HAWAIʻI ISLAND
What is a Transitional Family Homes (TFH) Parent?
A TFH Parent supports the specialized needs of children and youth who require an elevated level of support outside of their home. To be placed with a TFH Parent, youth may:
- Exhibit special emotional requirements
- Present mental health or behavioral challenges
- Have delayed developmental milestones
- Display behaviors that are not typical for their age group
About the Transitional Family Homes (TFH) Program
Through the Transitional Family Homes (TFH) program, TFH Parents on Hawaiʻi Island can expect to be a part of a comprehensive system of support for youth, including providing a stable sanctuary, skills training, counseling, and clinical services. Program services must be accessed through a referral from the Department of Health (DOH), Child & Adolescent Mental Health Division.
The program ensures that youth are kept as close to home as possible and continue participating in family, school, and community activities.
The TFH program offers extensive resources to address the complex issues that necessitated the youth’s placement. This includes weekly individual therapy for the youth, family therapy, and ongoing support for the TFH Parents. Additionally, 24/7 support from the TFH clinical team is available for crisis situations. The goal is for youth to return to their families, find a family setting where they can live long-term, or live independently.
Why become a TFH Parent?
TFH Parents make a very real difference in the lives of youth every day! They provide stability, model healthy family interactions and relationships, teach values, share their homes, lives, and can be a lifeline for a youth. When you become a TFH Parent, the youth placed with you will likely share your home and your life for a short time, between 3-9 months. However, during that time, you will have countless opportunities to nurture the youth’s growth and development in supportive, loving ways and positively shape that youth’s life forever. Many of our youth have been successfully reunited with family, some have enrolled in college, and a large percent obtain employment in the community and lead independent lives with the skills they have learned from TFH parents while in our program. You can be part of a youth’s success story.
Of course, raising children is not always easy, and youth in Transitional Family Homes come with their own life experiences. Child & Family Service provides the following benefits and services to TFH Parents:
Are You Interested in Becoming a TFH Parent?
Call (808) 323-2664 or email hawaiitfhparents@cfs-hawaii.org to learn how!
You can also register for an upcoming Info Session:
The Impact of a Stable Home
- Emotional Stability: A stable home environment provides emotional support and consistency, offering children and teenagers a safe space to express themselves and develop healthy coping mechanisms for any trauma or challenges they may have experienced.
- Educational Success: With support provided by TFH Parents, youth are better equipped to focus on their education. This often leads to improved school attendance, better academic performance, and increased motivation to pursue their educational goals.
- Improved Social Skills: Through consistent interactions and guidance, youth learn social cues, conflict resolution strategies, and most importantly, how to form trusting connections. These social skills allow them to build meaningful relationships with their caregivers and peers.
- Behavioral Development: In a structured and nurturing environment, youth can learn appropriate behaviors and boundaries. Consistent guidance helps them develop self-efficacy, responsibility, and respect for others, which is essential for their overall growth and development.
- Positive Life Outcomes: The impact of a stable home extends beyond the immediate future, providing youth with a strong foundation for their adult lives. By experiencing safety and connection during their formative years, they are more likely to develop resilience, self-esteem, and the skills necessary to thrive independently as they transition into adulthood.
The Department of Health provides access to its programs and activities without regard to race, color, national origin/ancestry-including language, age, sex-including gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, color, religion, or disability.
Write or call the Hawaii State Department of Health, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division at 3627 Kilauea Avenue, Room 101 Honolulu, Hawaii 96816 or at (808) 733-9333. Or write or call the Affirmative Action Office at P.O. Box 3378, Honolulu, HI 96801-3378 or at (808) 586-4614 (voice/TRS) or 586-4648 (TDD) within 180 days of a problem.
