Health can be significantly inconsistent between individuals and populations. Variables called the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) assist in understanding the range of factors that affect a person’s overall well-being. SDoH are defined by the World Health Organization as “the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age.” These environments are mostly shaped by the distribution of money, power and resources and have substantial impact on education, occupation, policies, values, assets, health, and overall well-being. Unequal distribution of resources has created gaps in health equity.
Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) project seeks to improve the outcomes of child welfare involved children and does so through the partnership of local Departments of Social Services, Medicaid Managed Care Organizations and clinical providers. Through this partnership, organizations that may have once operated within a silo work collaboratively to help children and families receive more timely needed services.
As notable social worker Jane Addams once said, “social work’s special genius is its closeness to the people it serves.” On the front lines, child welfare workers come face to face with the inequities that plague communities daily. Availability and funding often create barriers to connecting families to needed resources. Child welfare workers meet families in their homes and communities and because of this, they develop a greater understanding of a family’s SDoH. They then serve as brokers; helping families to navigate systems and connect to needed services. Within the PFE project, child welfare workers screen children to identify signs of trauma and when necessary, make referrals for Trauma Intensive Comprehensive Clinical Assessments (TiCCA) to further identify child and family needs.
PFE clinical providers administer the TiCCA and evaluate for SDoH through formal and informal assessment practices. Based on the findings of this assessment, clinicians make recommendations for care that is individualized to the child and family. PFE’s framework ensures that the recommendations from the TiCCA are shared with the family’s child welfare worker and are incorporated in the family service agreement. The clinician’s assessment is essential in providing a wholistic interpretation of how the family’s environment impacts their current functioning.
PFE’s multisector collaborative approach is a step forward for communities in addressing SDoH. The PFE Team works closely with partnerships to promote trauma-informed best practices and standards of care. Benchmarks uses data driven by PFE to help inform legislation and advocate for policies that will improve health, well-being and resource availability. Understanding Social Determinants of Health and how they impact wellness is vital in the efforts to create better outcomes for children in child welfare.
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