State agency teams up with churches to help needy families in central Nebraska

LINCOLN - A family needing a twin-size bed frame and box springs so the 11-year-old child, who has medical and behavioral problems, can sleep better at night.

A single mother needing clothes for her toddler son and daughter, to replace what was lost when the family was evicted from its last home.

A mother with six children and only a part-time job needing help to pay the $925 due on her utility bill so she can keep the electricity on.

Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services child welfare and public assistance employees encounter such situations regularly through their work.

Now, a network of central Nebraska churches is teaming up with the state to give such families a hand.

The collaboration happens through a software system called CarePortal, developed by the Global Orphan Project of Kansas City, Missouri. The system is in use across the country for similar efforts.

CarePortal starts with state workers posting requests, which are then emailed to contacts at participating churches. If a church volunteers to fulfill a request, the contact person is put in touch with the family in need.

Nebraska officials said the collaboration helps meet concrete needs that make it easier for families to be reunified or to stay together.

"The outpouring of community support means we are increasingly able to serve more families by connecting them not only to needed services but also to the more tangible, physical resources they need to thrive," said Courtney Phillips, chief executive officer for HHS.

Nebraska first lady Susanne Shore called the collaboration a "life-changing and innovative way" to help children and families.

The Nebraska effort was launched last July in Kearney. It expanded to Hastings and North Platte in April and is slated to kick off in Grand Island and McCook later in the year.

As of May, the collaboration had helped out 128 children and fulfilled 63 percent of the requests made.

Compass, a Christian-based foster care and child welfare organization, took the lead in getting the collaboration started in Nebraska.

Ryan Stanton, the president and CEO of Compass, said the idea grew out of work being done in a number of Nebraska communities to create local solutions to the problems faced by struggling families.

He said HHS officials noted the absence of churches in the community groups that had been pulled together. With HHS encouragement, he reached out to local pastors. CarePortal was the result of their discussions.

"We asked how can we get involved to help be part of the solution to the problems in our local community," Stanton said.

After 10 months, the effort involves 23 churches in Kearney, Hastings and North Platte. Participating churches span a range of denominations, including Lutheran, Methodist, Evangelical Free, Catholic and Baptist.

Families seeking help do not have to meet any religious requirements, Stanton said. But all requests must involve children, and families have to agree before a request can be posted on the CarePortal system.

He said participating churches appreciate the system because requests for help have been vetted by state workers.

Jennifer Brantley, an HHS spokeswoman, said HHS workers generally look to other community resources if a request to CarePortal goes unfilled. She said HHS may fulfill a request if no other option exists and the case involves a child's safety.