News — In a state where , Indiana University Indianapolis professor Susana Mariscal has made it her mission to keep more families together and safe.
“Research shows that when families get support early on, we can prevent crises that result in trauma and pain that so often send children into the foster care system,” said Mariscal, a professor in the IU School of Social Work at IU Indianapolis who is also project director of . “We used data from our needs assessment to develop a model of Family Resource Centers that was unique to Indiana and very flexible in the way that it would be constantly adapting and adjusting tailored to the needs of each community.”
Five years ago, Mariscal and her collaborators teamed up to create Family Resource Centers designed to be safe, stigma-free places where Hoosier parents can bring kids for fun and games, while also being linked to help and support services.
Mariscal’s research led to the creation of a new statewide association that will carry on the work and build upon the foundations laid by the team at IU.
“This is my baby, and how can I not feel good about it going off and making its own way in the world?” Mariscal said. “I mean, I know my baby is in very good hands now.”
In 2019, Mariscal and Wayne State University associate professor Bryan Victor won a $2.74 million federal grant from the Children’s Bureau to launch the centers in Madison, Delaware, Tipton and Grant counties. While the initial grant money has run out, the centers are being sustained, and the model Mariscal’s team created has been replicated in five more Indiana counties since 2023.
“Indiana and its regional partners like continue to be national leaders in child maltreatment prevention through a willingness to explore practice innovations and follow the evidence on what works,” said Victor, project co-leader and evaluator. “Indiana’s willingness to support models like our Family Resource Centers and then scale them up across the state when they prove successful shows a real commitment to ensuring families have resources and supports they need to thrive.”
Ashley Saldana is a mother of three who started visiting the Madison County center in Anderson not long after it opened in October 2021. Her husband had recently been deported to Mexico, and Saldana said she was trying to find a way to raise the kids on her own.
“We are a family between worlds,” Saldana said. “He’s in another country right now, and we’re here, trying to figure it all out.”
Saldana recalled being invited to a pizza and painting party at the Anderson center. Once there, she said she was linked up with help to find food, clothing, and other support services.
“I went there at a time when I didn’t know where or how or what was going to happen in our life, and it was so much,” Saldana said. “Even with all that happening, they always make you feel welcome there. It was nice to always try to have something for my kids and me to do to keep our minds off all of this.”
Saldana said she and her children, now 18, 15 and 11, are still adjusting to their new life as they continue to work for reunification with her husband.
“I don’t know where I’d be without the Family Resource Center,” Saldana said. “It’s made me stronger to know other families are out there struggling, it’s not just ours. And it’s nice for parents to have somewhere to go when you really need help.”
Saldana is not alone. Since doors opened on the first centers in 2021, there have been 32,882 visits to the centers across the four counties.
“We see it every day,” said Christina Chandler, Firefly Children and Family Alliance’s coordinator at the Grant County center in Marion. “When families come in, you can tell those exhausted parents just don’t know where to turn. We get them help. We get them connected to support, or we just listen.”
Chandler said that often on the second or third visit, parents will start asking questions and seeking advice.
“They’re more apt to say, ‘Hey, I don’t know what I’m doing in this parenting situation, can you help me?’” she said. “Which is exactly what we want to normalize, you know? We want families to ask us, so we can figure it out together how to navigate those difficult situations.”
Jill Atteberry Kelly, Firefly vice president of prevention services, said her role in helping launch and grow the centers “has been the pinnacle of my career.”
“Knowing that families have a place to go, where they feel welcome, in their own community has made all the difference,” Kelly said. “Watching that work expand throughout the state is absolutely exhilarating.”
Mariscal is putting the finishing touches on the final report on the first four centers. New centers have since opened in La Porte, Wayne, Tippecanoe, Elkhart and Clark counties.
“There was such a positive response from the community that the model was replicated even before we finished evaluating,” Mariscal said. “These spaces are very family centered and destigmatized, creating an environment where families never feel ‘less than’ for seeking support, because everybody is welcome.
“Every parent in the community can bring their kids to enjoy activities like petting zoos, visits with Santa or movie nights.”
Now that IU’s direct role is ending, Mariscal said she’s confident that the centers will continue to grow in the good hands of the nonprofit Firefly Children and Family Alliance, the state Department of Child Services, other nonprofit agencies implementing Family Resource Centers, and the support from multiple community partners who are part of the recently created Strengthening Indiana Families Association.
The association is the state-level collaboration of all the Family Resource Centers, which are now funded by the state and nonprofit sources. Mariscal said she hopes that the new association will soon bring in other organizations that are doing the same work and committed to the same vision, only without the technical assistance that had been provided by IU and Firefly’s implementation team.
With a vision of “Strong communities where families can equitably access the resources they need to be connected and safe,” the goal is to provide support and technical assistance to centers throughout Indiana to increase service alignment and visibility, so that families can access supports more easily.
“My partners are outstanding; we developed a strong collaborative relationship throughout these years” said Mariscal, who will be there to advise or support the centers if they need her help or guidance.
“You know, it’s really amazing what the centers have been able to do,” Mariscal said. “Our Family Resource Centers have been able to mobilize the communities, fostering a sense of shared responsibility and support, so that all children can thrive.
“What an incredible legacy; that’s truly a remarkable impact!”
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