 11 different providers to help families who are struggling with various needs.
Earlier this year, the 100 Families initiative in Sebastian County celebrated their 5th anniversary as a program. Chapman said he hopes to see the progress documented there replicated in Benton County.
In Sebastian County, Restore Hope said they have seen a 50% decrease in the need for foster care and the city of Fort Smith has seen a 20% reduction in crime.
“Alliance in Sebastian County has had real population level change in the number of children in foster care and the crime rate is down there, the incarceration at the local jail is down,” Chapman said. “And so why communities are adopting this model, is it makes each individual agency or organization that may be involved in families, more efficient.”
Garbutt said as coordinator, he will hold monthly alliance meetings with organizations, provide trainings on how to use the HopeHub system, and brainstorm ideas on how to best help residents.
“The beauty of it is that when we impact a family, we're not only helping that current family, but we're also affecting them generationally,” Garbutt said. “And when we affect that, then we're also providing a community wide effect.”
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.