Hispanic Unity of Florida: Building Strong Client Relationships Begins with a Strong, Whole-Family Intake Process
April 6, 2021 | Ascend Network
About Hispanic Unity of Florida
Hispanic Unity of Florida (HUF) in Hollywood, FL, was founded in 1982 by community leaders to guide newcomers to the U.S. on their journey to their American dream and to ease the acculturation process. Today, HUF is Broward County’s largest agency dedicated to the immigrant population. With 12 programs and more than 30 services offered in 4 languages, this agency serves South Florida’s diverse community. Since its inception, HUF has helped 445,000 individuals.
HUF’s comprehensive approach to advance and accelerate the pace of social and economic stability is family-centered, two-generation (2Gen),and operates through a racial equity lens. HUF’s integrated services provide a seamless framework of economic stability that includes immediate assistance as well as long-term solutions for children and parents.
Why did you choose this resource? 
HUF chose this resource to improve the family experience by making the intake process consistent for every family and program, eliminating duplication by creating a single point of entry for the families. We strongly believe that HUF’s 2Gen approach must start with a strong intake process that gathers a brief screen of the whole family regarding their strengths and needs. This enables staff to connect families (parents and children) with the most appropriate services and resources based on their needs and the availability and requirements of the services.
“We strongly believe that HUF’s 2Gen approach must start with a strong intake process that gathers a brief screen from the whole family regarding their strengths and needs,” said Felipe Pinzon, Executive Director for HUF.
How have you implemented the resource? How did this resource level up your 2Gen work?
During the Covid-19 pandemic-HUF worked on creating a universal intake that was used by all programs. The intake was developed to:
- Allow for uniformity across all programs (one release of information, uniform screening process, and a uniform mechanism for referral follow-up, as a key component of HUD’s Data Management System
- Create a seamless service delivery process that maps the journey of 2Gen families and provides clear direction to the HUF staff that serves and supports these families (in progress).
We worked on a family intake in 2020, which will strengthen our 2Gen work by:
- Allowing maximum usage of family support program services.
- Focusing on a single point of entry for families with all the family support programs.
- Assuring that families will be linked to the most appropriate services available for them based on the family’s needs.
- Create a streamlined process for recruitment and allows family coaches to focus all efforts on the priority of providing direct services to families.
- Promote collaboration
Eliminate duplication by creating a single point of entry for families.
What are your next steps?
In 2021, HUF will:
- Pilot new family intake with families enrolled in Unity 4Teens (HUF’s Youth Development program).
- Launch HUF’s service delivery process that maps the journey of 2Gen families.
- Launch a centralized database system.
- Provide training and technical assistance to HUF’s Program Management and frontline staff.
Additional Resources
Please find the other 2Gen Level Up Prize winning applications Resources released during the 2Gen Level Up Week below:
- Principles for Engaging and Centering Parent Voices (Two winners)
- Family Futures Downeast | Machias ME
- PeletonU | Austin, TX
- State 2Gen Model: Maryland as a Case Study for Policymakers, Women’s Foundation of Southern Arizona | Tucson, AZ
- 2Gen Platforms for Scale: Whole-Family Approaches Rooted in Community with National Reach, Aroostook County Action Program | Presque Isle, ME
- Making Tomorrow Better Together: Process Outcomes and Measures for 2Gen Organizational Change, West Virginia University Center for Excellence in Disabilities; IMPACT WV | Big Chimney, WV
- Building Strong Client Relationships: Two-Generation Approach Begins with a Strong, Whole-Family Intake Process, Hispanic Unity of Florida | Hollywood, FL
- Two-Approach to Leveraging TANF: DC as a Case Study for Policymakers
Related Posts
Ascend at the Aspen Institute builds intergenerational family prosperity and well-being for children and the adults in their lives through a two-generation (2Gen) approach. This mean we intentionally and simultaneously focus on supporting children and the adults in their lives together. We center racial, gender, and economic equity in all our work along with the …
Meeting Young Parents in LA County Where They Dream Read More »
We are delighted to share a new research report in partnership with Child Trends: Data on Families with Low Incomes Across America Can Inform Two-Generation Approaches. In this new analysis, research experts Elizabeth Wildsmith and Marta Alvira-Hammond paint a detailed picture of how families in households with low incomes in the United States have changed …
Data on Families With Low Incomes Across America Read More »
In a recent article for Kansas Child Magazine, Ascend executive director and founder Anne Mosle discusses the how 2Gen approaches can build on family resilience to meet the moment for children and families.
Mental illness affects 1 in every 5 Americans, however, inefficiencies, siloes, and disparities among systems make it challenging for families with low-incomes to access the health supports that are essential for them to live their healthiest lives. Health and well-being is foundational to individuals’ and families’ ability to reach their full potential, which is why it’s one …
The Family Partnership’s 2Gen Approach to Mental Health Read More »
As an organization with a vibrant Early Head Start program and a two-generational approach to alleviating poverty, All Our Kin has been a proud partner in Ascend at the Aspen Institute’s Family Prosperity Innovation Community. Being part of this group among 20 partnering organizations has given All Our Kin the opportunity to bring its innovative model …
Mom and Son Duo Reflect on Family Prosperity Convening Read More »
To help families cope with loss, trauma, and isolation, community leaders and practitioners are using the two-generation (2Gen) approach that honors their experiences and builds off their strengths as a whole family.
In episode 14 of the City of Kalamazoo's Shared Prosperity podcast, Ascend's Sarah Haight sits down with Kevin Ford, the city's Shared Prosperity Kalamazoo Coordinator. Throughout their discussion, they speak about the two-generation (2Gen) approach to improving family and community well-being.
Intake forms are important because you never get a second chance to make a first impression. I'm heartened by Ascend Network partners' efforts to simplify intake processes for families with low incomes involved in two-generation (2Gen) programs.
Although Black women continue to make significant contributions to their families and society, including being the top breadwinners and the most educated demographic earning a postsecondary education, the road to economic recovery and well-being is still further from their reach than their counterparts.
A commitment to rigorous learning and evaluation is fundamental to the implementation of a two-generation (2Gen) approach so that we’re measuring how well programs and policies serve the whole family. This is reflected in research being the first principle of a 2Gen approach, and it’s embedded in the day-to-day work of Ascend’s 450+ nationwide Network Partners. These visionary practitioners and systems …
From Proof Points to Building Evidence: Creating A Two-Generation (2Gen) Research Agenda Read More »
Think of how much our families evolve in 10 years. A seven-year-old will move from second-grade spelling tests to walking down the hallways of their dream university. At the same time, their parents may transition from school pick-up lines to their own school successes and career advancement. We don’t traverse our lives alone. We build …
Mayor Muriel Bowser has officially proclaimed today, December 1st, 2021, as Two Generations, One Future Day in Washington, D.C.!
Anne Mosle and Marjorie Sims co-authored an op-ed in Penn Live/ Patriot News discussing the accomplishments of Ascend Network partners in Pennsylvania and present opportunities ahead to advance family well-being by centering families through two-generation (2Gen) approaches. We are at a moment in the nation – and in Pennsylvania – when a paradigm shift is in …
Two-generation approaches (2Gen) meaningfully engage and listen to families as equal partners in setting and achieving family goals. Family expertise and advice drive the design of two-generation policies, programs, and services. The voices and perspectives of people affected by policies and programs are essential elements of making them work. The words of parents and caregivers animate and reinforce what we learn from the data and the facts on the ground about these policies.
A new report released today by Ascend at the Aspen Institute (Ascend) takes stock of the two-generation (2Gen) field. It analyzes what has been accomplished, the lessons learned, and the opportunities ahead with unprecedented federal expenditures in social policy. The report comes at a time when Americans are more fully recognizing that a system that tolerates social, racial, gender, and economic inequities is on unstable ground — and we are reckoning anew with the history of racism, sexism, and economic exploitation that built them into the foundation of our nation.
Featured from the Ascend Community