Our Vision
A community where every child enters adulthood healthy (mentally and physically) with a high school diploma, avoidance of teen pregnancy, and no legal or substance abuse prevalent.
Our Mission
To support children with an opportunity to become healthy, self-sufficient, and resilient adults.
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Our Values
Respect: Commitment: Inclusion: Engagement: Support: Volunteers: Appreciation: Confidentiality: |
Our values serve as the foundation of our culture. They inspire and guide our choices in the way we operate and interact with others.
All are worthy of respect and are treated with respect. Providing healthy a environment for children to grow in requires consistent, long-term commitments Communication among the Families Plus network is always open and inclusive. All kids can be engaged and helped. To best support a child, a tailored array of services must be available. Families Plus is volunteer driven. All participants need and should experience appreciation. Confidentiality is maintained while legality is honored. |
The Families Plus concept was developed in 1998 by Dr. Brenda Holland, a practicing clinical psychologist in Delta County. Dr Holland engaged community professionals and concerned citizens to address the needs of underserved youth in Delta County, living in unhealthy and often chaotic environments. From this group, a new type of community-based program for children was initiated. The family-as-mentor idea had not been implemented prior. Each mentoring family would make a commitment to a child or children with the aid of a mental health care professional and with parent partners. Parent partners cater to the needs of family members surrounding these children, providing insight into resources and opportunities available within our community and lending a helping hand when needed.
This new family mentoring idea caught on quickly. Within five years, almost thirty-five children in Delta County had been matched with their long-term mentoring families, and the lives of many were impacted in the process.
Currently, Families Plus lends a helping hand to over a hundred children in the Delta County community. Providing resources to health care providers, behavioral, mental health, and substance use training, and offering skill-building activities and programs to children to explore possible areas of interest. Families Plus strives to keep the minds of youth actively engaged and constantly exploring endless opportunities.
This new family mentoring idea caught on quickly. Within five years, almost thirty-five children in Delta County had been matched with their long-term mentoring families, and the lives of many were impacted in the process.
Currently, Families Plus lends a helping hand to over a hundred children in the Delta County community. Providing resources to health care providers, behavioral, mental health, and substance use training, and offering skill-building activities and programs to children to explore possible areas of interest. Families Plus strives to keep the minds of youth actively engaged and constantly exploring endless opportunities.
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Unique Program Explained and Real Life Testimonial |
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Overview and Results |
high country spotlight article
Families Plus – Setting the Example
Families Plus – Setting the Example
Families Plus – Setting the Example
Stu Carlson – Staff Writer
Oct 2, 2022
In Delta County, it is estimated that three percent of families are struggling with poverty or addiction. Children in these families are often lost in the struggle. Dysfunctional environments have lasting impacts on impressionable children and their chances for meeting their potential alone are slim at best. Fortunately, there is Families Plus, an organization that pairs children with a mentoring family and over the past twenty four years has seen very positive outcomes. The idea took root in 1998 when Clinical Psychologist, Brenda Holland realized that certain kids were not thriving with counseling alone. Brenda and a handful of local therapists started cooking the idea of using mentoring families as role-models. They soon realized that about five percent of children in crisis situations needed a "wraparound" program in addition to counseling. Families Plus adds medical and mental health services to coincide with family pairing and is tailored to fit each individual child’s needs.
Dr. John Vandenberg developed the wraparound services approach and was instrumental in bringing it to Families Plus. The various services are all a part of reaching the organization’s end goal. They hope to see all participating kids graduate from high school, and they believe that providing these services in addition to family mentoring will increase the odds of success. There is no other comprehensive program like it in the country. Their unique approach utilizes a myriad of services by mental health professionals and combines this support with mentoring families. They use families as mentors because children need to see families as positive role models.
The organization has had great success pairing children with mentor families. Those relationships usually take on a life of their own and often continue beyond high school graduation. While there are varying degrees of need and a few children have some security in the middle of family insecurity, far too many do not. Families who volunteer to mentor a child help to anchor these children in the community. “Children are resilient and they learn by exposure,” says Brenda.
Families Plus currently has about 90 children paired with mentoring families. Young children soon become young adults and Brenda claims that if they can get those five percent of kids in the county to become productive members of the community and support their new families, it would be a very different county. Ted Talk regular Josh Shipp once said, “Every kid is one caring adult away from being a success story.” Imagine what an entire family could inspire in a child.
The organization is growing, expanding in the professional capacity, and offering new services at every turn. Therapist Susan Siminar is offering neurofeedback sessions to all clients at Families Plus, along with counseling services. A total of four therapists are on staff and there are plans to hire at least one more in the near future. Also on staff are three para-professionals called “parent partners,” who assist families with various things. Plans to hire a fourth are in the works. Recent sizable grants have made this expansion possible at the organization.
The federal government recently passed the Families First Act. The act restricts counties from putting kids in foster care and residential placements as a solution to problems and advocates for kids to stay at home and in their community, having services brought to them. Of course, this is exactly what Families Plus has been doing for the last twenty-four years. Receiving more funding and more importantly, more recognition from the state is rewarding and validating for the organization.
Families Plus is a true model-builder program. In the end of May the state legislature enacted a new department in Colorado. The Behavioral Health Administration, which is reorganizing behavioral health systems in the state is tasked with developing a continuum of services which keeps kids in the community. While looking for examples of existing programs, state organizers only found one. Brenda believes that the volunteers of Delta County who make this organization possible should be proud of the work they do.
Families Plus is on a constant search for families who are interested in hosting. They aren’t asking anyone to change their schedules. They are just asking them to include one more child into their routines every once in a while. Often, these kids just need a safe place to be and good models to observe. The experience can literally be life changing, not only for the child, but also for the families who support these children through their formative years.
If you would like to know more about becoming a mentoring family or are interested in volunteering in other ways, you can visit their website at familiesplus.net or email them at [email protected].
Stu Carlson – Staff Writer
Oct 2, 2022
In Delta County, it is estimated that three percent of families are struggling with poverty or addiction. Children in these families are often lost in the struggle. Dysfunctional environments have lasting impacts on impressionable children and their chances for meeting their potential alone are slim at best. Fortunately, there is Families Plus, an organization that pairs children with a mentoring family and over the past twenty four years has seen very positive outcomes. The idea took root in 1998 when Clinical Psychologist, Brenda Holland realized that certain kids were not thriving with counseling alone. Brenda and a handful of local therapists started cooking the idea of using mentoring families as role-models. They soon realized that about five percent of children in crisis situations needed a "wraparound" program in addition to counseling. Families Plus adds medical and mental health services to coincide with family pairing and is tailored to fit each individual child’s needs.
Dr. John Vandenberg developed the wraparound services approach and was instrumental in bringing it to Families Plus. The various services are all a part of reaching the organization’s end goal. They hope to see all participating kids graduate from high school, and they believe that providing these services in addition to family mentoring will increase the odds of success. There is no other comprehensive program like it in the country. Their unique approach utilizes a myriad of services by mental health professionals and combines this support with mentoring families. They use families as mentors because children need to see families as positive role models.
The organization has had great success pairing children with mentor families. Those relationships usually take on a life of their own and often continue beyond high school graduation. While there are varying degrees of need and a few children have some security in the middle of family insecurity, far too many do not. Families who volunteer to mentor a child help to anchor these children in the community. “Children are resilient and they learn by exposure,” says Brenda.
Families Plus currently has about 90 children paired with mentoring families. Young children soon become young adults and Brenda claims that if they can get those five percent of kids in the county to become productive members of the community and support their new families, it would be a very different county. Ted Talk regular Josh Shipp once said, “Every kid is one caring adult away from being a success story.” Imagine what an entire family could inspire in a child.
The organization is growing, expanding in the professional capacity, and offering new services at every turn. Therapist Susan Siminar is offering neurofeedback sessions to all clients at Families Plus, along with counseling services. A total of four therapists are on staff and there are plans to hire at least one more in the near future. Also on staff are three para-professionals called “parent partners,” who assist families with various things. Plans to hire a fourth are in the works. Recent sizable grants have made this expansion possible at the organization.
The federal government recently passed the Families First Act. The act restricts counties from putting kids in foster care and residential placements as a solution to problems and advocates for kids to stay at home and in their community, having services brought to them. Of course, this is exactly what Families Plus has been doing for the last twenty-four years. Receiving more funding and more importantly, more recognition from the state is rewarding and validating for the organization.
Families Plus is a true model-builder program. In the end of May the state legislature enacted a new department in Colorado. The Behavioral Health Administration, which is reorganizing behavioral health systems in the state is tasked with developing a continuum of services which keeps kids in the community. While looking for examples of existing programs, state organizers only found one. Brenda believes that the volunteers of Delta County who make this organization possible should be proud of the work they do.
Families Plus is on a constant search for families who are interested in hosting. They aren’t asking anyone to change their schedules. They are just asking them to include one more child into their routines every once in a while. Often, these kids just need a safe place to be and good models to observe. The experience can literally be life changing, not only for the child, but also for the families who support these children through their formative years.
If you would like to know more about becoming a mentoring family or are interested in volunteering in other ways, you can visit their website at familiesplus.net or email them at [email protected].
