A Conversation on Wyoming Home Matters

WY Home Matters is an initiative to promote a prevention-oriented child welfare system unique to our Wyoming communities that empowers families and communities to build strong families for a strong Wyoming. The initiative has two complementary goals. 1) To develop, draft, and implement Wyoming’s first Title IV-E Prevention Plan under the Family First Prevention Services Act. This goal focuses on tertiary prevention - preventing unnecessary removals. 2) To facilitate a larger conversation around prevention with our providers, communities, and families. This goal focuses on developing a continuum of prevention - not just preventing unnecessary removals, but also preventing trauma from occurring in the first place. In this session, we will briefly review statewide DFS data and then engage in a panel discussion with representation from all spheres - the community, partners, and the child welfare agency - about the current state of the child welfare system and what we need to move towards a prevention-oriented child and family well-being system.